Person Centered Therapy

Also known as person centred or client-centred therapy, is a humanistic approach that deals with the ways in which individuals perceive themselves consciously, rather than how a counsellor can interpret their unconscious thoughts or ideas.

The therapist in this approach works to understand an individual’s experience from their perspective. The therapist must positively value the client as a person in all aspects of their humanity, while aiming to be open and genuine. This is vital in helping the client feel accepted, and better able to understand their own feelings. The approach can help the client to reconnect with their inner values and sense of self-worth, thus enabling them to find their own way to move forward and progress.

What is person centred counselling?

The core purpose of person-centred therapy is to facilitate our ability to self-actualise – the belief that all of us will grow and fulfil our potential. This approach facilitates the personal growth and relationships of a client by allowing them to explore and utilise their own strengths and personal identity. The counsellor aids this process, providing vital support to the client and they make their way through this journey.

An important part of the self-actualising theory is that in a particular psychological environment, the fulfilment of personal potentials include; sociability (the need to be with other people, and a desire to know and be known by others); being open to experience; being trusting and trustworthy; and being curious, creative and compassionate.

This psychological environment is one where a person feels both physically and emotionally free from threat. There are three conditions believed to help achieve this environment, particularly in the therapy room.

Congruence – the counsellor must be completely genuine.
Empathy – the counsellor must strive to understand the client’s experience.
Unconditional positive regard – the counsellor must be non-judgemental and valuing.

A number of factors can affect a person’s ability to flourish, including low self-esteem, a lack of self-reliance and very little openness to new experiences. The person-centred approach recognises that a person’s social environment and personal relationships can greatly impact these, so therapy is offered in a neutral and comfortable setting, where a client can feel at ease, authentic and open to learning about themselves.

By offering a safe, comforting environment, the client is able to understand the past experiences that have impacted the way they feel about themselves or their abilities, and take the steps to positive change. The person-centred approach can also help the client to:

find closer agreement between an idealised self and actual self
achieve better self-understanding and awareness
release feelings of defensiveness, insecurity and guilt
have greater ability to trust oneself
develop healthier relationships
see improvement in self-expression
achieve a healthy sense of change overall

The benefits of person-centred therapy

Generally, person-centred counselling can help individuals of all ages, with a range of personal issues. Many people find it an appealing type of therapy because it allows them to keep control over the content and pace of sessions, and there is no worry that they are being evaluated or assessed in any way.

The non-direct style of person-centred counselling is thought to be more beneficial to those who have a strong urge to explore themselves and their feelings, and for those who want to address specific psychological habits or patterns of thinking.

The approach is said to be particularly effective in helping individuals to overcome specific problems such as depression, anxiety, stress and grief, or other mental health concerns. These issues can have significant impact on self-esteem, self-reliance and self-awareness, and person-centred therapy can help people to reconnect with their inner self in order to transcend any limitations.