W4-Rogers, Person-Centered Therapy

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ROGER’S PERSON-CENTERED THEORY 5

Roger’ Person-Centered Theory

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Roger’ Person-Centered Theory

The three conditions of Roger’s person-centered theory include empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive reward (UPR) (Good Therapy, 2018). These three elements form the basis of the relationship between the patient and the therapist while also determining the success of the desired growth, change, and improving the client’s potential. Among the three, I rank congruence as the most vital condition. It defines the ability of the therapist to remain real and genuine with respect to the patient’s condition. The elements of being real and genuine are driven by a demand to keep the expectations of the client within achievable levels while also enabling the client to shed off the negative thoughts that may hinder their growth, change, and potential. The failure by the therapist to demonstrate the reality to the patient would mean starting from a false position and therefore failing to set goals that are congruent with the needs of the client (Pierce, 2016). UPR would assume the second position in terms of the rank of importance. When the reality of the client’s condition is known to them, there is a higher likelihood that the client will learn to interpret the words of the therapist appropriately. Inappropriate interpretation means developing a perception or feeling of being judged by the therapist which effectively hinders the trust relationship between the client and the patient (GoodTherapy, 2018).

On empathy, once UPR and congruence have been attained the therapist can effectively determine the key moments or situations when the client needs empathy and to what extent. The therapist is afforded an opportunity to recognize the client’s condition from a rather holistic perspective thus enabling collaborative goal setting. The concern with this approach is it may depict the therapist’s feedback as judgment to the client while in fact, it is part of the inquiry process that enables the two parties to forge a trust relationship (GoodTherapy, 2018). The theory does not offer a line of distinction as to what the client may term as being judged by the therapist thus leaving a wide room for interpretation. Such an approach negates the ability of the therapist to interrogate deeply the concerns of the client or the underlying factors including but not limited to family history, relationships, and financial strain (Coyne et al., 2018). However, the approach tends to prioritize congruence where the client and the therapist can effectively form a trust relationship and they can achieve this by defying any limiting elements such as negative attitudes, low self-esteem, or self-guilt.

The theory emphasizes empathy as one of the conditions. Empathy is based on an inquiry informed or guided by therapeutic communication. The therapist via their professional training can distinguish between therapeutic communication and judgmental feedback (Coyne et al., 2016). This knowledge allows the therapist to conduct the inquiry where the client gradually feels that their communication with the therapist is more of a relieving process and they should or cannot do it more often. Gradually, the client recognizes that the elements previously considered sensitive to discuss are hindrances to their healing. The client, therefore, begins to shed off the negative perception of self while growing into appreciating the therapist’s feedback to generate positive regard which may manifest in form of improved communication and self-esteem.

Substance use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction disorder, and schizophrenia are some of the conditions that may best apply to this therapy modality (Coyne et al., 2018). These diagnoses impose an element of mistrust in an individual such that they have less trust in the people around them thus gradually developing negative thoughts. The modality begins by establishing a connection between the client and the therapist to overcome the fear or lack of trust with others. Afterward, the focus is on enabling the individual to make improved decisions while recognizing their triggers and how to control them via elements of motivational interviewing (Miller & Moyers, 2017).

References

Coyne, I., Holmström, I., & Söderbäck, M. (2018). Centeredness in healthcare: a concept synthesis of family-centered care, person-centered care and child-centered care. Journal of pediatric nursing, 42, 45-56.

GoodTherapy. (2018, January 17). Person–centered therapy (Rogerian therapy). GoodTherapy - Find the Right Therapist. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/person-centered

Miller, W. R., & Moyers, T. B. (2017). Motivational interviewing and the clinical science of Carl Rogers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(8), 757.

Pierce, M. (2016, March 16). 3 core conditions for therapeutic change. True Self Counseling. https://trueselfcounseling.com/2016/02/20/3-core-conditions-for-therapeutic-change/