The document provides an overview of key concepts in Person-Centered Therapy. It discusses the theory's view of human nature as trustworthy and capable of self-directed growth. The three necessary conditions for change are congruence, unconditional positive regard, and accurate empathy. These conditions allow students to become less defensive and more open to self-reflection and constructive behavior change. The document also outlines the four historical periods in the development of Person-Centered Therapy.

1. Form
A
-­‐
Peter
‘Max’
Quinn
Critical
Evaluation
Format
CN528
Counseling
&
Development
Professor
Ciri
-­‐
November
21,
2011
Theory:
Person
Centered
Therapy
KEY
Concepts
of
Person
Centered
Theory:
View
of
Human
Nature
/
Basic
Assumptions
Underlying
Person
Centered
Theory
/
MOST
Important
concepts:
§ View
of
Human
Nature
§ Nonjudgmental
listening
and
acceptance
are
necessity
if
students
are
to
change
§ Encourage
students
to
reflect
on
their
experience
§ Person
Centered
Therapy
is
based
on
concepts
from
Humanistic
Psychology
&
Existential
Perspective
(CH
6)
§ Place
a
sense
of
trust
in
the
students
ability
to
move
forward
in
a
constructive
manner
if
conditions
fostering
growth
are
present
§ If
one
is
able
to
get
to
the
core
of
a
student,
one
finds
a
trustworthy,
positive
center
§ Students
are
trustworthy,
resourceful,
capable
of
self-­‐understanding
and
self-­‐direction,
able
to
make
constructive
changes,
and
able
to
live
effective
and
productive
lives
§ Three
Professional
attributes
that
will
create
a
growth-­‐promoting
climate
in
which
students
can
move
forward
and
become
what
they
are
capable
of
becoming:
§ Congruence
-­‐
Genuineness,
or
realness
-­‐
Being
fully
present
§ Unconditional
positive
regard
-­‐
Acceptance
and
caring
-­‐
Value
and
warmly
accept
students
without
placing
stipulations
on
their
acceptance
-­‐
“Ill
accept
you
as
you
are”
-­‐
Students
are
free
to
have
feelings
and
experiences
without
risking
the
loss
of
their
acceptance
§ Accurate
empathetic
understanding
-­‐
Ability
to
deeply
grasp
the
subjective
world
of
another
in
the
here
&
now
• Empathy
-­‐
Helps
students
pay
attention
and
value
their
experience;
see
earlier
experiences
in
new
ways;
modify
their
perceptions
of
themselves,
others
and
the
world;
and
increase
their
confidence
in
making
choices
and
in
pursuing
a
course
of
action
• Accurate
Empathetic
Understanding
-­‐
Sense
the
students’
feelings
as
if
they
were
your
own
without
becoming
lost
in
those
feelings
-­‐
Reflect
the
experiencing
of
the
student,
resulting
in
self-­‐understating
and
clarification
of
their
beliefs
and
worldview
§ This
will
allow
students
to
become
less
defensive
and
more
open
to
themselves
and
their
world,
and
they
will
behave
in
pro-­‐social
and
constructive
ways
§ Students
will
move
toward
health
if
the
way
seems
open
for
them
to
do
so
§ Actualizing
tendency
-­‐
A
directional
process
of
striving
toward
realization,
fulfillment,
autonomy,
self-­‐
determination,
and
perfection
§ Place
primary
responsibly
on
the
student
§ Students
have
the
capacity
for
awareness
and
self-­‐directed
change
in
attitudes
and
behavior
§ Focus
on
the
constructive
side
of
human
nature:
What
is
right
with
the
student,
and
on
the
assets
the
individual
brings
§ Emphasize
how
the
student
acts
in
their
world
with
others,
how
they
can
move
forward
in
constructive
directions,
and
how
they
can
successfully
encounter
obstacles
(within
and
outside)
that
are
blocking
their
growth
§ People
never
arrive
at
a
final
state
of
being
self-­‐actualized;
rather,
they
are
continually
involved
in
the
process
of
actualizing
themselves
§ Basic
Assumptions
o Students
are
essentially
trustworthy;
o They
have
a
vast
potential
for
understanding
themselves
and
resolving
their
own
problems
without
direct
intervention;
o They
are
capable
of
self-­‐directed
growth
if
they
are
involved
in
a
specific
kind
of
‘therapeutic’
relationship.
