The most famous American psychologists

Running head: HUMAN SERVICES
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Author Note

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Counseling is considered to be a psychological specialty which generally
encompasses applied work and research in various broad domains like counseling process,
supervision, training, health, career development and many more. According to scholars,
counseling can make a huge positive impact on families, communities and also on
individuals. This service is essential and helps individuals to navigate tough life situations
like stress, losing a loved one, losing a job and many more (Marma, 2017). Counseling uses
various approaches that have been penned down by theorists which help in improving the
lives of people. This paper will focus on the psychologist, Carl Rogers and the therapy which
was proposed and introduced by him which is the Person-centered therapy which has had a
huge influence on the practice of counseling which is still used today by medical
professionals.
Carl Ransom Rogers was one of the most famous American psychologists and was
one of the founders of humanistic approach in the field of psychology. He highly agreed with
the assumptions that were introduced by Abraham Maslow who also was an American
psychologist (McArthur & Cooper, 2017). According to Carl Rogers, the main element that
contributes to the growth of a person is an environment which provides acceptance,
genuineness, empathy and unconditional positive regard. Without these elements healthy
personalities and relationships fail to develop the way it needs to be developed
(Kirschenbaum, 2015). He is famous for introducing the Person-Centered Therapy which has
been a huge boon to the field of psychology.
The Person-Centered therapy which is popularly known as person-centered
counseling was developed by Carl Rogers in the year, 1940. This theory or approach is
considered to be a humanistic approach which generally deals with ways in which people
perceive their own selves consciously and no how counselors interpret the unconscious ideas
and thoughts (Bazzano, 2016). The major elements of this theory or approach is that the

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counselor is congruent with their client, the counselor gives their client positive regard
unconditionally and lastly the counselor shows an empathetic understanding to their clients
(Vasilyuk & Karyagina, 2017).
The person-centered therapy is based on the belief of Carl Rogers which is that every
people strive for and is capable of fulfilling their own potential. This therapy has gained
immense importance in the field of psychology and also in several other domains. This theory
has much strength as it gives opportunity to the people to understand themselves which are
highly important to overcome negative situations. According to scholars, person-centered
therapy establishes personal communication between the therapist and the client which helps
in making the counseling session better (Hale, 2019). Joseph, (2019) states this therapy helps
clients to discover themselves by being honest to themselves and also empowers them in
order to overcome their own issues which they face in their lives.
This therapy helps the clients in developing and encouraging self-actualization.
According to scholars self-actualization in people is important as it helps people to develop a
sense of self-acceptance and also to accept others which are highly important to have a happy
life (Talley & Jones, 2019). One stronghold of this approach is that it allows the counselor to
accept their clients irrespective of developing any kind of judgments or creating any pressure
to change their habits and personality but they show their clients empathy. This helps the
clients to reflect on their past and develop themselves to overcome the problems they have
been facing in the ways which they are comfortable with.
However, the person-centered therapy has limitations as well. One of the major
limitations is that it needs the client to be inductive or motivated. According to scholars,
mainly clients when they are depressed lose all motivation and their ability to communicate
with someone, they often get frightened to open up and talk about their feelings (Sutanti,