AIHCP has numerous blogs based on Carl Rogers and his Client or Human/Person Centered Based Counseling.  This blog will focus some on the general themes, goals and history of the therapy and how it set the standard for many modern day counseling techniques.  Whether one belongs solely to Rogerian Counseling, or instead mixes and matches some of the philosophies and skills where needed, it remains nearly impossible for numerous Rogerian ideals not to be part of any counseling curriculum and utilized within the professional and clinical spectrum.

Please also review AIHCP’s various Behavioral and Healthcare Certifications and see if they meet your academic and professional goals.

Rogerian Psychology and Counseling- A Client/Person Centered Approach

In essence, Rogers possessed a more optimistic account of human nature and believed that helping people involved helping them help themselves and find inner healing.  Instead of diagnosis, or pre-determined psycho-analysis, Roger developed a psychology and counseling that frowned upon diagnosis as well as counselor authoritarian directives but saw the counselor more as a guide and helper in unlocking a person’s potential to find happiness and balance in life.   This type of counseling took some key core concepts from Adler and then became a main stay in the counseling fields since the Mid 20th Century.

Rogers taught that counselors need to help clients self-actualize to become their best self.  This was accomplished through guidance that helped the person choose what is best for them.  The counselor could help a person reach self actualization by helping them find congruence or genuineness with their true self.  When a person was at odds with their true self or their words did not match their deeds, a counselor could help a person see this incongruence (Tan, 2022).  In addition to helping a person actualize self, counselors within Rogerian schools of thought help clients understand the value of their own subjective experiences.  Rogers believed that the subjective experience of a person was the most true form of self and the best way to find congruence within a person.   However, the most lasting and important aspect involves the client’s condition of worth.  Rogers emphasized that counselors must show deep empathy, unconditional positive regard and genuineness as core concepts in helping people (Tan, 2022).   Ultimately the basis of Rogerian therapy is to not solve problems but to unlock an individual’s own solving problem abilities (Tan, 2022).

In other blogs, we discuss the critical importance of unconditional positive regard, congruence and empathy.  These again are the most lasing elements of Rogerian psychology.  While many adhere to some of the other concepts of subjective experience, or the role of the counselor, these three standards of counseling remain core in most counseling schools as essential elements in helping people.  Beyond just being taught, these lasting qualities of the counselor also show empirically and in clinical studies strong effectiveness in helping the client.  While classic Rogerian counseling swayed away from diagnosis or various therapeutic strategies, it always emphasized the importance of the counselor/client relationship.  In many studies, this is the most key part whether counseling works or not.  While various therapeutic strategies are essential, which ones used or not used, has more power when amplified with the counselor/client relationship.

In recent years, Rogerian Counseling has also been transformed by modifications, such Motivational Interviewing.   Tan points out that this is also a person centered approach and also has many shared core elements (2022).  Initially developed by William Miller, Motivational Interviewing utilizes Rogerian strategies and counselor based qualities to help clients reach goals.  Tan points out that Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative approach of strengthening a person’s motivation and commitment to change.  He also points out that it looks to address the ambivalence about change and is designed to help the person’s motivation by assigning goals and also exploring a person’s reasons to look for change (2022).

Interviewing involves utilizing empathy, congruence as well as unconditional positive regard, but also involves the counselor rolling with resistance of the client in a non-confrontational way.  Instead helping to facilitate a picture for the client to see on one’s own to desire the change.  In doing so, the counselor helps to support self efficacy and freedom of choice to fully embrace a change and work towards a goal (Tan, 2022).

Strengths and Weaknesses

Like any counseling system or psychological school of thought, one can be tied down and limited if only subject to one way of doing things with the psychological mind.  This bears true with one who only utilizes psychodynamic ways without integration of other possible therapies in the cognitive fields, or for that matter approaching one from a cognitive or behavioral school of thought.  Like wise, person centered psychology and counseling has strengths that can be employed, but also weaknesses when isolated and used as a the only way conducting counseling.

From a strength standpoint, the utilization of the concepts of unconditional positive regard, congruence and empathy are all staples of modern counseling.  Person centered therapy also has a very optimistic view of a the human person and is rich in encouraging and helping someone find the ability to change through one’s innate abilities.  It treasures freedom to choose which is the only way true change can occur.

From a weakness standpoint, it ins purest form, it avoids diagnosis and some therapies which when involving deeper trauma or pathology require more than just discussing an issue but also helping the mind heal through other proven strategies.   Also, it emphasizes a complete subjective form of happiness and process of making decisions.  This can lead to one’s own selfish motives, as well as choosing incorrectly in the overall scheme of life.   Counselors while observing need to sometimes direct.  Rogers did point to empathetic confrontation, but it needs to sometimes go farther than merely helping a person see the contradiction in one’s life but to also sometimes guide the person to the right choice.  In Rogerian psychology, the counselor remains as benign a source of authority as possible in regards to direction.  Many clients need guidance.  This is not to assert they need told what and how to do something, but sometimes, a person needs direction.  The concepts of subjective truth also come into conflict with many ideals on objective truth, as well as the person belonging to more than merely oneself but also belonging to a social construct that includes other people, as well as religious beliefs.  For some, God is the source of self actualization, not the human person.  For others, self actualization can become a very selfish design that ignores others and their needs. (Tan, 2022).

So again, I feel there always needs to be a measure of balance with any systems of psychology and counseling.  While schools of thought exist in their purity, many counselors utilize the best of all the schools and fit it to meet the unique needs of a client.

Conclusion

Carl Rogers ideas and philosophies presented to counseling were revolutionary when compared to Freudian systems.  It expressed that individuals were not preprogrammed and had the innate ability to find congruence when guided by a trained counselor.  The counselor was not there to solve problems but help untap the ability of the client to solve their problems.  This leads to a very subjective experience of self actualization which has its strengths and weaknesses in counseling.  The largest contribution of Rogers was the counseling qualities he demanded from all counselors.  Namely congruence, empathy and unconditional positive regard.  These elements help forge a healthy counselor and client relationship which according to studies is more important and a bigger factor in client progress than any particular therapeutic strategy employed alone.  It is the counselor and client’s relationship that is the biggest factor in whether the counseling experiment works or does not work.

Please also review AIHCP’s Behavioral Health Certifications in Grief Counseling, Christian Counseling, Trauma Counseling, Crisis Counseling, Stress Management and Anger Mangement.

Additional Blogs

Empathy in Counseling: Access here

Rogerian Counseling and Depression: Access here

Humanistic Approach and Grief: Access here

 Reference

Tan, S-Y. (2022). Counseling and psychology: A Christian perspective (2nd Edition). Baker Academic.

Additional Resources

The Role of Empathy in Effective Counselling. (2024). Mental Mastery. Access here

“Accurate Empathic Understanding: A Core Component of Client-Centered Counseling” (2024). Psychology Town. Access here

Sutton, J. (2021). “Unconditional Positive Regard: 17 Worksheets & Activities”. Positive Psychology.  Access here

Cherry, K. (2024). “Unconditional Positive Regard in Psychology”. Very Well Mind. Access here