Philosphy_of_Person_Centred_Counselling

Assessment Criteria 1.1 – Analyse the philosophy of one major therapeutic model In relation to: -It’s Origins – Historical Development to present day and the people influential in its development. The therapeutic model I will look at in Person-Centred Therapy, this was developed by an American Psychologist, Carl Rogers in the 1940’s who was one of the founder of humanistic psychology and at that time there were only two ways of getting help, from either the Behaviourists or the Psychoanalyst approaches. Rogers decided he wanted a more faciltive approach than these, he saw the difficulties arrising from specific problems, and they tended to treat the parts of a person instead of the whole of the person. Behaviourists take the reductionist approach when looking at what parts of a person they can ‘fix ‘ and the psychoanalysts believed that the key to fixing the client were to look at what their childhood was like because they believed that all problems could be fixed. Rogers was born in 1902 in Oak Park, Chicargo, he started working as a psychologist in New York at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, after a while he decided it wasnt right for him he particularly disliked the fact that all they seemed to emphasise was on testing and treatment. He began to develope his own theories and different ways of working with clients. Psychology at that time consisted of treating people as objects to be mended rather than as individual’s deseving of understanding and respect. Rogers revolutionisned the study of counselling in the 1940’s & 1950’s was the first person in histroy to record and publish complete cases of psychotherapy.He developed a theory of counselling and personal change that could be tested through further research and clinical experience. Rogers approach was influenced by the theory and techniques of Otto Rank who saw people as being caught in a conflict of ‘will to health’ against ‘will to illness’ The aim of his therapy was to help people to accecpt themselves and free their ‘will to health’. He was also influenced by concepts of Alfred Adler who origionally was a good friend of Freud for about 10 years until he resigned his presidency of the Vieanese Psychoanalyctic Society. Alder came to view Freud as inflexible in his views, a power tripper and obsessed with sex and death. Other people who influenced Rogers were, Rollo May, Albert Ellis and Abraham Maslow. Evaluate the key concepts and principles using relevent examples to indicate their importance in counselling practise. Person-centred therapists belive that clients are capeable and trustworthy and they focus on the clients ability to make changes for themselves. The Key concepts are; Actualisation- Rogers believed that we all have a tendancy to work towards self actualisation. Self-Actualisation is regarded as the sole motivator for human behaviour, change and development, Self Actualising Tendancy is always present it is what drives us to be the best we can be and to fulfil our potential. As in Maslows’ Heirachy of Need and Self Actualising Tendencyhers Organismic Self – Is with us from birth, all newborns have an innate knowledge of what they need to promote good health and has the drive to make the best it can with the resources available to maximise its potential. The organismic self never changes based on that we are at one with ourselves and our feelings. Conditions of Worth- As infants we begin to aquire conditions of worth. We learn from experience that we are only acceptable as long as we think, feel and behave in ways that are positivley valued by others. As a result we tend to seek out certain kinds of experiences and avoid others. Feelings and experiences that match these conditions of worth are perceived accurately and are accepted, but those that are contary to them are distorted or denied completely. By behaving this way it could be the beginning of psychological maladjustment, when the state of incongruence exists between the ‘self’ and experience. An example of this.