The Personality Theory Underlying Person-Centered Counseling
Introduction
Prior to beginning study, I have come to realize that I was engulfed with the issue of self worth and the consistent tendency to allow others to control me. As I have developed an understanding of the “fully functional person,” I have discovered that the “interjected values” I allowed others to place on my existence were not necesarily in conjunction with my own beliefs. In time, however, I accepted these values as part of my being, repressing my own values and replacing them with what my ex-husband and father beieved were essential values in my world. This corelates with Frued’s beliefs of denial. Here, there would be the organic experience, but no symbolization of this experience as an adequate conscious representation of it would be entirely inconsistent with the concept of self.
This situation was further complicated by my early Christian upbringing, which required a respect of my elders and an acceptance of authority. Furthermore, these ideas were so ingrained in my manner of viewing the world that, when my father passed away and my divorce was imminent, it was difficult to express the anger that I felt so deeply relating to these occurances. This was partially because of my own fear that releasing my anger would lead to me lashing out inappropriately; yet, also because it was not something that would be acceptable in the eyes of my father or ex-husband. Consequently, I have experienced self doubt. As I received my certificate of counseling, it was clear that I needed to develop self awareness and learn to understand what has occurred in my past to become a fully functioning individual. This process would be considered part of the organic experience by Rogers, and is part of my existence that lives in the the conciousness, preventing me from progressing throughout life in a more self accepting manner. While I have begun my work within the realm of Rogers personality theory, it is evident that it will take some time to delve into each of the elements that effectively encompass the scope of Rogers’s ideology.
Person Centered Therapy
Carl Rogers (1961, p. 36) contended that the individual was the greatest expert in relation to his or her own psychological distress throughout life. The concept of “self,” encompassing ideas of self worth, self doubt, self awareness and self actualization are paramount to Rogers’s theories because of the focus on the individual. The issue for most people, however, is that they are not allowed to truly focus on these issues within their lives because outside forces prevent them from centering on the issues significant to individuals. My own experiences support this theory, as I have discovered that,, in my past there was little time to ponder my own values if I was to be accepted by those around me. My own experience is further supported by Rogers’s (1961) belief that when the individual was given the opportunity to fully examine his or her world, the causes of distress would become clear and the individual could be capable of progressing to a life that was fully functioning and rewarding from a personal perspective.
In my personal experience, it is apparent that this process has not evolved in a manner that realizes a full understanding of the stressors evident in my life; yet there is a demonstration that I have been capable of identifying outside sources that have had an impact on me personally. Through the person centered approach to therapy this was possible because I was given an opportunity to fully examine my life and the two main issues that have been prevalent in recent years. Because of the turmoil that has surrounded life, and my own inability to discuss this with others around me, I continued to function in a manner that avoided the pain of the situation. This was evident even though the individuals who aided in creating my false perspectives on the world were no longer in my life. Yet, through the person centered therapy process, a significant change occurred wherein there was at last knowledge as to what had created the stress, and an ability to understand the reasons for my reactions to the world.
This process could only be accomplished through a therapy approach that included the concept of “unconditional positive regard.” Unconditional positive regard, as developed by Carl Rogers, stipulated that the client was accepted by the counselor without condemnation or judgment being cast toward the patient. Outside forces are consistently placing barriers within the lives of people, which often causes them to halt their self-examination, as well as be fearful of exploring those personal viewpoints that reflect the individual’s ideologies.
As the process of unconditional positive regard is established between the patient and the therapist the patient becomes free to explore events and thoughts that previously could not be examined because the environment was often to confining. Furthermore, when unconditional positive regard is utilized the individual is not hindered by feelings of conforming to the ideas of others, or the fear that what is said will be evaluated; for in person centered therapy there is only an unconditional acceptance of each individual. This type of therapy can lead to self-actualization, personality change, and an ultimate ability to solve the issues that affect the individual. Mearns (1999, p. 125) writes,
Person-Centered counseling, developed by Carl Rogers and his associates during the past sixty years, is characterized by certain beliefs and attitudes which serve to distinguish it from both the analytical and behavioral traditions. The counselor is seen as a person whose essential skill lies in the ability to create a particular kind of relationship with clients within which the client is enabled to discover his or her own resources for moving towards a more satisfying way of being.
This allows the patient to use therapeutic practice to identify his or her psychological dysfunction. Psychological dysfunction was a term used by Rogers to describe outside forces that were “interjected” into the life of the individual and that prevented a natural personal progression, or psychological growth throughout life (‘An Introduction’ 2005).
In addition to the concept of unconditional regard, congruency is an element of the counseling session developed by Rogers that insists that the therapist is “authentic and genuine” (‘An Introduction’ 2005). The therapist does not conform to traditional concepts of presenting his or herself in a formal manner that distinguishes the authority of the counselor, aiding in the separation between therapist and patient. The therapist presents him or herself in a “genuine” manner that the client can associate with in human terms, and that creates a comfortable environment for the work that is to be accomplished.
