How Person-Centered Therapy Can Benefit You
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There are many forms of therapy for a person can pursue to grow as a person or find relief from a mental health concern. Today, we will be looking at Person-Centered Therapy (PCT). PCT is sometimes referred to as Rogerian therapy, named after its founder, the psychologist Carl Rogers.
What is PCT?
As you may have inferred, PCT is a form of client centered therapy. This lets the client draw their conclusions and find their answers to their problems. The therapist listens to what the client says, acknowledging them, and not changing the subject or being judgmental towards the client. The purpose of the therapist in PCT is generally to create a welcoming, open environment in which the client can express themselves freely.
Who can benefit from PCT?
Person-Centered Therapy techniques can benefit quite a few people, many of whom don’t need to have a mental disorder to reap the benefits. Some people it can benefit include:
People with low self-confidence
In this world, confidence is key. Being confident can land you the relationship of your dreams, get you that promotion you always wanted and makes you feel good, too. The problem is that some people don’t have enough confidence. Maybe they’re not happy with their appearance or certain quirks they have, or maybe they are working to overcome obstacles such as rejection or childhood trauma. No matter the cause, PCT offers a viable way to explore factors that underlie low confidence and begin working toward a more robust self-image.
People searching for identity
We always strive for an identity, which makes us feel like we belong to this world. Some people don’t have a strong identity. Maybe they feel like they’d be too much of the same or want a different identity than their peers. No matter what the case may be, PCT can help people find identity by offering them a safe space to explore their wants, needs, and innermost traits.
Self-efficacy
This goes hand-in-hand with self-confidence. Usually, those who aren’t confident do not trust their own abilities, but even generally confident people might doubt themselves in specific circumstances. PCT can help align confidence with a mindset that promotes resilience and allows for the chance of failure.
Social skill development
For people who can’t keep friendships, relationships, or family, PCT may help you understand why. Is it the people you go after? Is it yourself? Is it a little of both? That will depend on the situation, but you can learn how to build a relationship by sitting down and figuring it out in a non-judgmental and encouraging setting.
Grief
You’ve lost a loved one, and it’s natural for you to feel heartbroken by the event, and it takes a while to heal. While most grief begins to resolve within a year of a tragic loss, some grief can persist for longer. When grief is getting in the way of living a normal life, PCT may offer a solution to help process difficult feelings of loss. You’ll be able to find a solution that may not heal you entirely but let you move on with your life.
Depression and anxiety
Depression and anxiety are complicated conditions that require numerous forms of therapy, and PCT is one route that might be viable. PCT often helps people find ways to cope whenever an episode of depression or anxiety happens, or they might learn skills to avoid them altogether. PCT may be combined with other therapies, like cognitive-behavioral therapy or acceptance and commitment therapy to treat complicated cases of depression or anxiety.
Stress
Stress is a natural response to tough events in your life, and while some stress can be a powerful motivator, too much stress can significantly reduce your well-being. This, in turn, makes you more stressed, sometimes creating a vicious cycle. PCT can help you find ways to reduce your stress by letting you discuss your stressors and how you manage them in a safe, productive setting.
Family troubles
With PCT, a therapist can work with an individual, but they can also work with a group. Families facing challenges like troubling child behavior, substance use, or problems with relationship dynamics may benefit from PCT, especially if it is combined with evidence-based forms of family therapy.
A typical PCT session.
Sometimes, you need someone who will listen to you. Someone who won’t judge you harshly, and yet someone who won’t ignore you. You want someone who will absorb your words and observe, giving you an opportunity to express yourself as you see fit. In PCT, this is the role of the therapist.
The client is the main speaker at a PCT session. They’ll tell the therapist how they feel, and the therapist may try to ask what the client means by those words. The therapist typically encourages the client to speak their truth and engage honestly in the therapy process. By facilitating a non-judgmental atmosphere, the therapist increases the likelihood that the client will be able to express themselves freely.