o Students
capacity
for
self-­‐healing
is
among
the
most
powerful
agents
that
lead
to
change
o The
student
is
the
agent
for
self-­‐change
§ Four
Periods
of
Development
of
the
Approach
1. Nondirective
Counseling
§ Counselor
must
create
a
permissive
and
nondirective
climate
§ Avoid
sharing
a
great
deal
about
themselves

2. Focus
mainly
on
reflecting
and
clarifying
the
students’
verbal
and
nonverbal
communications
with
§
the
aim
of
helping
students
become
aware
of
and
gain
insight
into
their
feelings
1
2. Student
(Client)-­‐Centered
Therapy
§ Emphasis
on
the
student,
rather
than
on
nondirective
methods
§ Focus
on
the
phenomenological
world
of
the
student
§ The
best
vantage
point
for
understanding
how
students
behave
was
from
their
own
internal
frame
of
reference
§ Actualizing
tendency
is
the
basic
motivational
force
that
leads
to
student
change
3. Necessary
&
Sufficient
conditions
of
Therapy
§ “Becoming
the
self
that
one
truly
is”
-­‐
On
Becoming
a
Person
(Rogers,
1961)
§ “Becoming
one’s
Experience”
-­‐
An
openness
to
experience,
a
trust
in
one’s
experience,
an
internal
locus
of
evaluation,
and
the
willingness
to
be
in
process
§ Student-­‐Centered
Teaching
=
Client-­‐Centered
Therapy
4. Considerable
expansion
to
Education,
Industry,
Groups,
Conflict
Resolution,
&
the
Search
for
World
Peace
§ Take
an
interest
in
how
students
obtain,
possess,
share,
or
surrender
power
an
control
over
others
and
themselves
-­‐
Person-­‐Centered
Approach
§ The
attitude
of
the
professional
-­‐
An
empathetic
understanding
of
the
student’s
world
-­‐
The
ability
to
communicate
a
nonjudgmental
stance
to
the
student
=
Successful
‘Therapy’
Outcome
§ Existentialism
&
Humanism
§ Both:
Share
a
respect
for
the
student’s
subjective
experience,
the
uniqueness
and
individuality
of
each
student,
and
trust
in
the
capacity
of
the
student
to
make
positive
and
constructive
conscious
choices
§ Both:
Emphasize
freedom,
choice,
values,
personal
responsibly,
autonomy,
purpose,
and
meaning
&
the
importance
of
genuine
encounters
o Existentialism
§ Existentialists
are
faced
with
the
anxiety
of
choosing
to
create
an
identity
in
world
that
lacks
intrinsic
meaning
§ There
is
nothing
that
we
“are,”
no
internal
“nature”
we
can
count
on.
Faced
at
every
moment
with
a
choice
about
what
to
make
of
this
condition
o Humanism
§ Humanists
take
a
somewhat
less
anxiety-­‐evoking
position
that
each
of
us
has
a
natural
potential
that
we
can
actualize
and
through
which
we
can
find
meaning
§ Metaphor:
An
acorn,
If
provided
with
the
appropriate
conditions,
will
“automatically”
grow
in
positive
ways,
pushed
naturally
toward
its
actualization
as
an
oak.
§ Help
students
develop
capacities
and
stimulate
constructive
change
in
others
§ Individuals
are
empowered,
and
they
are
able
to
use
this
power
for
personal
and
social
transformation
Therapeutic
Process:
Most
important
Therapeutic
Goals
• Aim
toward
the
student
achieving
a
greater
degree
of
independence
and
integration
• Focus
in
on
the
person,
not
on
the
person’s
presenting
problem
• Assist
students
with
their
growth
process
so
they
can
better
cope
with
their
current
and
future
problems
• Provide
a
climate
conducive
to
helping
the
individual
become
a
fully
functioning
person
• Help
students
get
behind
the
“masks”
that
they
wear
-­‐
Students
loose
contact
with
themselves
by
using
facades
• The
SA
Professional
does
not
choose
specific
goals
for
the
student
Functions
and
Role
of
the
Student
Affairs
Professional
• Rooted
in
the
professionals
ways
of
being
and
attitudes,
not
in
techniques
designed
to
get
the
student
to
“do
something”
• Attitude
of
professional,
rather
than
their
knowledge,
theories,
or
techniques,
facilitate
personality
change
in
students
• Use
themselves
as
an
instrument
of
change
• “Role”
is
to
be
without
roles
• It
is
the
professionals
attitude
and
belief
in
the
inner
resources
of
the
student
that
create
the
therapeutic
climate
for
growth
• Be
present
and
accessible
to
students
and
to
focus
on
their
immediate
experience
• Be
willing
to
be
real
in
the
