CHAPTER 11 - CARL ROGERS

Person Centered Theory

PERSON CENTERED THEORY

Nondirective Counseling Early Name
Many other names but person centered is
the most inclusive

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
1.

2.

Formative Tendency
Actualizing Tendency

FORMATIVE TENDENCY
Tendency to evolve from simple to more
complex forms
Creative Process and not destructive
process
Humans Primitive unconscious to highly
organized and complex awareness.

ACTUALIZING TENDENCY
Tendency to move towards completion or
fulfillment of potentials
Creative power to solve problems, to alter
self-concepts, and to become self-directed.
Psychological growth and maturity resides
within the individual (not outside)

ACTUALIZING TENDENCY
All behavior is relative to this actualizing
tendency
Actualization involves the whole person
(psychological and intellectual, rational and
emotional, conscious and unconscious)

ACTUALIZING TENDENCY

Realized within certain conditions

Authentic Partner who can give

Congruency
Empathy, &
Unconditional Positive Regard

If these three things are present in a relationship

growth is inevitable
Conditions Necessary and sufficient to be fully
functioning or self-actualized
People have concept of self - thus potential for
actualization

SELF-ACTUALIZING TENDENCY

Subsystem Self-Actualization
Tendency

to actualize the self as perceived in

awareness

Self Actualization the way I see myself or

the way I am aware of myself
Whereas Actualizing tendency refers to the
whole being or person (all organismic
experience)

THE SELF AND SELF-ACTUALIZATION

CONCEPT OF SELF
The I or Me awareness
This starts to evolve and self-actualization
process begins.

SELF-ACTUALIZATION
The way I perceive myself
Has to be in harmony (congruence) with
ones organismic experience (actualizing
tendency)
When not in harmony = a discrepancy occurs

SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Example:
Organismic experience = Anger to his wife
Perception of Self = loving and devoted
husband
Perception of self and actualization tendency
= incongruent
Incongruent = conflict and tension

SELF SUBSYSTEMS

THE SELF CONCEPT

A subsystem of self
Perception of all aspects of ones being and ones
experiences (perception and not organismic)
Perception not always accurate
(note parts of organismic self is beyond ones
awareness)
Experiences which are inconsistent with selfconcept are either denied or accepted only in a
distorted form.

SELF-CONCEPT

An established self-concept: makes change

difficult but not impossible

THE IDEAL SELF

The other subsystem of self
Ones view of self as one wishes to be
Contains all attributes (usually positive) that
people aspire to posses.

SELF
Self-Concept and Ideal Self Measured by
Q-sort technique
Wide gap between Self-concept and Ideal
self = Incongruence and unhealthy
personality

AWARENESS

AWARENESS
The symbolic representation (not necessarily
in verbal symbols) of some portion of our
experience
The Reason why we have self-concept and
ideal-self
Synonymous with consciousness and
symbolization

AWARENESS

1.
2.
3.

3 levels of Awareness
Ignored or denied
Accurately symbolized
Distorted Form

AWARENESS

Ignored
All

experiences that cannot be processed into

self (example: all what we see in the jeepney
ride to school everyday)

Denied
Feelings

and experiences that never reach

consciousness but colors their behavior

AWARENESS

Subception:
Experiences

inconsistent with the self-concept

that are perceived but not yet accepted into
awareness

AWARENESS

Accurately Symbolized
Experiences

that are non-threatening and

consistent with the existing self-concept
Freely admitted into the self-structure

AWARENESS

Distorted Form
Experiences

that are not consistent with their

view of self are distorted so as to fit into existing
self-concept

DENIAL OF POSITIVE EXPERIENCES

Many people have a difficulty accepting genuine

compliments and positive feedback, even when
deserved
Compliments seldom have positive influence on the
self-concept

Distrust of the giver,

Recipient does feel he/she deserves it

Thus compliments are carried with an implied threat

to self.