Congruency is then enhanced by Rogers’s concept of empathy. Empathy is essential for the therapy in that it allows the therapist to accurately associate with the patient’s feelings, thoughts, and experiences. These associations are not a pretense on the part of the therapist, but a complete comprehension of the patient’s situation and the feelings associated with the individual (‘An Introduction’ 2005). When the therapist can empathize with the patient’s emotional status, then there is a connection between the therapist and the patient that leads to a mutual focus on the work to be accomplished without influences that may hinder the therapy (‘An Introduction’ 2005).
Unconditional regard, congruency and empathy are then the foundation of Rogers’s person centered therapy approach. Yet, they are only the foundation of a concept that is then further expanded to allow for a complete application of therapeutic processes in the lives of individuals.
Human Development and Personality Theory
Rogers contended that individuals placed values on their experiences that may be altered over time, as the individual tends to distort the reality of the situation. Much like the concept behind modern cognitive therapy, Rogers developed an innovative approach to the ideology that, when negative experiences engulf the individual’s life, the mind often changes the events of the experience as he or she consistently rethinks the situation. In Rogers’s theory, however, the experience can be completely rejected by the individual because it is too devastating for the person to be capable of accepting. These processes can lead to mental disturbance in the patient, as the individual struggles to comprehend his or her reactions to various events in life. This theory is described in the 19 Propositions of Rogers theories, and focuses on the self-structure. Self-structure was a concept developed by Maslow in his hierarchy of needs, which led to the actualization of the individual. Yet, this actualization could not be achieved without a series of basic needs being met. In the process of actualization, therefore, the individual could be hindered by ideas of self-doubt or confusion. Actualization requires clarity of thought and positive assurances within the self-structure that are not disturbed by outside influences (Rogers & Hart 1970).
A patient of mine has been afflicted with this issue in her life as she is currently struggling with the notion that she is not allowed to express her personal emotions because this was not customary in her family life. Her parents were not accepting of their children if they demonstrated that they were angry or hurt. My client, therefore, believes that this has prevented her from being capable of sharing the experience of her divorce with her son to allow him to comprehend her inner thoughts and bring them together as a son and mother. Yet, my client believes that the experiences that she had as a child are so profound that she cannot overcome them in her present situation. It is evident, therefore, that these experiences are controlling her life, and that she will require a great deal of time in addressing them to discover her own path to self actualization. These experiences have affected her personality growth, as she has consistently conformed to the manner in which others expect her to think, act, and respond to life. Much as I have been capable of doing through person centered counseling, however, my client has been capable of identifying those factors which have influenced her personality and her thinking.
Rogers (1961) discussed that the individual is “ever changing,” much like all life organisms consistently affected by the world around them. Rogers (1961, p. 35) stated that “Such capacity is evident in all organic and human life—to expand, extend, become autonomous, develop, mature—the tendency to express and activate all the capacities of the organism, to the extent that such activation enhances the organism or the self”. Carl Rogers further believed that the individual was capable of progressing in a manner that would lead to a full and contented life, but that this occurrence often required the ability to comprehend elements of life that had forced change. Rogers (1978, p. 7) believed in the complete power of the individual to create change, he stated that the individual has “vast resources for self-understanding, for altering self-concept, his attitudes, and his self-directed behavior”.
This personal power, however, has the ability to be altered as influences from outside sources begin to affect the self, as discovered through the client described above. There may be a conflict between the “ideal self” and the “real self” that leads to incongruence within the individual’s llfe, and causes personal distress. Rogers (1989, p. 223) stated,
The incongruence need not be sharply perceived. It is enough that it is subscribed—that is, discriminated as threatening to the self without any awareness of the content of the threat. Such anxiety is often seen in therapy as the individual approaches awareness of some element of his experience that is in sharp contradiction to his self-concept.
As is evidenced by the situation of my client, as well as myself, there is an obvious incongruence with both lives that are not in tune with the perceptions that we have of ourselves. In the case of my client, however, she is insistent that she cannot change because of the affects that her childhood has had on her life. Yet, it is my belief, as it is that of Rogers that she has the internal capacity to change when she comprehends that she is filled with personal power that she will need to use to begin on a path toward self actualization. Rogers (1961) believed that, as the therapist created an environment in which the individual could begin to realize there was an unconditional acceptance based on a mutual desire for personal change, in time, the individual would begin to comprehend that he or she was capable of becoming the person he or she envisioned themselves to be (p. 36). What is lacking in most patients, however, is the courage to begin these changes. Yet, through person centered therapy, there is a freedom that the individual can experience that allows such change. It is apparent that, in the case of my client this comprehension may take time for her to develop, but that, during the course of the sessions she will soon start to realize that she is the one in control of her life at this conjuncture, and she will be open to beginning a new approach to her life.
Rogers (1961, p. 36) supports this contention in his views of the individual “becoming a person”. This process, according to Rogers (1961, p. 115), occurs when the patient is “open” to accepting change in their lives, and begins to trust him or her self in all of the elements that comprise the individual’s thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. Additionally, the individual must begin to realize that outside sources are not the reigning control in the individual’s life; the person is. This concept is often the most difficult for many patients to understand because they have existed with the idea that others possess authority over them. As the therapy continues, though, the individual comes to accept that he or she can continue to relinquish his or her own power to others, or he or she can actually find the inner strength to control his or her own life.