Person Centred Theory

This paper critically analyzes the person-centred theory of counselling developed by Carl Rogers in the 1940s. It discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the approach and the skills needed to work with it. The theory focuses on the client's ability to make changes for themselves and aims to make them a fully functioning person with self-confidence, self-understanding, and better choices.

Running head: PERSON CENTRED THEORY
Person Centred Theory
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1Person Centred Theory
Psychological theories aim to help the client overcome psychological as well as
behavioural problems. One of the popular theories of counselling is the person-centred theory.
The theory was developed in the 1940s by Carl Rogers (Corey, 2009). The paper aims to analyse
the psychological approach of counselling critically, that is the person-centred theory.
Specifically, the paper involves the strengths and weaknesses of the particular approach, person-
centred theory, as well as the skills needed to work with the approach.
The approach was invented by Rogers in order to provide simple, warm and optimistic
therapy that would be simply beneficial to people. The therapy has several strengths. It is
interesting to note that person-centred therapy is also known as client-centred therapy
(MacDougall, 2002). The difference between therapists who call people in therapy as equal
partners rather than as an expert who treats its patients. In this case, the client is responsible for
its own life and its improvement and not the therapist. Clients decide consciously and rationally
for themselves the things that are wrong and the things they should be doing. The therapist is
more like a friend who provides support, encourage and listens (Uhlmann, Pizarro & Diermeier,
2015). According to person-centred therapists, clients are capable of improving their condition
and mental health. Therefore, the therapists focus mainly on the client’s ability to make changes
for themselves.
Human beings tend to work towards self-actualisation. It is a process that refers to
develop a complete way, and it is a process of development that occurs throughout the lifespan.
In this process, people head towards “self-realisation, intrinsic goals and fulfilment. It also
involves self-regulation and autonomy that helps people work toward self-actualisation. The
person-centred therapist believe the conditions of worth influence the way a person shape the
concept of self (Patterson & Joseph, 2007). These are shaped by the important people of the

2Person Centred Theory
client’s life. The client is provided with growth conditions that help in actualising tendencies for
growth. The therapy helps them explore the difficulties they are faced in a productive
environment. This leads the clients towards a clear picture that reflects their potentials. When
clients are able to picture themselves they become confident and accurate in their mind which
helps them perform in better ways that are in line with their true self. Overall, with this
actualising help, the clients have self-confidence, self-understanding and better choice. A person
who has ideal emotional health is a fully well functioning person. The aim of the person-centred
theory is based on making a person fully functioning person, who would be open experiences
and live with a sense of meaning and purpose (Cooper & McLeod, 2011). It will help the person
establish trust in self as well as others. The person-centred approach is also known to as the
phenomenological approach that refers to the unique perception that one has for each individual
of his or her world. Person-centred therapy focuses on the individual’s own experience that
would be able to inform the client about the treatment and the way it will be helpful to him or
her. The therapist who perform the counselling, mainly promote the conditions for changes
instead of bringing any specific changes. A genuine, healthy human relationship is expected to
be maintained by the counsellors.
There is a great deal of innovative researches that have been performed in the area of
clinical growth as well as produced in the development of this theory. However, there are several
weaknesses in the theory. Ample of this theory has mostly incorporated into the overall body of
the theory. There is very less research done in this particular theory in the present times. The
client is often not faced with a challenge that would be able to determine his or her ability. A
person needs to contest in order to find their capabilities. The theory is too simple where the
majority function is performed by the clients only. This may lead to mental pressure on the client

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making them sceptical regarding the benefits of the situation (Kahn, 1999). The therapy does not
offer any appropriate structure as well even though there are ethical guidelines that provide
guidelines about their professions.
Person-centred counselling and psychology have contributed to a great extent to
psychology. Some experts still carry on emphasizing the need for growth of the theory. Although
the theory is not advised for stagnant use, it certainly has a positive contribution in counselling
and psychology. The approach has been one of the simple yet effective methods of counselling
for a very long time and although it is not used officially therapist still rely on this approach till
some extent in order to understand people’s behaviour.

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Referencing:
Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2011). Person-centered therapy: A pluralistic perspective. Person-
Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 10(3), 210-223.
Corey, G. (2009). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/14786455/Theory_and_Practice_of_Counseling_and_Psychot
heraphy_Eighth_Edition
Kahn, E. (1999). A critique of nondirectivity in the person-centered approach. Journal of
Humanistic Psychology, 39(4), 94-110.
MacDougall, C. (2002). Rogers’s person-centered approach: Consideration for use in
multicultural counseling. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 42(2), 48-65.
Patterson, T. G., & Joseph, S. (2007). Person-centered personality theory: Support from self-
determination theory and positive psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 47(1),
117-139.
Uhlmann, E. L., Pizarro, D. A., & Diermeier, D. (2015). A person-centered approach to moral
judgment. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(1), 72-81.