Week Six

Question 1

carl rogers

Answer 1

• Born in Chicago, Illinois.
• Conservative family background.
• Schooled in a strict, religious environment.
• Started to study agriculture, then religion.
• Bachelor in 1924, Religious Seminary, Teachers college at Columbia University, PhD in Clinical Psychology in 1931.
• Began professional career in child psychology.
• 1930 Director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
• Professor of clinical psychology at Ohio State University in 1940.
• Published results of his research inClient-Centred Therapy (1951).
• Psychotherapy and Personality Changein 1954.
• 1963 joined the staff of Western Behavioural Sciences Institute.
• In 1968, Carl Rogers and staff created Centre for Studies of the Person.
• Last years: Applied person-centred approach to Peace Movement and Conflict resolution in hotspots like Northern Ireland, South Africa and Brazil, Europe and US.
• Lived La Jolla, California until his death in 1987.

Question 2

humanistic psychology

Answer 2

• Abraham Maslow (1908 - 1970) is instrumental in the development of humanistic psychology.
• Humanism arose in the late 1950s as a “third force” in psychology- beyond psychodynamic and behavioural approaches.
• Arose in response to thebehaviourist and psychoanalytic schools of thought.
• The belief that people are innately good.
• Focused on their potential rather than focussing on the problem.
• Belief that morality, ethical values, and good intentions are the strongest driving forces in life.
• Humanism incorporates a variety of therapeutic techniques, including Rogerian person-centred therapy. Influenced Roger’s ideas.
• Empathises goal of self-actualization.
• Humanism and PC therapy focus on packing a growth based environment for the client.

Question 3

major themes in person-centred therapy

Answer 3

• Based on humanistic values; positive view of human nature.
• Non-directive reflective approach.
  
  • No specific skills need to be used
  • Is a process instead
• Providing an enriching therapeutic environment.
• A process of self actualization; a journey towards wholeness.
• People are viewed as coming in with an incongruence
  
  • Between who they are and who they want to be.
  • These factors allow the client to explore their feelings and their belief systems.
  • PC therapy allows the client to think about their own strengths.

Question 4

central constructs and ideas in rogerian therapy

Answer 4

• Immediacy: bringing the past and future into the present – here and now focus.
• The client’s self-actualisation tendency.
• The client starts to recognise their own potential and move towards it.
• Starts to develop a healthy self-esteem through self-acceptance.
• Starts to shift from external to internal valuing system.
  
  • The opinions of others begin to have less influence and the person is more concerned with their own opinions.

Question 5

therapeutic process

Answer 5

• Providing sufficient and necessary conditions to change:
  
  • Empathy.
  • Unconditional positive regard (Respect).
  • Congruence (Genuineness).
  • Client develops self-awareness about their own incongruence.
    Client experiences immediacy and authenticity in the therapeutic relationship

Question 6

empathy

Answer 6

• Ability to deeply grasp the subjective world of another person – understanding of the client with the client.
• Process:
  
  • Therapist share the client’s subjective world by drawing from their own experiences that may be similar to the client’s feelings.
    ○ We will never truly know how another person feels.
    § Nonetheless, we can still display empathy.
    ○ Therapist needs to be able to grasp the clients experience but also understand that their experiences are not exactly the same.
    § Draw on the experience rather than saying that it is exactly the same.
    § Draw upon the feeling rather than tell the client your experience.
    § Do not say that you have experienced it before but instead apply what was felt in that moment to the client’s experience.
    □ Do not self disclose.
• Purpose in Therapy:
  
  • Attend to and value their experiences.
  • Process experiences.
  • Change perception on previous experiences.
  • Increase confidence in making choices and pursuing action.
    ○ Being able to distance the client from the issue allows them to better consider it objectively and make and reflect on decisions.