relationship
with
students
• By
being
congruent,
accepting,
and
empathetic,
the
professional
is
a
catalyst
for
change
• Do
not
aim
to
manage,
conduct,
regulate,
or
control
the
student

3. The
students’
role
in
the
Therapeutic
Process
• Be
open
to
experience
• Trust
in
themselves
• Evaluate
themselves
internally
• Be
willing
to
continue
growing
• Must
clarify
and
define
their
own
goals
• Change
depends
on
the
students’
perceptions
both
of
their
own
experience
and
of
the
professionals
basic
attitudes
• Explore
the
full
range
of
their
experience,
which
includes
their
feelings,
beliefs,
behaviors,
and
worldview
• Express
their
fears,
anxiety,
guilt,
shame,
hatred,
anger,
and
other
emotions
that
they
had
deemed
too
negative
to
accept
and
incorporate
into
their
self-­‐structure
• Become
less
concerned
about
meeting
others’
expectations,
and
thus
begin
to
behave
in
ways
that
are
truer
to
themselves
• With
increased
freedom,
they
tend
to
become
more
mature
psychologically
and
more
actualized
Application:
Techniques
and
procedures
of
the
Person
Centered
Therapy
-­‐Techniques
and
methods
of
the
Person
Centered
Therapy
in
Student
Affairs
practice-­‐
§ Therapeutic
Techniques
&
Procedures
o Goals
§ Aim
toward
the
student
achieving
a
greater
degree
of
independence
and
integration
§ Assist
students
in
their
growth
process
so
students
can
better
cope
with
their
current
and
future
problems
§ Provide
a
climate
conducive
to
helping
the
student
become
a
fully
functioning
person
§ Enable
an
openness
to
experience,
a
trust
in
themselves,
an
internal
source
of
evaluation,
and
a
willingness
to
continue
growing
§ Help
students
achieve
their
own
goals,
rather
than
what
students
need
to
change
§ Inner
resources
of
the
student
create
the
therapeutic
climate
for
growth
§ Encounter
students
in
a
person-­‐to-­‐person
way
§ An
overemphasis
on
professionalism
is
bad
-­‐
Be
present
and
accessible
to
the
student
and
focus
on
their
immediate
experience
-­‐
Be
wiling
to
be
real
in
relationships
with
students
§ By
being
congruent,
accepting,
and
empathetic
is
a
catalyst
for
change
§ Meet
students
on
a
moment-­‐to-­‐moment
experiential
basis
and
enter
their
world
o Early
Emphasis
on
Reflection
of
Feelings
• Grasp
the
world
of
the
student
and
reflect
its
understanding
o Evolution
of
Person
Centered
Methods
§ Practitioners
ability
to
establish
a
strong
connection
with
students
is
the
critical
factor
determining
successful
outcomes
§ Practitioner’s
presence
-­‐
Being
completely
engaged
and
absorbed
in
the
relationship
with
the
student
-­‐
Is
essential
for
progress
o The
Role
of
Assessment
§ Identify
strengths
and
liabilities
of
students
§ Students
self-­‐assessment
is
what
truly
matters
§ Involve
students
as
fully
as
possible
in
assessment
and
treatment
processes
o Application
of
The
Philosophy
of
the
Person
Centered
Approach
§ Student
is
the
critical
factor
in
determining
personal
outcomes
• Resourcefulness,
participation,
evaluation,
and
perceptions
of
problems
and
their
resolutions
§ More
learning,
more
problem
solving,
and
more
creativity
enable
students
to
become
increasingly
self-­‐directing,
able
to
assume
more
responsibility
for
the
consequences
of
their
choices,
and
can
learn
more
than
in
traditional
ways
o Application
to
Crisis
Intervention
§ When
a
student
is
in
crisis
…
• Give
them
the
opportunity
to
fully
express
themselves
-­‐
Sensitive
listening,
hearing,
and
understanding
are
essential
-­‐
This
helps
to
calm
and
think
more
clearly
and
make
better
decisions

4. • Offer
genuine
support,
caring,
and
non-­‐possessive
warmth
can
go
a
long
way
and
motivate
students
to
do
something
to
work
through
and
resolve
a
crisis
• Suggestions,
guidance,
and
even
direction
may
be
called
for
depending
on
the
situation
§ Stay
with
students
as
opposed
to
getting
ahead
of
them
with
interpretations
o Application
to
Group
Counseling
§ Act
as
facilitator
rather
than
leader
• Primary
function:
To
create
a
safe
and
healing
climate
-­‐
A
place
where
the
group
members
can
interact
in
honest
and
meaningful
