Humanistic Theory: The Effectiveness of the Person-Centered

Humanistic Theory: The Effectiveness of the Person-Centered Approach

The person-centered theory was conceptualized by Carl Rogers, out of the experience he had gained from years of working with clients as a counselor (Casemore, 2011). Contrary to the traditional behavioral theories which portrayed a counselor (therapist) as an expert, the person-centered approach rides on the concept of self-actualization, and holds that human beings have the potential to realize the full extents of their abilities. They only need to be provided with facilitative climates, under which they can develop the right psychological attitudes (Barlow & Durand, 2011). Such climates provide environments in which individuals feel free from both psychological and physical threat, and are achieved through relationships with people who were genuine (congruent), accepting, and deeply understanding (emphatic) (Barlow and Durand, 2011). The person-centered theory, therefore, rides on the elements of competence, love, and safety, which explains why it has been adopted and applied in areas outside counseling.

Claim: Person-centered therapy offers the therapist all that he/she will need to treat clients

Thesis

The goal of this text is to evaluate the above claim, on the basis of the person-centered theory. This entails examining the theory's strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, and its practicability in real life situations, based on the key constructs upon which it rides.

Theory

Person-centered therapy in the words of Rodgers "hypothesizes that the inner changes taking place in therapy will cause the individual after therapy to behave in ways which are less defensive, more socialized, more acceptant of reality in himself and in his social environment…" (Rodgers, 2014). Essentially, the Rogerian theory rides on a number of constructs, which are interconnected to bring about the theory's core idea that; in therapy, the client is the expert as he/she is capable of realizing the full extent of his/her ability (Barlow and Durand, 2011).

Organismic valuing stems from evolution. Evolution enabled the development of human tastes, preferences, and senses. Evolutionary lessons, therefore, form the bases of human preferences through the process of organismic valuing (Barlow and Durand, 2011). Positive regard is one of the things that humans highly value and cannot do without. It incorporates the human needs of affection, love, safety, attention, etc. (Barlow and Durand, 2011). Positive self-regard incorporates elements such as high self-esteem and self-worth that human beings gain from the positive regard shown to them by others (Barlow and Durand, 2011). Failure to have positive self-regard causes human beings to feel inferior, and makes the unable to achieve the full extents of their abilities (Barlow and Durand, 2011).

Conditions of worth come about as a result of the society's deviation from the traditional evolution environments into new environments that are appealing in terms of organismic valuing, but damaging to the actualization process (Barlow and Durand, 2011). Conditions of worth refers to those instances whereby aspects of positive regard are given, only if a person is 'worthy' of them. For instance, children are only shown parental affection if they perform well in class (Barlow and Durand, 2011). Conditional positive self-regard stems from the conditions of worth. If human beings are continuously considered 'unworthy,' they develop low self-esteem thus diminishing self-worth, and are unable to achieve the full potential of their abilities (Barlow and Durand, 2011).

Counseling and therapy, under the person-centered approach, seek to instill in clients a sense of unconditional positive self-regard through the accepting climate of congruence (Casemore, 2011). Once the client feels loved and valued, they will be able to realize the full potential of their abilities (Casemore, 2011).

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Person-Centered Approach

The main strength of the person-centered theory stems from the element of optimism it portrays. The theory, contrary to other traditional humanistic models such as Frend's theory, incorporates the element that humans, when provided with facilitative climates, are able to realize the full extents of their abilities. Frend's theory, for instance, holds that the human ego, superego, and instinct make it practically impossible for them to realize their full potentials (Casemore, 2011). This way, Frend's theory undermines the importance of human interactions and portrays human beings as unable to make themselves better creatures (Casemore, 2011).

The ability of humans to increase their self-worth and improve themselves, as well as their environments is evident today from their numerous all-round innovations and instruments of creativity. It is for this reason that the person-centered approach has been widely accepted at almost all levels of human interactions; doctor-patient, teacher-student, government-citizens, etc.; with each seeking to offer facilitative environments for full capacity realization (Barlow and Durand, 2011).

Other strengths of the person-centered theory include its logically tight and clearly though-out arguments, its broad scope (coverage/application), and the philosophical depth and richness it incorporates (Casemore, 2011).

The opponents of the person-centered approach have criticized it on the basis of being 'theory thin' (Casemore, 2011). A second critique stems from the theory's idea of using different approaches to different clients. Critics have argued that this is impractical, given the large number of disorders therapists often deal with, and that most therapists only make diagnoses of their clients' disorders either because it is agency practice or for insurance reimbursement purposes (Sharf, 2011). Proponents of the person-centered approach, however, maintain that person-centered therapists have to use different approaches for different clients as it is the only way through which "the uniqueness of the client's humanness" can be reflected (Sharf, 2011: 221).

Rogers' Response to Psychological Disorders

Rogers dealt with psychological disorders by connecting emphatically with the strong feelings that his clients kept within (Sharf, 2011). He strived to make such feelings and strengths, which were invisible on the surface, known to his clients. When dealing with depression, for instance, he connected the feelings of discouragement, despair, hopelessness, sadness, etc. with an individual's inner strength, and made them realize that they possessed the ability to make judgments and decisions (Sharf, 2011).

Rogers held the belief that all psychological disorders could be handled using his six conditions for growth simulation; client perception, the therapist's emphatic understanding, therapist's unconditional positive regard, therapist's congruence, client incongruence and client-therapist psychological contact (Casemore, 2011).