Person-Centred / Humanistic Psychotherapy

Carl Rogers was one of the key figures in the humanistic movement and a father of person-centred approach to psychotherapy. He believed that human beings are intrinsically good and, given the right conditions, they had the capacity to move towards a position of health and growth and achieve their full potential.

This approach does not rely on intellectual knowledge, sophisticated techniques or clever interventions. Rather, the change is believed to occur through the experience of a relationship between the therapist and the client. The therapist strives to embody such qualities as unconditional positive regard and empathy towards the client and stay as transparent as possible in the therapeutic relationship.

The person-centred approach acknowledges the fact that one’s sense of worth is conditional on approval by important people in one’s life. In order to fit in and be acceptable, an individual needs to restrict their range of emotional responses, thoughts and behaviours. As a consequence, they stay imprisoned in the persona that they feel is the most acceptable to others (repress anger, numb pain). Humanistic psychotherapy focuses on exploring these conditions of worth and aims at facilitating the client to find their true self. With the emergence of the authentic self, a person’s creativity and freedom is awakened.