ways
§ Presence
of
facilitator
and
support
of
others
helps
students
to
realize
that
they
do
not
have
to
experience
the
struggles
of
change
alone
and
that
groups
as
collective
entities
have
their
own
source
of
transformation
§ Climate
should
allow
members
to
become
more
appreciative
and
trusting
of
themselves
as
they
are
and
are
able
to
more
toward
self-­‐direction
and
empowerment
§ Exhibit
a
deep
sense
of
trust
in
the
group
§ Avoid
making
interpretive
comments
because
such
are
apt
to
make
the
group
self-­‐conscious
and
slow
the
process
down
§ Person
Centered
Expressive
Arts
Therapy
o Principles
of
Expressive
Arts
Therapy
§ Offer
students
the
opportunity
to
create
movement,
visual
art,
journal
writing,
sound,
and
music
to
express
their
feelings
and
gain
insight
§ Personal
growth
and
higher
states
of
consciousness
are
achieved
through
self-­‐awareness,
self-­‐
understanding,
and
insight
§ Self-­‐awareness,
understanding,
and
insight
are
achieved
by
delving
into
our
feelings
of
grief,
anger,
pain,
fear,
joy,
and
ecstasy
§ The
expressive
arts
lead
us
into
the
unconscious,
thereby
enabling
us
to
express
previously
unknown
facets
of
ourselves
and
bring
to
light
new
information
and
awareness
§ A
connection
exists
between
our
life
force
-­‐
Our
inner
core,
or
soul
-­‐
and
the
essence
of
all
beings
§ As
we
journey
inward
to
discover
our
essence
or
wholeness,
we
discover
our
relatedness
to
the
out
world,
and
inner
and
outer
become
one
o Creativity
&
Offering
Stimulating
Experiences
§ Experiences
• Individuals
have
a
tremendous
capacity
for
self-­‐healing
through
creativity
• When
one
feels
appreciated,
trusted,
and
given
support
to
use
individuality
to
develop
a
plan,
create
a
project,
write
a
paper,
or
to
be
authentic,
the
challenge
is
exciting,
stimulating,
and
gives
a
sense
of
personal
expansion
• Carefully
planned
experiments
or
experiences
designed
to
involve
students
in
the
expressive
arts
help
them
focus
on
the
process
of
creating
• A
non-­‐defensive
openness
to
experience
and
an
internal
locus
of
evaluation
that
receives
but
is
not
overly
concerned
with
the
reactions
of
others
is
created
§ What
Holds
Us
Back?
• We
cheat
ourselves
out
of
a
fulfilling
and
joyous
source
of
creativity
if
we
cling
to
the
idea
that
an
artist
is
the
only
one
who
can
enter
the
realm
of
creativity
§ Contributions
of
Natalie
Roberts
• Expressive
and
creative
arts
can
be
a
basis
for
personal
growth
-­‐
May
be
the
solution
for
students
who
are
stuck
in
linear
and
rigid
ways
of
being
-­‐Person
Centered
Therapy
from
a
diversity
perspective
-­‐
§ Emphasis
on
the
core
conditions
can
apply
to
all
cultures
-­‐
Universal
qualities
§ Grounded
on
the
importance
of
hearing
the
deeper
messages
of
a
student.
Empathy,
being
present,
and
respecting
the
values
of
students
are
essential
attitudes
and
skills
§ Practitioner
does
not
assume
the
role
of
expert
who
is
going
to
impose
a
“right
way
of
being”
on
the
student
§ Instead,
the
practitioner
is
a
“fellow
explorer”
who
attempts
to
understand
the
students
phenomenological
world
in
an
interested,
accepting
and
open
way
and
checks
with
the
student
to
confirm
that
the
perceptions
are
accurate
§ Pay
attention
to
the
cultural
identity
that
resides
within
the
student!
§ The
practitioner-­‐student
relationship
and
the
use
of
the
student’s
resources
are
central
for
multicultural
counseling

5. -­‐Evaluation
of
the
approach
to
use
Person
Centered
Therapy
in
Student
Affairs
practice
-­‐
The
Person-­‐Centered
Therapy
in
congruence
with
Student
Affairs
practice
can
be
a
very
rewarding
experience
for
the
student
as
it
strives
for
self-­‐actualization.
The
phenomenological
standpoint
that
Student
Affairs
Practitioners
take
allows
students
to
actualize
themselves
in
accordance
with
their
perceptions
of
reality,
and
truly
allows
them
to
make
changes
in
their
cognitive
thinking
in
order
to
pursue
their
life
goals.
Person-­‐Centered
Therapy
“rests
on
the
assumption
that
[students]
can
understand
the
factors
in
their
lives
that
are
causing
them
to
be
unhappy.
