Counselling Psychology
Humanism
Any system of thought concerned with merely
human interests……
‘merely’ because it excludes theology….
The ‘humanities’, languages, history, literature etc
are domains free of religious tests in the Rennaissance
Humanism
“I am man: nothing human do I count as alien”
“A mortal’s God lies in helping his fellow mortals.”
interested in human potential and human welfare
implying an intellectual interest in everything relating
to humanity, and a conviction that humanity is worth
caring for….
The scientific movement of the Renaissance
was seen as a threat to religious orthodoxy,
symbolised by the persecution of Galileo.
Advances in geology and in evolutionary theory
soon put Humanism and Science in serious conflict~
with Christianity.
Free Thought
Enlightenment ‘Free thinkers’ were hostile to any
religious belief and free thinking became a form of
resistance to authority: One must not be required
to accept as dogma what is not known to be true!
It can never be sufficient justification for performing
any action that someone wishes or commands it.
No moral system can rest solely on authority, whether
human or divine.
Goodness
God’s nature can no longer be used to define goodness.
Human beings are capable of ‘goodness’, it does not have
to come from a higher power. Selfish and unselfish
behaviours are both ‘natural’ to man.
Carl Rogers
1902 - 1987
The Father of Person
Centred Counselling
One cannot explain things to unfriendly people
Sigmund Freud
Rogers‟ Biog
Born 1902, Illinois. 4th of 6 kids
Fundamentalist Christian Family
Solitary, socially incompetent
Initially aimed for ministry
Moved to Columbia Uni where he
encountered philosophy and psychology
1940 Prof Psych Ohio state Uni
1947 Prof Psych and counsellor Chicago
1957 Prof of Psychiatry Wisconsin
Published MANY books eg On becoming a person / A way of being
Rogers‟ “Self Theory”
Children are victims of conditional positive
regard
Organism = total range of possible experiences
Self = the parts of experience the individual accepts
Rogers‟ “Self Theory”
Children are victims of conditional positive
regard
Extraneous conditions of worth develop
Organism = total range of possible experiences
Self = the parts of experience the individual accepts
Rogers‟ “Self Theory”
Children are victims of conditional positive
regard
Extraneous conditions of worth develop
Distorted experiences split the organism
from the self
Organism = total range of possible experiences
Self = the parts of experience the individual accepts
Rogers‟ “Self Theory”
Children are victims of conditional positive
regard
Extraneous conditions of worth develop
Distorted experiences split the organism
from the self
This split results in poor functioning
Organism = total range of possible experiences
Self = the parts of experience the individual accepts
Rogers‟ “Self Theory”
Children are victims of conditional positive
regard
Extraneous conditions of worth develop
Distorted experiences split the organism
from the self
This split results in poor functioning
The split can be healed if people can
express their innermost feelings freely in a
non-threatening environment
Organism = total range of possible experiences
Self = the parts of experience the individual accepts
Person-Centred therapy is:
A reaction against directive and
psycho-analytic approaches
permissive and non-
interventionist
NOT advice, suggestion,
persuasion, teaching, diagnosis
or interpretation
Core Conditions
The Core Conditions for Counselling include:-
Empathy
Acceptance
Genuineness
These conditions create an environment in which the client can ‘grow’
Empathy
Putting yourself in the client’s shoes
Learning what it feels like to be inside the client’s skin
Understanding the world as the client understands it
Using the internal frame of reference of the client
Attunement
Communicating empathic understanding
Acceptance
Unconditional positive regard
Warmth
Cherishing / Valuing
Genuineness
Realness
Authenticity
Congruence
Counsellor being herself in relationship
Presents to client as ‘transparent’
Personal Characteristics of a Good Counsellor
Congruence: Being real, authentic or genuine . Inner experience and
outer expression match. Congruent in the relationship.
Unconditional Positive Regard: Deep and genuine caring.
Accepting the client's right to have feelings; not approval of all
behaviour.
Accurate Empathic Understanding: Sensing the client's subjective
experience, helping them to recognise and resolve the incongruity that
exists within them.
Effective Therapy
It is non-specific factors, such as discussing one’s
troubles with a friendly person, receiving advice,
relieving one’s tensions through receiving positive
reactions, etc. which are effective in mediating
therapeutic success, rather than the specific methods
derived from the various theories in question.
Eysenck 1992
Clients can do it themselves….
Rogers claimed that the following saying from Lao-Tsze
summarised his views in a simplified way:-
If I keep from meddling with people, they take care of themselves.
If I keep from commanding people, they behave themselves.
If I keep from preaching at people, they improve themselves.
If I keep from imposing on people, they become themselves.
Humanism
Each of us has within us a nature and a potential that we can
actualise and through which we can find meaning.
An acorn, if provided with the appropriate nurturing, will
automatically grow in positive ways, pushed naturally towards
it’s actualisation as an oak.
In person-centred therapy, there is a deep faith in the tendency
of humans to develop in a positive and constructive manner if
a climate of respect and trust is established.
Through P-C Therapy we can:
Become open to experience
Develop a trust in ourselves
Develop an internal source of
evaluation, and
Develop a willingness to
continue growing
Power Imbalances are Universal
Status hierarchies in animal groups
Power is socially constructed,
gender, social class, ethnicity, age,
social roles
Power is embedded in institutional
structures
Authority power versus personal
power (historically and socially
constructed power is „authority‟)
Client-centred Approach
The politics of the client-centred approach is a conscious
renunciation or avoidance by the therapist of all control
over, or decision-making for the client. It is the
facilitation of self-ownership by the client….it is
politically centred in the client.
Rogers 1978: 14