NEEDS
Maintenance needs
Enhancement needs
Positive Regard
Positive Self-Regard

MAINTENANCE NEEDS
Basic needs to survive
Need to resist change and maintain the
status quo
Expressed in the need to protect the current
and comfortable self-concept
Change and growth frightening so
distorting the experience can happen

ENHANCEMENT NEEDS
Growth movements towards selfactualization enhancement
Manifested in willingness to learn things that
are not immediately rewarding
Expressed in a variety of ways: Curiosity,
playfulness, self-exploration, maturation, and
friendship

POSITIVE REGARD NEEDS

The need to be loved or accepted by another
person
A persistent motivator throughout life
This is given by a significant other

POSITIVE SELF-REGARD NEEDS

Need for self-regard as the result of their

experiences with the satisfaction or frustration of
their need for positive regard
Dislike of self - Negative self regard
Liking of Self independent of others attitudes
towards him/her Positive self-regard
Includes feelings of self-confidence and self-worth
To love yourself greatest love of all?

POSITIVE SELF-REGARD NEEDS

Development
Starts with perception that someone I
respect and admire (significant other)
prizes, cares, or values me
Need for positive regard is partially satisfied
This leads for a person then starts having
positive self-regard
Once Positive self-regard is established,
then one does not need positive regard
always

POSITIVE SELF-REGARD NEED

Eventually becomes autonomous and selfperpetuating
In other words, after awhile, the need to be
praised by others is no longer that important
because you see yourself as someone who
is positive.

CONDITIONS OF WORTH

CONDITIONS OF WORTH

Positive regard from from a significant other is

conditional
Conditions of worth given only if you meet
peoples expectations and approval
Instead of unconditional positive regard (love)
Conditional love is given
I love you if

you prove your love to me.

in some aspects but not in other aspects or all
aspects.

CONDITIONS OF WORTH

Criterion by which people accept or reject their

experiences
I assimilate the criteria of others on to myself
I believe your appraisal of me and it is consistent
with my negative appraisal of myself.
I ignore my own assessment of myself and become
estranged from my real or organismic self.
External Locus of Control, external locus of worth

CONDITIONS OF WORTH
Acceptance from others So important
If not given, desperately sought
I accept the conditions of worth (values) of
others and make it my own (introjection)
Sometimes this creates a disequilibrium
within myself that I conflict with myself
To be what others want me to be and not
what I need to be for myself

CONDITIONS OF WORTH
Disparity happens
Conflict between my own values (formed by
my organismic experience) and the distorted
values introjected from others results in
inner conflict and incongruence
What others want me to be VS. what I need
to be in order to be whole and happy

CONDITIONS OF WORTH
External evaluations (positive and negative)
prevents my from being completely open to
my own experiences
External Locus of worth

PSYCHOLOGICAL STAGNATION

PSYCHOLOGICAL STAGNATION
Organism and the self are two separate
entities
May or may not be congruent with each other
Organism moves towards fulfillment
Self moves towards self actualization
(fulfillment)

PSYCHOLOGICAL STAGNATION
This creates abnormal development
Incongruence
Vulnerability
Anxiety and Threat

INCONGRUENCE
Beginning of Psychological Disequilibrium
Self-concept and organismic experience
contradict themselves
A person cannot accept experience because
it is inconsistent with the way I think of myself
Results in inconsistent behavior

VULNERABILITY

The greater the incongruence the more vulnerable I

become
Vulnerable when I am unaware of the discrepancy
between organismic self and my significant
experience
Results in behavior that are incomprehensible to
others as well as to self.
I am not aware of the incongruence

ANXIETY AND THREAT

Anxiety and threat happens when I become aware

of the incongruence
Anxiety state of uneasiness or tension whose
cause is unknown
Threat as one gets to be more aware of the
incongruence
Anxiety and Threat steps towards psychological
health even if it is not a pleasurable experience

DEFENSIVENESS
Defensiveness - the protection of the selfconcept against anxiety and threat by the
denial or distortion of experiences
inconsistent with the self-concept
Purpose is to keep organismic experience
consistent with my self-concept if not a
person would experience anxiety or threat.

DEFENSIVENESS

Distortion misinterpretation of an
experience in order to fit into some aspect of
the self-concept
I

perceive what is happening but I fail to

understand its meaning

Denial Refusal to perceive an experience

in awareness or keeping some part of it from
reaching symbolization into the self-concept

DISORGANIZATION
Happens when defensive behavior fails
Incongruence is too obvious or too
sudden to be denied or distorted
behavior becomes disorganized
Disorganization can come suddenly or
gradually
May happen in therapy accurate
interpretation of actions or premature
confrontation of the experience

DISORGANIZATION
Disorganized state sometimes behave
consistently with organismic experience or
with their shattered self-concept
Rogers never used the words neurotic nor
psychotic used disorganized behavior or
defensive behavior

PSYCHOTHERAPY

CONDITIONS
1.

