20/02/2022
What is Person-Centred Counselling?
You have wisdom living within yourself and learning how to access that wisdom is part of the role of the therapist who uses a person-centred approach. In person-centred therapy, you are in charge, leading the way and this gives the client a great deal of space for self-discovery.
Many believe that in a typical therapy session, the therapist asks questions, guides the process, and offers solutions. Many people want to hear solutions from the therapist and are looking for guidance. This type of therapy and approach can be helpful in certain situations where the counsellor is teaching the client-specific skills or helping with a crisis situation.
At Clear Vue Trauma Counselling, we strongly believe that all the wisdom lives within you and having a person-centred approach to therapy is very important to us in our work.
In this type of therapy, the client takes the lead in discussions and comes up with the answers and insight for themselves through very reflective questions. This non-authoritative approach allows clients to have more space and agency in the process. It empowers and motivates the patient during therapy.
The purpose of this type of therapy is to help you by looking within yourself. It also lets you come up with solutions to correct any thoughts or behavioural flaws that are setting you back or causing you pain.
The Nature of Person-Centred Counselling
The aim of Roger’s client-centred counselling is not to target flaws and problematic behaviour and thoughts. His therapeutic approach focuses on making people actualize their potential. Human beings have intrinsic capacities to understand themselves and make changes from this knowledge. They can change their attitudes, concepts, and behaviours if they are aware of their true self.
With non-directive therapy, the client is encouraged to focus internally. The intrinsic analysis helps the client identify their beliefs, perceptions, attitude, values, and problems. After the self-evaluation, a person can make changes where it is required to come to a real understanding of themselves. The point of finding out your true nature is called self-actualization.
Elements of the Therapy Session
As the name of the Rogerian therapy suggests, counselling is self-directed. The client gets to control their intervention. Therapists do not offer insights, provide solutions, or ask leading questions during counselling. They are an equal partner with the client during therapy.
Therapy sessions also take an empathetic approach. The counsellor seeks to understand the client’s emotional and mental perspective and acknowledges their experience throughout each session. By putting themselves in the client’s shoes, they are in a better position of understanding the patient. Additionally, the counsellor mirrors the client’s feelings and thoughts so that the client can better understand their feelings, perspective, and line of thinking. Roger’s approach increases the client’s self-awareness leading them to self-direct toward change. Empathy also boosts the client’s confidence.
The counselling session is non-directive. The therapist does not guide the client in a particular direction. Additionally, the counsellor provides unconditional positive regard and support. Positivity is vital in building confidence and encouraging honesty. The counsellor does not pass judgment on the client. No matter what is shared or expressed during therapy.
The opposite of unconditional support is conditional support. Here, the client is only supported when they meet certain therapeutic expectations. Unconditional support enhances candidness during therapy. The client can express their emotions: fear, anger, resentment, and misery without any form of condemnation.
Counselling is based on genuineness and authenticity. The counsellor demonstrates this by being honest in their sharing to encourage the client to be sincere. The positive environment helps the client develop an open view of the world and how they see themselves.
Self-Actualization
The primary objective of Person-centred counselling is to help clients find their true selves without deviating from reality. There is a lot of distortion of the understanding of self. The conflict between this perception and reality creates incongruence. For instance, if someone says they are good at athletics and fail to perform in the field, their thoughts about themselves and reality do not align.
Through non-directive counselling, incongruence becomes apparent to the client, enabling them to adjust where needed. These changes are what lead the client to a real understanding of self. The process is called self-actualization. Everyone distorts reality. Through this therapy, people can get a better understanding of themselves without any misconstrues.