The therapist will likely not suggest solutions or offer their opinion. Rather, they act as a guide and facilitator for the client, allowing the client to explore potential solutions and get their feelings “out in the open” for further discussion.
History and principles
Carol Rogers, a psychologist, realized that everyone has a unique path to navigate in the world. The person should be trusted to make decisions about their own life and to move proactively towards a better state than they are currently in.
Rogers had good faith in believing that people could solve their problems on their own and change themselves. That was the main principle in PCT. There are certainly people who will struggle more to find themselves than others, and it will depend on the individual, but for the most part, people can find their solutions when they’re talking to someone who will be there to listen.
The principles of PCT also include:
Empathy
Being empathetic is one of the main attractions of PCT. This involves the therapists listening to their clients and accepting their feelings for what they are. They can put themselves in the clients’ shoes, even if they may not agree with their mindset.
No authority
Some people see therapists as authority figures. PCT aims for the therapist to be humble and be an ordinary person to talk to. By not acting like someone superior to you, this makes the clients more comfortable to talk, and they’ll talk to the therapist like they would to a friend.
Positivity
No matter what, the therapist will not judge what the client says and instead give the client some courage to make decisions on their own, rather than tell them that their opinions are wrong. Rogers referred to this principle as “unconditional positive regard,” and considered it an essential part of PCT.
Effectiveness
PCT is a highly effective form of therapy, but it requires a lot of client participation. Clients who aren’t social, have difficulty speaking, or don’t have the motivation to apply the solutions to their lives may not find much help in PCT. You don’t need to be charismatic for PCT to work, but you need to have some motivation to express your emotions. Once you talk about yourself, however, you may find that the words tumble out.
You also want to find a good, highly rated therapist too. Therapists who are not empathetic and will constantly insert their opinion while you’re trying to talk are not good at PCT. Therapists who specialize in directive therapies may not be the best choice. It is often wise to inquire about a therapist’s preferred approach before or during your first session.
Seek help!
PCT may not be for everyone, but it can be a highly effective way to find your solutions and apply them to your lives. It benefits you by teaching you how to benefit yourself. Sometimes, all it takes is one person listening for you to do enough soul searching to find what you want in your life.
If you’re interested in PCT, talk to a counselor today. You can find one who is ready to listen, and once you start talking, you’ll soon start changing. You might also consider obtaining PCT through online therapy. Online therapy is increasingly popular, and many people prefer flexibility in scheduling and choice of therapist. In addition, online therapy may be significantly cheaper than in-person options. Although therapy is delivered remotely, evidence suggests that online therapy is just as effective as its in-person alternative.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main goal of person-centered therapy?
Person-centered therapy, also known as client-centered therapy, has some very specific goals. A general answer would be:
- It is aimed at enabling clients to discover and harness their potential for continuous personal growth and development. It also intends to help clients manage and eventually overcome emotions that cause them distress and discomfort. This will increase the client's competence, confidence, and ability to manage their behavioral and emotional responses.
To be more specific, there are four main goals that person-centered therapy aims to achieve. These are:
- Increasing the client’s openness to experience
- Helping them learn to trust themselves
- Helping clients develop accurate self-evaluation skills
- Fostering their will to grow
What are person-centered therapy techniques?
Person-centered therapy is a client-centered therapy that involves the intentional use of specific techniques to achieve its objectives. It is rooted in Rogerian therapy. These techniques help individuals discover their power and realize that though the therapist controls the session's flow, the client is the one in control, the one doing all the work.
This helps guide the clients in the direction of self-actualization. Using these techniques, a client-centered therapist will create an environment where the client can discover their competence.
The techniques used in person-centered therapy include:
- Non-directive approach:
Person-centered therapy, unlike other types of Rogerian therapy, lets the client take charge of the session. The idea behind this is that the client is the only one who knows the details of their own lives; they are, in a sense, the masters of their own lives; in line with the principles of Rogerian therapy, the therapist functions as a collaborator rather than the master of the session. This helps the client realize their potential to become a fully-functional individual, with the strength to overcome daunting obstacles. This is reflected in all forms of Rogerian therapy.