2.

3.

Come into contact with a congruent

therapist (who also possesses empathy and
unconditional positive regard)
Client must perceive these characteristics
in the therapist
Contact must be of some duration.

COUNSELOR CONGRUENCE
Congruence a persons organismic
experience are matched by an awareness of
them and by an ability and willingness to
openly express these feelings
Congruence = to be real or genuine, to be
whole, integrated, or to be what one truly is

CONGRUENCE

In my relationships with persons I have

found that it does not help, in the long run, to
act as though I were something I am not. . . It
does not help to act as though I were
permissive when I am really feeling that I
would like to set limitsIt does not help to
act as though I were acceptant of another
person when underneath that exterior I feel
rejection (Carl Rogers, 1995)

COUNSELOR CONGRUENCE
Not just a friendly person but a true
and authentic person with feelings
When feelings are experienced not
distorted nor denied but flows into
awareness freely
Feelings are not static neither is
organismic experiences but readily
accept this into awareness for
psychological growth

COUNSELOR CONGRUENCE
Does no fake emotions (positive or negative)
wears no mask or facades
Matches feelings with awareness and both
with honest expression

COUNSELOR INCONGRUENCE
Breakdown between feelings and
awareness (not aware that he is angry
but everyone can see it)
Discrepancy between awareness of an
experience and the ability or willingness
to express it to another (I am bored but
dare not say it to the client)
Rogers: better to communicate genuine
feelings even if it is negative or
threatening client will detect a fake

UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD

Unconditional Positive Regard - The need to
be liked, prized, or accepted by another
person without any conditions or
qualifications
A warm, positive, and accepting attitude
towards the client without possessiveness,
without evaluation, and without reservation

UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD

Nonpossessive Warmth to care about
another without smothering or owning that
person
Reputation for being passive or nondirective
(does not direct the client towards a certain
goal) in therapy but a therapist must be
actively involved with the client

UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD

Because I care about you, I can permit you

to be autonomous and independent of my
evaluations and restrictions. You are a
separate person with your own feelings and
opinions regarding what is right or wrong.
The fact that I care for you does not mean
that I must guide you in making choices but
that I can allow you to be yourself and to
decide what is best for you

UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD

External evaluations whether positive or
negative leads to clients defensiveness and
prevents psychological growth
Regard close relationship and sees client
as an important person
Positive direction of the relationship
(warmth and caring)
Unconditional no conditions

EMPHATIC LISTENING
Temporarily living in the others life
moving about in it delicately without
making judgments
Pakikipagpalitang-loob
Seeing things from the clients point of
view
Namaste - "The Light of God in Me
recognizes and honours The Light of
God in You and in that recognition is our
Oneness."

EMPHATIC LISTENING
Checking accuracy of their sensing
You seem to be telling me that you feel
a great deal of resentment towards your
father.
Validated by an exclamation
Yes, that is it exactly! I really do feel
resentful!
Client able to listen to self thus become
own therapist

EMPHATIC LISTENING

When persons are perceptively understood, they

find themselves coming in closer touch with a wider
range of their experience. This gives them an
expanded referent to which they can turn for
guidance in understanding themselves and
directing their behavior. If the empathy has been
accurate and deep, they may also be able to
unblock a flow of experiencing and permit it to run
its uninhibited course.

EMPATHY
Empathy IS NOT sympathy
Empathy feeling with the patient
Sympathy feeling for the patient

External

evaluation feel sorry for the patient

Empathy Experiencing the depth of the

clients while permitting the client to be a
separate person.

EMPATHIC LISTENING

Client says things and feelings that may be

disorganized or an anxiety not knowing
what he is saying.
Therapist feels what the client is feeling, but
also has cognitive reaction to the clients
feelings
Therapist then feedbacks this to the client.
The client gains a better understanding of
what it means to be the client at that
particular moment. Moving towards
congruence.

PROCESS - STAGE 1
Client is unwilling to communicate anything
about self
Normally does not seek help but go to
therapy for some odd reason
Resistant to change and extremely rigid
Does not recognize problem and refusal to
own feelings and emotions.