Question 7

unconditional positive regard

Answer 7

• The therapist’s deep and genuine caring for the client as a person.
• Therapist may not approve of some of the client’s actions but the therapist does approve of the client.
• ”I’ll accept you as you are.” rather than, “I’ll accept you when…”.
• The person-centred counsellor therefore maintains a positive attitude to the client, even if feeling otherwise about the client’s actions.
• Can be best achieved through empathic understanding of the client.
• If you accept the client as they are they are more likely to disclose more and engage more in the therapeutic process.
• This regard will change and fluctuate however should never be dislike for the client as this is note effective.

Question 8

genuineness/congruence

Answer 8

• The therapist does not have a façade, compared with psychoanalysis.
• Open expression of thoughts, feelings and reactions are evident in relationship with client. Times when this is used requires reflection and clinical judgement by the therapist.
  
  • However, need to reflect and see whether this will be appropriate and beneficial for the process.
• Therapist’s internal and external experiences are one in the same (integrated), so the therapist is authentic.

Question 9

therapeutic goals

Answer 9

• Develop a safe and trusting therapeutic environment.
• Develop good rapport.
• Client defines and clarify their own goals.
• Self-exploration and self-reflection.
• Develop from external valuing to internal valuing.
• Help to reduce the façade and increase authentic living.
• Develop towards more harmony between ideal self and real self.
• Develop healthy self-esteem.
• Move towards “Self Actualisation”.
  Evidence that the therapists attitude itself is enough to effect change from the client

Question 10

maslow’s heirarchy of needs

Answer 10

to achieve self-actualisation be need: 
- biological needs 
secutiry and stability 
belonging and love
esteem 

• Biological needs- water, food etc.
• Security and stability- financial stability and stability of shelter etc. making sure that violent people are not living with them.
• Belonging and love- feeling values
• Esteem- needs to feel accepted and valued by others.

Question 11

self actualisation

Answer 11

Rogers sees a self-actualised, fully functioning person as a person who:
- Is open to experience, is non defensive.
- Emphasizes fully living in the moment “ here and now”.
- Trusts in oneself.
- Has the ability to freely make choices and takes responsibility for their own choices, highly self-directed.
- Embraces a life of creativity and adaptation, including an abandonment of conformity.
- Has the ability to behave reliably and make constructive choices.
- Lives a full, rich life including the full spectrum of human emotions.
○ Relates closely to therapy.
§ Their actual self might not want to engage in unpleasant emotions however their real self needs to engage in these emotions because it s apart of human life.

Question 12

congruency and self actualisation

Answer 12

A person needs to have full hierarchy of needs before they can engage in greater congruency (where self-image is similar to the idea self, more of an overlap).

Question 13

motivational interviewing

Answer 13

• Miller & Rollnick (1980)
• Person Centered therapy with a ‘twist’
• More practical skills.
  
  • • More directive.- there are actual skills and processes used.
  • • Cooperative style eliciting behaviour change.
  • • Activates client’s motivation for change.
  • • Explores ambivalence towards change. Accepts this state of being.
  • • Stresses client responsibility and independent choice for change.
  • • Strengths-based approach.

Question 14

basic principles of MI

Answer 14

• Miller and Rollnick (2002)
• Motivation comes from 2 things.
  
  • Person needs to see progress
  • Needs to feel confidence.
• • Seeks to experience the world through client’s perspective.
• • Explores discrepancies and ambivalence in relation to change.
• • Normalizes client’s reluctance to change; respectful view of resistance.
• • Supports client’s self-efficacy in goaling.
• • Strengthens client’s commitment to change and develops change plans.
• Important to still use the general skills of therapy.

Question 15

the process of change in counselling

Answer 15

pre-contemplation - nurturing patient 
contemplation- socratic teacher 
preparation - experienced coach 
action - consultant 
maintenance

Question 16

wider impacts of person-centred therapy

Answer 16

• Used in the training of therapists and those in the ‘helping professions’. Common factors.
• Self-help groups.
• In the encounter movement, marriage enrichment and group dynamics.
• In crisis intervention, grief counselling and pastoral care.
• Peace movement: To promote international and cross cultural relations.