- Positive regard:
Person-centered therapy is pointless if the therapist doesn’t hold the client in positive regard. Clients can easily pick up on how their therapist views them. It isn’t uncommon for clients to view themselves through the perspective of their therapist. If their therapist doesn’t hold them in positive regard, it will be difficult for the client to view themselves positively. By expressing confidence in the client, the therapist allows the client to express confidence in themselves. This is at the core of the person-centered approach.
- Congruence:
Congruence is a necessary part of the person-centered approach. It aims to help the client fully flesh out their ideal self, and at the same, it helps them understand and accept their present self. By differentiating these two versions of themselves, the ideal and the real, they can create a balance that psychologists refer to as congruence. By shifting from incongruence to congruence, the client can establish the conditions for success and aim more clearly at their ideal self. The result of this is self-actualization. This is the aim of Rogerian therapy.
- Empathy:
Empathy helps the therapist and client refrain from judgement. This is important because therapists must be genuine in their interaction with the client. Since this is a person-centered therapy type, the therapist must help the client feel empathy for themselves; this will be hard if the therapist doesn’t first show empathy. If the therapist is judgmental, both the therapist and client will be unable to flesh out the client's true personality, and congruence will be unachievable. Without empathy, the treatment cannot truly be client-centered.
What are the main principles of the person-centered approach?
Rogerian therapy is known for its optimistic perspective. This is noticeable when studying the principles of the person-centered approach. The four main principles that guide person-centered approach are:
- Self-actualization
- Unconditional positive regard
- Congruence
- Empathy
Self actualization: this is perhaps the most important principle of person-centered therapy. The whole point of person-centered therapy is establishing the client as an authority over their own life by realizing their competence. This is why the client must control their growth and take full credit for their eventual success.
If the client feels like they would be powerless without their therapist, it can lead to a dangerous dependence while leaving the client defenseless and incompetent. This defeats the purpose since Rogerian therapy aims at creating independent individuals. For person-centered therapy to be truly successful, the client must feel confident in their ability to overcome the emotional hurdles of their condition. This is why self-actualization is necessary. It is important to find a therapist who will foster self-actualization.
Unconditional positive regard: This is necessary for a person-centered approach. Unconditional positive regard is the therapist’s way of communicating their confidence in the client. It is common for clients to lack confidence in their self-worth and abilities. By expressing positive regard in every situation, the therapist helps build the client's confidence, paving the way for self-actualization. This is an important factor to consider when you want to find a therapist.
Congruence: Congruence involves creating a balance between the client’s ideal self and their real self. Everyone has an ideal self they would like to become, and people judge themselves by the difference between their present self and ideal self. By helping the client realize the difference between the two, the client becomes empowered by this knowledge. This is why positive regard is so important in Rogerian therapy. A person-centered approach is impossible without congruence.
There are two ways people can react to the gap between their present and ideal. The first and most common is discouragement. Discouragement occurs because the person is daunted by the gap and lacks confidence in bridging the said gap.
If positive regard is a consistent factor in person-centered therapy, the second reaction will occur, and that is encouragement. Confidence backed with knowledge is the element needed to make progress. An encouraged client will be enthusiastic about the new journey they have to embark on. Congruence is an important factor to consider when you want to find a therapist.
Empathy: Empathy is necessary for successful client-centered therapy. The therapist has to feel empathy for the client so that the client can feel empathy for themselves. It is often the case that people healing from a condition will judge themselves harshly, more harshly than they’d judge another person. By using a person-centered approach to establish empathy, the client can hold themselves in more positive regard. In short, a client-centered therapist must express confidence in the client’s abilities.
What is person-centered therapy used to treat?