PROCESS - STAGE 2
Client is less rigid
External events and other people are
discussed
Disown and does not recognize feelings
If they talk about feelings in a cognitive and
objective manner

PROCESS STAGE 3

Client talk more freely about self still as an

external object
Feelings are either in the past or future
avoiding present the present
Refuse to accept emotions and has distance
from the here and now feelings and situation
Vaguely perceive that they have choices and
deny responsibility for most of their decisions

PROCESS - STAGE 4

Talks deeply about feelings but not those that

are presently felt.
Surprised by the expression of present
feelings
Denial and distortion of experience but with
some cognition
Questions values they introjected and see
incongruence of self and self-concept
Start to accept responsibility and tentatively
becomes involved in a relationship with
therapist

PROCESS STAGE 5
Express present feelings however not
yet symbolized the feelings (made it
part of their self-concept)
Rely on internal locus of evaluation of
their feelings (Judging my feelings from
my own self-concept/ perspective and
not others)
Able to make new discoveries about self
Able to distinguish feelings and
appreciate the nuances of feelings

PROCESS STAGE 5

Make their own decisions and accept

responsibility for their choices

PROCESS STAGE 6

Dramatic growth and irreversible movement

towards becoming fully functioning or self
actualizing
Face present experiences with awareness
and open expression
No longer evaluate behavior from an external
viewpoint but rely on organismic self
Begins to develop unconditional positive self
regard

PROCESS STAGE 6
Experience physiological loosening
muscles are relaxed, tears flow, circulation
improves, and physical symptoms of tension
disappears
Signal to the end of therapy
Growth in this stage is irreversible

PROCESS STAGE 7
Person of tomorrow
Able to generalize their in-therapy
experiences to their world beyond therapy
Confident of self, own and feel their
experiences, live experiences in the present
Congruence between organismic self and
self-concept used for evaluation of
experiences

PROCESS STAGE 7

Pleasure in knowing that these evaluations

are fluid
Pleasure in knowing change and growth will
continue
Possess unconditional positive self-regard
Able to be loving and empathic towards
others
I am loving and capable of love, I prize myself
and accept myself as who I am and not just
how others want me to be

OUTCOMES

Before
Vulnerable or
anxious
Contacts a
counselor

Congruent
UPR for Client
Empathic
Understanding

Client percieves all

these in therapist

After
More congruent
Less defensive
More open to
experiences
Realistic view of
world
Positive self-regard
Owns experiences

OUTCOMES
After
More accepting of others
More congruent in their relationships with
others

PERSON OF TOMORROW

MORE ADAPTABLE
Able to adapt to different situations and yet
keep organismic self and self-concept
congruent
More likely to survive
conformity and adjustment to a fixed
condition have little long-term survival value

OPEN TO EXPERIENCES
Accurately symbolize experiences into
awareness rather than distort or deny these
experiences
Pregnant with meaning
Listen to self and hear their joy, anger,
discouragement, fear, tenderness, etc.

OPEN TO EXPERIENCES

Trust in their organismic self

Not

dependent on others for guidance

Own experience is best for making choices
Do what feels right because they would trust
their inner feelings
Perceives clearly the rights and feelings of
others in their decision making

LIVE THE MOMENT FULLY

Live in a state of fluidity and change
Experience of each moment as new and
unique ability to appreciate fully the present
moment
Existential Living
No perception of how the world should be
Living the experience with no prejudice of
prior expectations

HARMONIOUS RELATIONS
No need to be liked or loved by everyone
Know that I m unconditionally prized and
accepted by someone
Seek relationships with others who are
healthy and contribute to growth in each
person
Care about others in a non-judgmental way
Seek meaning, spiritual and inner peace

MORE INTEGRATED
More whole with no artificial boundary
(wholly me or Holy Me)
See clearly the difference between the
real me and the ideal and are able to
make the two one
No facades, because of the confidence
in who I am
Openly express whatever feelings they
are experiencing

TRUST IN HUMAN NATURE

Will not harm others for personal gain
Cares about others and ready to help when
needed
Experiences anger but can be trusted not to
strike out unreasonably against others
Would be able to channel negative feelings
to appropriate direction

RICHNESS IN LIFE
Open to all experiences richer in in life
Not distorting internal stimuli nor buffer their
emotions
Would feel more deeply than others
Live in the present and participate more
richly in the ongoing moment