Compare the views about the nature and development of Carl Rogers and George Kelly. To which of these therapists would you most likely recommend to an 18 year old friend, in need of counselling after a major life change?

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Compare the views about the nature and development of Carl Rogers and George Kelly. To which of these therapists would you most likely recommend to an 18 year old friend, in need of counselling after a major life change?

Many consider the science of psychology an attempt to create a comprehensive theory of personality and therefore be able to explain why people are alike in some ways and different in others (Jourard, 1974). In so doing, varying schools of thought have evolved. Carl Rogers and George Kelly have been deemed by peers as having similar overall views regarding personality, but practicing different methods (Pervin, 1989).Their approaches to personality can be defined as humanistic, which describes the view of accepting the 'human qualities' of the individual; that man is born with an inherent potential for self-actualization (Hergenhahn & Olsen, 1999). Such an approach steers away from the idea that man is a robot, who is the total product of outside forces, as the Behaviourist would maintain; or that man simply results from the interaction of primal drives and the demands of community, a belief held by many Freudians. This paper will begin with a comparison of Kelly’s and Rogers’ theories of the nature and development of personality and will continue with a recommendation as to which therapist would be best suited to an 18 year old after a major life change. Rogers and Kelly are both well known figures in the field of humanistic psychology. Each independent theory is logical and applicable in varied circumstances and has had a tremendous impact on the theory of personality (Roazen, 1992). In an aim to draw similarities and contrasts of both theories and to provide an independent account on which theory appears most suitable, a critical evaluation of these two revolutionary Psychologists will be attempted.

To understand the many different theories of personality you must understand that personalities are unique. Everyone has different experiences, parents, and lives. These differences cause all people to view the world differently than the person next to them. There are various thoughts of how and when personalities develop and grow. Carl Rogers and George Kelly are two theorists who have influenced the understanding of the nature and development of personality (Pervin, 1989).

Carl Rogers originated client-centred therapy, which is based on the belief that individuals, rather then environment or subconscious drives, can control their choices and values and fulfil their own unique potential. Rogers' theory stresses that it is the individual's own comprehension of his or her experiences that is important, rather then the therapist's professional interpretation (Rogers, 1951).

Kelly founded what is known as the personal construct system. He suggested that our personal constructs reflect our constant efforts to make sense of our world, just as scientists make sense of their subject-matter; we observe, we draw conclusions about patterns of cause and effect, and we behave according to those conclusions (Kelly, 1963).

Both theories emerged at a time when psychotherapy was the most commonly practiced therapy technique. Kelly initially began his career using Freudian therapy, but felt it worked only because his clients believed it should. It was at this time when Kelly made an observation that was to have a profound influence on his later theory. He discovered that clients would accept even his most radical explanation for their problem and usually improve. He concluded that logic, or correctness, had little to do with it (Raskin, 2001).

Roger’s theory was commonly described as the first major alternative to psychoanalysis (Pervin, 1989). He too began practicing with Freud’s well known techniques, only to discover that essentiality his theory was completely opposite than the view suggested by Freud. Rogers believed that humans are all basically good and need no controlling, whereas Freud viewed humans as having the same drives and motives as an animal which had to be controlled by society (Maddi, 1996). Both Rogers and Kelly considered Adler to be a strong influence within their personality theories and both joined the American Association of Humanistic Psychology. Because of Kelly’s and Rogers’ background in Humanistic Psychology, their views on motivation of the human personality were similar, as they felt the ultimate aim for an individual was to understand, predict and control their own behaviour (Jourard, 1974).

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The prototype of a mentally healthy individual was seen on similar terms by Kelly and Rogers. They both named several similar characteristics that define a healthy personality.

Kelly proposed 11 corollaries to explain his structure on the nature and development of personality. Some of which include the organisation corollary; the belief that humans create a construct hierarchy which they use to anticipate future events, the dichotomy corollary; a belief that for every construct there has to be an exact opposite, and the commonality corollary; which is the belief that it is not common experiences that make people similar, only ...

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