Carl Rogers developed client-centered therapy in the 1940s as an alternative to traditional psychoanalytic approaches. In client-centered therapy, the therapist takes a non-directive approach, actively listening without judgment to help clients gain self-understanding and acceptance. The therapist provides empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard to create an environment where clients can explore their feelings and find their own answers. Research shows client-centered therapy can be as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy and has influenced other approaches like motivational interviewing. While criticism includes the lack of diagnoses, some find it less effective for certain disorders, client-centered therapy changed psychotherapy by making it more client-focused and flexible.

1. Client-centered therapy
Dariya Karelina
CUNY School of Professional Studies

2. Alternative
psychotherapy
Traditional psychotherapy (behavioral
and psychoanalytic theories) was
dominated on the field of mental health
treatment for many years. But in the
early 1940s some serious alternative
movements began to appear. One of
the leaders was Carl Rogers who as a
contrast to the traditional approaches
designed nondirective counseling,
which later later became client-
centered therapy (CCT).
Carl Rogers
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3. Overview
The client-centered therapy
“attempts to understand the
client’s internal frame of
reference as the client reveals
it” (McLean and al, 2015).
People, who are seeking help,
have a natural tendency toward
growth, healing, and self-
actualization.

4. Regrading to Rogers, people
act self-destructively or feel
bad about themselves
because of influence of an
environment that contort this
tendency. But they able to find
their own answers to problems
if the appropriate therapeutic
environment is present.
Overview
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5. Therapeutic approachRegarding to Harvard mental health letter (2006) “the Rogers approach
does not emphasize action over feeling and thinking, and unlike
psychoanalysis, it is not concerned with unconscious wishes and
drives”.
During a session a therapist is actively listening and reflecting to client’s
revealing without judgments, advices, guidance.
In CCT a therapist is not authority. The goal is to understand how client
see the world from own perspective, because people are looking to be
understood, accepted and not judged.
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6. “According to Rogers, the
therapist should provide what he
calls facilitating conditions:
accurate empathy, congruence or
transparency, and unconditional
positive regard”.
(Harvard mental health letter,
2006)
It will help clients find the
answers, discover and accept
themselves, feel relief and cure
own mind.
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Therapeutic approach

7. Therapeutic approach
CCT
Retrieved from
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8. Client-centered therapy
DO NOTask questions
make diagnoses
conduct psychological tests
provide interpretations, evaluations, and advice
use reassurance, persuasion, praise, blame
agree or disagree with clients or express opinions of their own
point out contradictions
uncover unconscious wishes
offering interpretations
making criticism
explore the client’s feelings about the therapist

9. Rogers was adherent of traditional
psychotherapy which was sometimes
too narrow and strict, and didn’t fit to
an every case. He was struggling with
the clinical problems of children, and
because he had an open mind, Rogers
began explore new possibilities,
including ideas of Otto Rank and
Jessie Taft.
“Rank believed that patients should
be allowed free opportunity to exert
their wills and to dominate the
therapist” (Trull, T. J., Prinstein, M.
Clinical Psychology, 2012)
Addressed problems
Retrieved from
https://psychlopedia.wikispaces.com/client-centered+therapy

10. Addressed problems
Rogers offered something absolutely new what has changed
modern psychotherapy. Instead of focusing just on biological roots
of behavior and instincts from the Freudian view, he proposed to
look at person’s self-determination and inner world, sources. The
new, transformed, grown person basically replace the victim of
personal history.
Psychotherapy is art. It needs some variety of methods and views,
including focus on persons inner world and ability to explore and
heal themselves. Client-centered therapy place client in the center
therapy and create environment for self-awareness, acceptance
and cure.

