Key Theories and Approaches of Counselling
Senior 6 · Psychology (Languages)
Key Theories and Approaches of Counselling
Lesson 3 of 4
20 min
In 1964 a woman known as “Gloria”, a recently divorced mother worried about how honest to be with her young daughter, agreed to be filmed in three short sessions, each with a different famous therapist. Albert Ellis challenged her beliefs, as in the ABC model of the last lesson. Fritz Perls, the founder of Gestalt therapy (next lesson), pushed her to notice her words and gestures in the moment. Carl Rogers did something that looked, at first sight, like very little: he listened, reflected back what she felt, and let her lead.
The film, Three Approaches to Psychotherapy (1965), is still shown to trainee counsellors, because it lets them see how differently three theories treat the same person. Rogers’ way, client-centred therapy, rests on a bold claim: that people have within themselves the resources to grow, if someone offers the right kind of relationship.
Definition
Client-centred (person-centred) therapy: Carl Rogers’ humanistic approach in which the counsellor provides empathy, unconditional positive regard and genuineness, and the client leads the direction of counselling.
Actualising tendency: an inborn drive to grow and fulfil one’s potential.
Self-concept: a person’s organised set of beliefs about who they are. Ideal self: the person they would like to be.
Conditions of worth: the sense that one is valued only when meeting others’ conditions (“I am loved only if I come first in class”).
Unconditional positive regard (UPR): accepting and valuing the client as a person, without conditions, even when not approving of every action.
Rogers believed that everyone has an actualising tendency. Problems arise when children learn conditions of worth: they feel valued only when they behave as others wish. They then distort or deny experiences that do not fit their self-concept. A student told that she is worthy only if she gets top marks may be unable to admit that she enjoys art more than medicine. The gap between self-concept and experience, called incongruence, produces anxiety.
Figure 1. Incongruence and congruence (after Rogers).
In 1957 Rogers proposed six conditions that he called “necessary and sufficient” for change. Three concern the counsellor and are known as the core conditions:
| Core condition | Meaning | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| Empathy | Understanding the client’s world from inside, “as if” it were your own, without losing the “as if” | “It sounds as if part of you wants to tell your father, and part of you is afraid.” |
| Unconditional positive regard | Warm acceptance of the person, without judgement | The counsellor stays respectful and caring even when the client admits to lying or failing. |
| Congruence (genuineness) | Being real; outer behaviour matches inner feeling | No professional mask; honest responses where helpful. |
The other conditions are that client and counsellor are in contact, that the client is in a state of incongruence, and that the client perceives the counsellor’s empathy and acceptance at least to some degree.
Rogers applied the same ideas to education in Freedom to Learn (1969): students learn best in a climate of trust, choice and respect, an idea behind today’s learner-centred teaching.
Psychotherapy.net: “Carl Rogers on Person-Centered Therapy”. Rogers himself explains the core conditions; listen for how he describes empathy.
Important
Evaluate client-centred therapy. A set of 2018 meta-analyses found that each core condition is linked with better client outcomes: empathy and positive regard each with a correlation of about 0.28, and congruence about 0.23. Reviews of humanistic therapies by Robert Elliott and colleagues (2013) found benefits broadly similar to other approaches for many problems. But Rogers’ claim that the conditions are sufficient is too strong: people with severe disorders, or in danger, often need more structured help. Concepts such as “actualising tendency” are hard to measure. The emphasis on individual growth reflects an individualistic culture, and clients who expect an expert to give guidance may find a non-directive counsellor confusing.
Warning
Common mistake: thinking unconditional positive regard means approving of everything the client does. It means accepting the person; the counsellor can still be honest about actions, as congruence requires.
Tip
Memory hook: Rogers’ core conditions are “Every Unique Client”: Empathy, Unconditional positive regard, Congruence.
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the text, the table, Figure 1 and the exercises.
