Running Head: PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

Assignment 4: Personal Theory of Client Change

Molly P. Hayes
University of Lethbridge

PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

Definition of Counselling
My definition of counselling embraces concepts from the person-centred, Adlerian and
cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) approaches. The person-centred theory described
counselling as a process characterized by the counsellors ability to convey unconditional
positive regard, empathy and congruence in the relationship with the client (Rogers, 1957). The
Adlerian perspective emphasizes the importance of understanding a clients subjective
experience of feelings, behaviours, beliefs, thoughts, and values (Feist & Feist, 2009). The CBT
approach views counselling as a learning process that involves helping a client to identify
defective thoughts, increase awareness about how thoughts influence behaviours and feelings,
and acquire new ways of thinking that promote effective ways of coping (Corey, 2009). My
approach views counselling as establishment and maintenance of a positive, congruent and
empathetic relationship with the client, that provides a safe environment for their personal
exploration, and involves the utilization of appropriate techniques to enhance the clients growth.
As Corey (2009) has described, a definition of counselling is only one important element
of an emerging counsellors personal theory. In order to provide a well-rounded explanation of
my perspective on client change, this paper will feature sections on my view of human nature,
the cause and maintenance of problems, the role of the client and counsellor, factors that
influence change, techniques, individual factors and client populations, evaluation of success and
strengths and weaknesses of my approach. These topics will be examined by exploring
philosophical assumptions, theoretical standpoints, and personal experience and by providing
appropriate academic rationale.
Perspective on Human Nature

PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

My view of human nature is humanistic and reflects the main philosophies of the personcentred approach. Rogers (1980), the founder of the person-centred therapy (Corey, 2009),
believed that humans have an extraordinary ability to make choices in their lives, develop selfunderstanding, and move towards psychological health. The person-centred perspective
maintains that people continually evolve towards self-actualization but never become fully
actualize (Corey, 2009). My perspective emphasizes life as a learning process where people
discover resources, make changes and display resilience.
The Cause and Maintenance of Problems
Theories that have influenced my perspective on the cause and maintenance of human
problems include the person-centred and CBT approaches. From the person-centred perspective,
problems result from a state of incongruence between what a person experiences in reality and
what they perceive of themselves (Corey, 2009). Rogers (1980) explained that incongruence
comes from a divergence of external actions from a persons internal self-image, thoughts and
feelings. The CBT approach explains that problems manifest themselves in cognitive distortions
that guide emotional and behavioural symptoms experienced by the client (Beck, 1979).
Therefore, a persons psychological problems can be displayed in their behaviours or emotional
experiences, are rooted in cognitive functioning and can be instigated by the notion of
incongruence.
Role of the Counsellor and the Client
The person-centred counsellor is described as being congruent in their relationship with
the client, conveys unconditional positive regard, and communicates empathy to the client
(Rogers, 1992). The role of the person-centred counsellor is to allow their attitudes of
acceptance, support, and respect to establish an environment that fosters client change (Corey,

PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

2009). The CBT counsellors role is to provide competent application of skills to help clients
change their thoughts, feelings and behaviours in addition to the maintenance of an
understanding and empathetic client-counsellor relationship (Macy, 2007 as cited in Corey,
2009). Because the person-centred approach tends to be non-directive (Corey, 2009), the client
can choose how active they would like to be in the process; however, I prefer a client role that
provides a more structured active role, such as with CBT. According to Becks (1987, as cited in
Corey, 2009) description of CBT, the clients role is to accept challenges within a support
environment and complete homework geared towards the achievement of goals.
Change and Healing
Factors that influence client change and healing with my approach include the therapeutic
alliance, and counsellor ability to engage the client through the use of techniques or procedures.
Although I agree with Rogers (1992) that empathy, unconditional positive regard and
congruence necessary conditions for client healing, I prefer Becks (1987, as cited in Corey,
2009) perspective that a warm therapeutic relationship is not sufficient for client change. The
CBT psychoeducational model highlights the importance of the therapeutic relationship but
promotes a more hands on acquiring of new skills and ways of thinking that provides an outlet
for client and counsellor feedback (Corey, 2009). My approach allows a counsellor to
acknowledge, understand and empathize with the client, promotes the development of new skills
and improved awareness of emotions, thoughts and behaviours and provides a focused
framework for therapy that encourages client-change, strength-based recognition and out-oftherapy application.
Techniques

PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

My approach features the Adlerian assessment method, and application of CBT and
person-centred techniques. The Adlerian assessment consists of subjective and objective
interviews (Corey, 2009). A subjective interview allows the client to describe their experience,
involves counsellor encouragement, and genuine interest (Bitter & Nicoll, 2000) and provides
the counsellor with an understanding of the clients outlook and desired focus of counselling
(Corey, 2009). An objective interview focuses on the clients past and provides the counsellor
with an understanding of the clients family system, presenting problem, and coping strategies
(Corey, 2009). The Adlerian assessment encourages client participation, and allows the
assessment process to be a learning process for both client and counsellor (Goldman, 1990).
Person-centred techniques such as active listening, reflecting meaning and feeling,
clarification and self-disclosure create an environment that fosters confidence, acceptance and
genuineness (Corey, 2009). Josefowitz and Myran (2006) explained that the integration of CBT
and the person-centred approach enhances the therapeutic process. CBT techniques that enhance
my approach include the assigning of CBT homework, Socratic questioning, and collaborative
empiricism. The use of CBT homework allows for individual client needs, and encourages the
development and application of new skills (Corey, 2009). The use of Socratic questioning or
open-ended questions (Corey, 2009) fits appropriately with the person-centred approach because
of its non-directive but exploratory intentions. The CBT technique of collaborative empiricism
involves the client and counsellor examining evidence in support for or against a clients
thoughts (Corey, 2009).
Approach Evaluation
My approach defines therapeutic success from the person-centred approach. The personcentred approach defines success by the evaluation of the client (Corey, 2009). However, if

PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

someone other than the client were to evaluate the success of my approach, they would see
improvements in client motivation and changes in the clients use of language, overall outlook
on life, and the accomplishment of therapy goals. Due to the technical application of CBT
interventions in my approach, therapeutic success is likely to be seen in the accomplishment of
therapy goals primarily with relief of symptoms (Josefowitz & Myran, 2006). The Adlerian
assessment approach highlights the clients perspective (Bitter & Nicoll, 2000) and therefore it is
likely that the client will experience a positive shift in their outlook on life.
Important Factors and Client Populations
A clients culture, personal values and environment are of the main focuses of the
Adlerian assessment (Corey, 2009). Adlerian psychology views individuals as being influenced
by the environments that they live in and interact with, including family, culture, relationships,
and community (Bitter & Nicoll, 2000). My approach shares the Adlerian lens that people are
both creators and creations of their lives (Corey, 2009) and therefore, a clients life experiences
contribute to their perspective and therapeutic process.
Client populations that would most likely benefit from my CBT inspired approach would
be people suffering from depressive, anxious and/or suicidal thoughts, display compulsive
behaviours and/or thoughts such as those related to eating disorders, anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder (Corey, 2009). The person-centred approach and CBT have been
successfully utilized with people from many cultural backgrounds (Corey, 2009). Both CBT and
person-centred approach emphasize the exploration of experience and therefore clients who
would prefer not to simply extinguish symptoms may not benefit from my approach.
Strengths and Weaknesses

PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

Strengths of my approach, supported by the work of Paulson, Truscott and Stuart (1999),
include the clients active role in therapeutic process, a phenomenological philosophy that places
importance on the clients perspective, and a goal-oriented approach that provides structure to
client-change. One limitation of the person-centred approach is its tendency to be unstructured
(Corey, 2009). However, because my approach applies the techniques of CBT and Adlerian
psychology, a client-inspired framework is established early in the counselling process to
provide direction and opportunities for client-directed evaluation. Weaknesses of my approach
are closely related to those of CBT. Corey (2009) wrote that CBT does not effectively explore a
clients past. Although the Adlerian assessment method may acknowledge a clients past
experiences, the intervention methods I have chosen may not effectively valid the impact of such
experiences.
Conclusion
The main theoretical inspirations for my approach include Adlerian psychology, CBT and
person-centred approach however my perspective does not fit any of these theories entirely. My
appreciation for the perspective and experience of another person has drawn me to the personcentred approach however, much like Coreys (2009) assessment, the approach lacks the
organization that I thrive in. The action-oriented nature of the CBT approach appeals to my
desire for structure; however, I chose not to include the CBT or Adlerian perspectives on the
cause of problems because it fails to acknowledge the deepness of human experience. What I
appreciate about the Adlerian approach is its phenomenological perspective. As a young person I
often experienced pressure to act a certain way. It became clearer to me as I grew older that what
others thought of me should not hold as much value as how I thought of myself; my perspective
of myself is the only one I can be sure of. Equipped with Adlerian confidence, I began to become

PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

who I wanted to be, rather than what I thought other people wanted me to be. I also began to try
to understand people based on how they viewed themselves, and the world. The
phenomenological lens has helped me be a good leader and youth worker and has led me to
counselling.

PERSONAL THEORY OF CLIENT CHANGE

References
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Paulson, B. L., Truscott, D., & Stuart, J. (1999). Clients perceptions of helpful experiences in
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Rogers, C. (1957). The necessary and sufficient condition of therapeutic personality change.
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Rogers, C. (1980). A Way of Being. Available from
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Rogers, C. (1992). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change.
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