11. Types of treatments
Psychotherapy session based on
the next rules:
active listening with
summarizing and reaffirmation
what client says
attentive tracking the moment-
to-moment feelings and
thoughts of the client
Rodger even matched tone of
voice of his clients
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12. Stages of work
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13. Weaknesses
The practice can be complicated. A
session and rapport can be interrupted
by using the wrong words, facial
expressions, body movements, pauses,
and other details.
It may be difficult to know how to
respond when a client ask about advices
and need more direction.
Sometimes empathy might be not
appropriate. A therapist should learn
what is appropriate and when to different
individuals.
Therapist should master art of self-
disclosure but at the same time do not
bring own examples or feelings.
Retrieved from
https://psychlopedia.wikispaces.com/client-centered+therapy

14. Client-centered therapy do not care about diagnosis
which made it actively criticized.
Client-centered therapy can also work less well with
people who find it difficult to talk about themselves or
have a mental issued which influence their perceptions of
reality.
The process of change in client-centered therapy is
predictable only in very general terms, because it based
on individuality of every client (McLean and al, 2015)
Weaknesses

15. Strength
Despite the fact that
client-centered therapy
do not care about
diagnosis, “Rogers
admitted that his ideas
left a great deal of room
for interpretation”
(Harvard mental health
letter, 2006)
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16. Strength
Stimulation of client to be more open, self-aware and
pro-active
Reduce client’s dependance from a therapist
Self-disclosure has become more acceptable in
psychotherapy among therapists

17. Literature presentation
Rogers made a huge impact on modern psychology. Despite the fact
that not many therapists call themselves client-centered, his ideas
about personality we can find in textbooks, articles. Huge variety
researches, scientific works etc was created based on this approach.
Harvard mental health letter (2006) states “recent survey found 50
journals and 200 organizations all over the world devoted to some
variant of client-centered or person-centered therapy”.
Present finding have shown strong evidence that client-centered
approach can be as effective as traditional psychotherapy, and
moreover it has shown to be effective when previous treatment didn’t
worked. This principles have influenced the practice of many other
therapists.

18. Future directions
Client-centered principles influenced
and effectively were applied not just
in traditional therapy but in others
forms of treatment. It plays central
role in motivational interviewing,
“which has been found as effective as
cognitive behavioral therapy in a
clinical trial of alcoholism treatment”.
In this case, clients set the goal, and
the therapist acts as a partner in
dialogue rather than an authority.
Motivational interviewers avoid
warnings, diagnosis, and direct
attempts to argue, persuade, or
educate. (Harvard mental health
letter, 2006).
Retrieved from
http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/sites/default/files/Graduate-Studies/forensicpsychology.jpg

19. Future direction
Open-mind is the key of art of the therapy. Every situation is different,
and today many psychotherapists are using different therapeutic
approaches with the same client. CCT helped to be more open and
flexible. Future researches should focus on the effect of combination
traditional therapy and client-centered approach for clients with
different diagnosis.
CCT has shown effectiveness in human relations training which also
can be one of the direction for future research.
CCT also has been effectively used in work in crisis centers, for people
who engaged in counseling, for volunteers in charitable organizations
or agencies etc. New investigation cab be conducted in these areas as
well to make the work more effective and give the ability explore new
possibilities.

20. Conclusion
Client-centered therapy was
much needed alternative to
traditional approach.
Besides criticism, Roger’s ideas
changed modern
psychotherapy, stimulated
appearance of new methods
and directions. It helped
therapists become more open-
minded, creative, and be more
client-oriented.

21. Conclusion
Person-centered therapy began the new chapter with
humanistic-existential perspectives in psychotherapy. It
created shift from traditional psychoanalytic perspectives
on psychopathology and on psychological health to desire
to seek the client’s inner growth potential by providing
empathy, understanding, unconditional positive regard, and
genuineness (Trull, T. J., Prinstein, M. Clinical Psychology,
2012).
It opened doors for therapist to creativity and own
interpretation in regard to find the most effective for client
help.

22. References
Client-centred therapy. (2006). Harvard Mental Health Letter, 22(7).
Gone M.M. ̧ Mendes A.I.2
, Cruz G., 1
, Riberio A.P.1
, Sousa I.3
, Angus L., Greenberg
L.S. (2012). Innovative moments and change in client-centered therapy.
Psychotherapy Research, 22(4), 389-401
McLean C.P., Yeh R., Rosenfield D, Foa E.B. (2015).Changes in negative
cognitions mediate PTSD symptom reductions during client-centered therapy and
prolonged exposure for adolescents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 68, 64-69
Merry T., Brodley B.T. (2002). The nondirective attitude in client-centered
therapy: a response to Kahn. Journal of humanistic psychology, Vol. 42, No. 2,
66-77
Trull T. J.; Prinstein M. (2012). Clinical Psychology. Cengage Textbook. Kindle
Edition.