Rogerian Therapy: A Person-Centered Therapy To Improve Relationships

Medically reviewed by April Justice, LICSW
Updated October 30, 2024by Regain Editorial Team

Psychotherapy often focuses on a person's problems and addresses the issues they wish to overcome. There are, however, some different approaches to helping a person improve certain aspects of their lives within a therapeutic setting. Rogerian therapy focuses on the person and their capacity to improve and conquer their obstacles by emphasizing positive traits and abilities. This is also known as client-centered therapy or person-centered therapy.

What is Rogerian therapy or person-centered therapy?

Could a person-centered therapy approach be right for you?

The American Psychological Association defines Rogerian therapy, straightforwardly, as therapy that focuses primarily on the client.

While traditional therapy methods view the therapeutic process as a way of improving, modifying, preventing, or fully abolishing certain thoughts and behaviors as a way of treating a person's mental health concerns or problems in their lives, Rogerian therapy (or person-centered therapy) emphasizes a person's potential as an individual. It focuses on encouraging personal growth with the goals of self-realization and healing without interference by the mental health professional. 

Rather than the therapist or counselor guiding the patient's session, they allow the individual to direct the flow of conversation and support them as they come to conclusions without intervening or interfering in their line of thought. 

The origins of Rogerian therapy by Carl Rogers

The American psychologist Carl Rogers, creator of Rogerian therapy, believed a "one size fits all" approach to therapy would not fit all individuals seeking out the help of mental health professionals. He believed that a person's troubles stemmed mainly from their perception of events. Therefore, encouraging the individuals themselves was the best method of making psychological improvements and progress, rather than relying on the more typical views of therapy revolving around the concepts of behaviorism and psychoanalysis. Roger’s person-centered approach differed from the diagnosis-centered approach common at the time.

Rogers placed a lot of emphasis on a person's capacity to self-heal and strive for personal growth. He claimed that the best expert for anyone seeking psychological help was the individual themselves.

The theory of Carl Rogers

One of the most important aspects of Rogers' theory in regards to a person being the best suited to "fix" themselves was the idea of their self-concept. This states that we all have certain perceptions about ourselves, and these self-views impact how we interact with the world and handle things. For example, someone who views themselves as weak or a result of their circumstances may be more likely to be affected negatively and not fight back against something unpleasant than them. Alternatively, a person who views themselves as strong and independent is likely to go through their life events with more confidence and feel like they could tackle the world.

The goal of Rogerian therapy or person-centered therapy

Rogerian therapy has the goal of helping clients achieve personal growth and fulfill their potential as individuals. This is why the term "client" is used instead of "patient" during person-centered therapy sessions; it emphasizes the individual and their potential for growth instead of implying they are passively in treatment for a particular psychological illness.

What techniques are involved in person-centered therapy?

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The techniques involved in Rogerian therapy allow the patient to direct their session in several ways.

Therapists performing a client-directed session

Most therapy that uses a client-centered approach consists of the mental health professional asking questions or helping to guide the client in the right direction throughout their sessions together. With person-centered therapy, though, the client themselves chooses what to discuss and at what pace they would like to address their issues. 

The therapist acts as a sounding board for ideas and supports the individual as they discuss their issues and come to conclusions and possible solutions independently.

Focusing on the client as a person rather than their problems 

In most therapy, the healing process is often approached with a specific focus on one or more particular issues with the belief that the client's behaviors or thought patterns need modification to help alleviate some of their problems or the perspective of such. 

Rogerian therapy takes a very different approach. Instead of being so focused on the problems or having a flawed mindset, Rogerian therapy emphasizes the positive traits within the client and encourages them as a means of overcoming difficulties they may be having. Rogers considered “unconditional positive regard” to be necessary for a productive therapist-client relationship. Positive regard means to approach the client in an empathetic, non-judgmental way. Today, unconditional positive regard is considered essential for developing a therapeutic relationship in most forms of psychotherapy.

This focus on the client can help them find the solutions to problems that work best for them, and can further boost self-confidence and self-esteem as they're provided the support to realize what they're capable of.

Focusing on identifying and working toward goals 

One of the first tasks at hand in client-centered therapy is identifying the client's goals and how they might achieve those aspirations. Rogerian therapy redirects focus away from negative perspectives to help clients focus on the positive. 

As with every other aspect of this type of therapy, clients are encouraged to narrow down what they want out of both the therapy sessions and their lives in general and discover the changes they need to be making to help lead them closer to reaching those goals.

Acknowledging the client as the expert on themselves

Mental health professionals are often considered the experts on getting help, but Rogerian therapy insists that the client is the expert on themselves rather than the therapist. The idea is that, no matter how much you speak to your mental health professional, they can’t know every detail of your mind or how it functions. For example, there may be some details you leave out in sessions that you wouldn't initially find important but may realize on your own later on; your therapist would never know to apply these withheld thoughts in helping you with your problems. 

Rogerian therapy focuses on you as the expert about yourself. It considers you the most effective person to properly analyze yourself, your mind, and your concerns to find the most appropriate coping mechanisms and solutions. Your therapist is there to lend guidance and advice in helping you to continue to figure things out yourself.

Rogerian therapy, or person-centered therapy, for couples

Getty/Vadym Pastukh
Could a person-centered therapy approach be right for you?

The majority of couple's counseling sessions follow the beliefs and patterns of standard psychoanalysis: speaking to each partner, identifying their problems and concerns, figuring out the underlying wants and needs, and working towards conflict resolution in several areas.

When couples seek out person-centered therapy, the flow is far more like an individual session with a Rogerian therapist. Instead of pinpointing problems and making plans for resolving them, client-centered therapy for couples focuses primarily upon open and honest discussion. The sessions emphasize improving communication between the two partners. 

As with individual sessions, the therapist will not dictate what each partner should be doing differently and heavily involve themselves in the sessions, but provide support for the two to focus on communicating with each other and openly expressing themselves. By doing this, the two clients can improve their ability to express their wants, needs, and feelings with their partner with a safe mediator present.

The idea of self-concept also plays a role in couple's therapy by allowing partners to recognize how they view themselves and each other. Conflicts based on insecurity, unhealthy self-image, or low self-esteem that create concerns within the relationship can be brought to light and addressed more directly this way.

Can online therapy help couples improve their relationships?

Rogerian therapy places the power to heal from mental health concerns in the hands of the client, giving them more agency over their opinions of themselves and their relationships with others. In couples therapy, this method can encourage strong communication and collaboration, which can help to strengthen relationships. 

A therapist from Regain can help you improve your relationship

If you're interested in learning more about Rogerian (or client-centered) therapy or feel like couples counseling could help improve your relationship with a loved one, Regain is available remotely and for your convenience, regardless of your location and schedule. 

Online therapy has been shown to be just as effective as in-person therapy. In recent research, it’s been suggested that this cost-saving method can help couples strengthen their relationships and establish healthy habits that benefit both partners. 

Takeaway

There are many reasons why couples might want to seek client-centered therapy. Maybe there are too many times when partners are miscommunicating with one another. In another instance, the pair could be struggling to overcome a trauma, such as the loss of a pregnancy. Other scenarios -- like changing residences, switching careers, or becoming parents -- can all potentially set off stress reactions. Know that an online couples counselor will work nonjudgmentally with both partners to help them become the captains of their relationship. You can reach out for professional online support from a licensed Regain counselor."

If you are experiencing trauma, support is available. Please see our Get Help Now page for more resources.

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