They
also
have
the
capacity
for
self-­‐direction
and
constructive
personal
change.”
It
is
up
to
the
facilitator
to
induce
a
climate
that
is
safe
and
one
that
allows
individuals
to
have
the
opportunity
to
decide
for
themselves
and
come
to
terms
with
their
own
personal
power.
Student
Affairs
professionals
allow
students
to
become
more
open
to
experience,
achieving
self-­‐trust,
developing
an
internal
source
of
evaluation,
and
being
wiling
to
continue
to
growing.
By
allowing
the
student
to
choose
their
own
goals
and
values,
practitioners
can
be
fully
involves
as
persons
in
the
relationship.
-­‐Significant
contributions
of
Person-­‐Centered
Therapy
applied
to
Student
Affairs
Practice-­‐
§ Through
a
practitioner’s
attitude
of
genuine
caring,
respect,
acceptance,
support,
and
understanding,
students
are
able
to
loosen
their
defenses
and
rigid
perceptions
and
move
to
a
higher
level
of
person
functioning.
When
these
practitioner
attitudes
are
present,
students
then
have
the
necessary
freedom
to
explore
areas
of
their
life
that
were
either
denied
to
awareness
or
distorted
§
Change
depends
on
students
perceptions
both
of
their
own
experience
and
the
practitioners
basic
attitudes
o If
the
practitioner
creates
a
climate
conducive
to
self-­‐exploration,
students
have
the
opportunity
to
explore
the
full
range
of
their
experience,
which
includes
their
feelings,
beliefs,
behavior,
and
worldview.
§ It
is
students
who
heal
themselves,
who
create
their
own
self-­‐growth,
and
who
are
the
primary
agents
of
change
§ Provide
a
supportive
self-­‐healing
within
which
students
self-­‐healing
capacities
are
activated
§ As
students
experience
the
practitioner
listening
in
a
accepting
way
to
them,
they
gradually
learn
how
to
listen
acceptingly
to
themselves
§ As
students
find
the
practitioner
caring
for
and
valuing
them,
students
begin
to
see
worth
and
value
in
themselves
§ As
students
experience
the
realness
of
the
practitioner,
students
drop
many
of
their
pretenses
and
are
real
with
both
themselves
and
the
practitioner
§ A
way
of
being
is
a
shared
journey
in
which
practitioner
and
student
reveal
their
humanness
and
participate
in
a
growth
experience
§ Basic
practice
is
based
on
experiencing
and
communicating
attitudes
§ Increased
latitude
for
practitioners
to
share
their
reactions,
to
confront
students
in
a
caring
way,
and
to
participate
more
actively
and
fully
§ It
is
essential
for
the
practitioner
to
modify
their
style
to
accommodate
the
specific
needs
of
each
student
-­‐Limitations
of
Person
Centered
Therapy
in
Student
Affairs
practice
-­‐
§ Practitioners
do
not
…
o Take
a
history;
o They
avoid
asking
leading
and
probing
questions;
o They
do
not
make
interpretations
of
the
students
behavior;
o They
do
not
evaluate
the
students
ideas
or
plans
§ Requires
a
great
deal
of
the
practitioner
…
o Must
be
grounded,
centered,
genuine,
present,
focused,
patient,
and
accepting
in
a
way
that
involves
maturity
in
order
to
be
effective
§ Some
students
want
more
structure
than
this
approach
applies
o If
they
expect
a
directive
practitioner
they
can
be
put
off
by
one
who
does
not
provide
specific
structure
§ It
can
be
difficult
to
translate
the
core
conditions
of
the
therapy
into
actual
practice
in
certain
cultures
o Communication
of
core
conditions
must
be
consistent
with
the
students
cultural
framework
o Students
accustomed
to
indirect
communication
may
not
be
comfortable
with
direct
expressions
of
empathy
or
self-­‐
disclosure
on
the
practitioners
part
§ This
approach
extols
a
value
of
an
internal
locus
of
evaluation
o In
collectivist
cultures,
students
are
likely
to
be
highly
influenced
by
societal
expectations
and
not
simply
motivated
by
their
own
personal
preferences
§ Some
tendency
to
be
very
supportive
of
students
without
being
challenging
§ Some
practitioners
experience
difficulty
in
allowing
students
to
decide
their
own
specific
goals
[in
therapy]
§ Failing
to
be
warm,
empathetic,
and
genuine;
imposing
an
agenda
upon
the
student;
or
failing
to
be
in
touch
with
the
moment-­‐to-­‐
moment
process