Person Centered Approach Carl Rogers USA 1902 1987

Person Centered Approach Carl Rogers (USA 1902 – 1987) Encountering person to person The power is in everybody

Carl R. Rogers, Ph. D. – The Father of PCA A little bit of history Roger’s earlier years – His childhood – experimenting with plants and living in a farm Professor and Scientist Work with children, clients, management Instead of analyzing, listen deeply to people One of the first psychologist to research in psychotherapy Active in international conflict resolution Facilitator of encounter groups in several contexts

The philosophy of PCA - Everyone has within themselves the power to grow, to develop, and to become the best that they can be. - A philosophy of life - The individual is inherently constructive - Non judgment as the source of inner wisdom - Given the proper conditions everyone independent of race, color, nationality, and so on can grow, develop, and realize their full potential - A self realized individual is guided by his inner real self instead of simple following the society standards

Self Realization - The process of becoming the best that you can be. - Achieving one’s full potential - To grow, to develop, and to mature - Self concept, Real Self and Ideal Self become one

Self Regulation § Every living system attempts every moment to recover its path toward growth and maturing § Mistakes are the way living systems try to correct themselves – They are an opportunity for learning

The Actualizing Tendency Everyone has within themselves the inherent tendency to develop all their capacities in ways which serve to maintain or enhance the organism. There is a movement within everyone that never stops toward maturing and more complexity

The Conditions for Growth § The conditions or skills necessary for growth: - Empathic understanding - Unconditional positive regard - Congruence, genuineness, transparency.

Empathic Understanding § To know another one must first walk seven miles on his Mocassin – American Hopi Indians § To sense the other’s emotions/feelings as if they are your own § The importance of the “as if” position § Reflection – repeats fragments of what the other is saying in one’s own words, conveying a nonjudgmental understanding. § Clarification – abstract the core or the essence of a set of remarks the other is making and feedback to the person

Unconditional Positive Regard § To create an atmosphere of psychological safety with the other § Non-Judmental - not judge the other’s character. § Judgment leads to facades and separation § Low self-regard, or low congruence, is the result being judged often in the past. § Parents, teachers, and other authority figures often act as if the other person has no intrinsic value as a separate individual, unless he/she behaves the way they say he/she ought to behave. Thus, their regard is conditional. § The Person-Centered facilitator gives unconditional positive regard as a partial antidote for the other’s earlier experiences.

Genuineness and Transparency § There no intention to hide anything, to lie or to cheat § Honest and open with one’s feelings, thoughts and behaviors § One does not use masks § Living and being become one

Congruence § § § The self-concept, the real self, and the ideal self. The self-concept is the way a person sees him- or herself. The ideal self is who one would like to be or ought to be. The real self is who one actually is. Congruence is the amount of agreement between the selfconcept, the real self and the ideal self. The more congruence, the more psychological health there is within a person. If a person’s idea of who she/he is bears a great similarity to what she/he wants to be, that person will be relatively self-accepting. It’s the aim of the Person Centred Approach to increase the client’s congruence.

Structure of the Personality Rogers (1959) total personality: self-structure experience II I III

Interdependencies between the Rogers Variables according to Nykl and Motschnig (2002) CGR ACC EMP Congruence Acceptance Empathic Understanding

„Learning“ on three levels, experiential learning I II III

PCA … as a way of being particularly in the new age … § What do you think and feel?