Person-centered therapy, also known as client-centered therapy, is commonly used to treat individuals with:
- Phobias
- Phobias
- Panic disorders
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Personality disorders
- Mood disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Substance abuse
- Low self-esteem etc.
Because of the nature of person-centered therapy, it can be used to treat a wide range of disorders. Most disorders are manageable, but it is very difficult for them to be managed without help due to mental disorders' emotional nature. Through person-centered therapy, the client can achieve self-actualization and become more competent at managing their emotional and behavioral patterns. It is important to find a therapist who can apply this approach effectively.
How long is the person-centered approach?
A person-centered approach is often used for short-term treatment. The goal is to help the client get on their feet as quickly and effectively as possible. Though it can be used as a long-term treatment, this is not encouraged because it can cause the client to become dependent on their therapeutic relationship with the therapist. That would defeat the point of person-centered therapy. Be sure to find a therapist who uses a short-term approach.
What are the weaknesses of person-centered therapy?
Client-centered therapy, though seemingly perfect, has some disadvantages. They include:
- The success of it depends wholly on the therapist obeying the principles and applying the techniques. If the therapist is not dedicated to their job, the treatment might have the opposite effect.
- Person-centered therapy is too optimistic and simple
- It might not be ideal for a client who is in a crisis
- The client needs to be introspective and willing to do some internal sorting
- The techniques are vague and might be applied wrongly
- Rather than self-confidence, it might breed arrogance in the client, if applied wrongly
Who benefits from person-centered therapy?
Person-centered therapy is beneficial for individuals who are experiencing the following conditions:
- Mood disorders
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Eating disorders
- Substance abuse and addiction
- Schizophrenia
- Phobias
- Panic disorders etc.
Person-centered therapy helps clients to:
- Trust themselves more
- Strive towards competence and self-fulfillment
- Discover meaning and purpose
- Increase their self-esteem
- Manage their emotions effectively
- Become optimistic about the future
- Develop a therapeutic relationship with their self and environment
These benefits can only be gotten if you find a competent therapist.
What are the two basic assumptions of person-centered therapy?
Person-centered therapy has two main assumptions upon which the techniques are based. The first is that the person receiving therapy is an expert regarding themselves, their circumstances, and the best course of action to resolve their problems or enable personal growth. Following this principle, the therapist takes a non-directive role, opting instead to facilitate communication and self-exploration within their client. The second assumption is that every person feels an innate drive towards self-betterment. Termed self-actualization, person-centered techniques rely on this drive to propel an individual forward through therapy.
Is person-centered therapy good for depression?
Person-centered therapy is considered an effective treatment for depression. It is one of many evidence-based options that have been demonstrated to improve life satisfaction and reduce the severity of depression symptoms. However, because many approaches to treating depression are available, it is typically advisable to work alongside your mental health professional when choosing a treatment that works best for you.
Why is it called person-centered therapy?
When Carl Rogers developed his person-centered techniques, it was common for therapists to use directive styles of therapy. Directive therapy involves giving direct guidance and instruction to the client rather than letting the client guide the therapy process. In this model, one could refer to the therapy process as “therapist-centered.” In contrast, person-centered therapy places the focus on the client, which is why it is sometimes called client-centered therapy.
Why are person-centered approaches important?
Early therapeutic techniques tended to be directive, meaning the therapist was generally in charge of the direction of the therapy session. This can sometimes work well, and many evidence-based therapies still use directive methods, at least in part. However, directive approaches don’t work for every person or problem. Taking a person-centered approach gives control to the client, letting them guide their therapy journey while the therapist acts as a facilitator. The self-guided approach allows the client to express self-actualization, which may be more effective than directive approaches in many instances.
How is person-centered therapy applied?
Person-centered therapy is applied like most other forms of therapy. Sessions typically take place in an office or remotely, usually between the client and therapist alone. Over the course of several sessions, the therapist guides the client toward solutions and relief, giving them the opportunity to explore their strengths, needs, and opportunities for change.
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