Carl Rogers’ client-centered therapy is a method of psychotherapy in which one of the most important roles is played by the “self-concept.” According to the theory, there is an “ideal self” and a “real self,” and during therapy, they become closer to each other, reducing anxiety and self-dissatisfaction. In the process of psychotherapy, relationships with oneself and with those around change qualitatively.
In what cases can client-centered therapy help?
- low self-esteem;
- dissatisfaction with one’s life;
- dependence on the opinions of others;
- patterns of behavior that prevent us from building positive scenarios.
Rogers’ Client-Centered Therapy (CCT)
This method was proposed by Carl Rogers, an American psychologist and humanist. When developing this approach, he was guided by the assumptions that:
- the person can change his own personality;
- the psychotherapist must better understand what happens to the client in the work process;
- the most important is the relationship between the therapist and the client because effective interaction and the acceptable result of the joint work are very important.
After the method of client-centered psychotherapy became known, numerous studies were conducted to prove or disprove the ideas of Carl Rogers. It turned out that while working in this direction, people significantly reduced their dependence on the expectations of others, they began to rely more often on their own feelings and experiences. It has also been shown that after client-centered psychotherapy sessions, people perceive situations of emotional stress and confusion more easily and with less anxiety.
Client-centered therapy techniques
Several areas of client-centered therapy are used for different client symptoms and demands. These include:
- Goal-oriented– aims to improve the condition of clients with psychosomatic illnesses. Therapists often encounter situations where a person denies the impact of emotions on health. This is exactly what goal-oriented specialists work with.
- Experiential– focuses on how the client experiences emotions during therapy: whether they pay attention to them immediately or hide them inside.
- Process-experientialis a direction created for clients who react to difficulties through a destructive behavior pattern. For example, by magnifying the problem and catastrophizing the situation.
- Fundamental –all the principles of CBT are found in this area.
- Oriented towards concentration– the therapist focuses the client’s attention on the contact of the body with the environment, on the connection between the emotional state and the bodily state.
