Person-centred psychotherapy, a values-based approach

Person-centred psychotherapy is based in the theory developed by Carl Rogers from the 1950s onwards. He believed that an authentic therapist, listening with empathy and unconditional positive regard (UPR) to a client in distress or feeling anxious, would create the conditions necessary for the client to be able to change and grow. He suggested that it is the client’s inner propensity towards wholeness and growth that effects change, their actualising tendency; when within the context of the conditions created within the therapy relationship (Rogers, 1951).

In my experience as a person-centred psychotherapist, I think Rogers had it right. When I do a good enough job of listening deeply and attentively, when I am able to communicate to clients through my body language and way of being how much I trust in them and believe in them, and when I’m able to be as genuine and authentic as I can be, then they start to feel better.

For me, there are two key elements to a person-centred approach: the relationship, and my values. I suppose you could call my approach to therapy a ‘values-based, relational person-centred approach’. But let’s be honest. That needs to be broken down as it just sounds a bit impenetrable.

What do I mean when I say my psychotherapy practice is ‘values-based’? Any approach to therapy is grounded in beliefs about what the world is, what makes people the way that they are, and how distress and change both take place. Some approaches believe in the power and importance of the therapist as the one who holds the answers and can teach the client how to feel better. Other approaches believe all distress is rooted in events from early childhood and only by excavating these and working through them can change be possible.

My own beliefs about change are rooted in the idea that we all have a natural tendency toward healing. Much like a grazed knee scabs over and repairs itself, a wounded psyche will repair itself given the necessary atmosphere. Rogers (1959) called this our “actualising tendency”. This idea has a huge impact on the way I practice psychotherapy. It means I don’t see it as my job to “fix” or “cure” clients, but to provide them with what they need in order to change from within.

So, flowing naturally from this belief come some of my deepest values. The two which I hold in the highest esteem are the values of autonomy and trust. I trust in the wisdom of the client, to talk about whatever is most important. Even when I feel slightly lost about why we are on a particular topic, I have found that if I just remember that the client is the expert on themselves, it allows me to stay closely alongside them. And eventually, some meaning will emerge.  Sometimes clients will even say that to me, “I don’t know why I’m talking about this”, or “I don’t really see how this is relevant”. But somehow, in some difficult-to-explain way, it all leads somewhere, towards some deeper understanding, or the expression of an unexpressed feeling. I try never to intervene to push clients away from or toward any particular topics, as in my experience, being patient and trusting the process always leads to a good result.

In this way, my belief in the client’s actualising tendency underpins the way I am in the counselling room, and the non-directive elements of my approach.

Two more values I hold deeply at my heart are the values of justice and egalitarianism. I believe in the worth of every human life, and that all people deserve a basic level of respect. I don’t offer UPR or empathy more to some clients than others, even (or perhaps especially!) when their beliefs or way of life differ greatly from my own. I believe in the power of empathic, caring, non-judgemental listening in the counselling room, and that that can allow clients to connect to their truest self – what we might call in person-centred psychotherapy their “organismic experiencing” (Rogers, 1959). And I have a pretty optimistic view of humanity, which some may see as naïve! It’s not my job to impose my philosophical or political beliefs on clients, but to practice in a way which is in line with them. Mine is a heart-centred practice – the way I am in the room with clients is as in line as I’m able to be with my beliefs, values, and philosophy.

So, I’ve spoken a lot about the ‘values-based’ element of my person-centred approach, but not much about what I mean when I describe my practice as ‘relational’. That’s one to come back to in the next blog post!