Critically evaluate the practical use of Person-Centred Counselling and its limitations as suggested by its critics. How does Person-Centred Theory differ from other models of therapy and also in what ways, if any, is it similar?

LEVEL THREE ‘DIPLOMA IN COUNSELLING’

UNIT 3

Counselling Theory Assignment

Critically evaluate the practical use of Person-Centred Counselling and its limitations as suggested by its critics. How does Person-Centred Theory differ from other models of therapy and also in what ways, if any, is it similar? Please do not refer to more than two other models.

Jawad A Mahboob

April 2003

Person-centred, or client-centred, therapy was developed by the American psychologist Carl Rogers who was born in Illinois in 1902. Rogers was a humanistic therapist, unlike the psychodynamic approaches which have their origins in Freudian ideas, including Jung’s analytical psychology, Aldler’s individual psychology, as well as the therapies of the Neo-Freudian school and the object relations theorists.

In the person-centred model of counselling the personality of the counsellor is regarded, as being of paramount importance, for it is impossible, according to Rogers, to separate the personality of the counsellor from the work he does. In order to be effective, he needs to hold certain philosophical beliefs and attitudes which uphold the worth, dignity, significance and value of each individual. A counsellor who pays lip service only to the idea that each person is unique and valuable will, in the end, prove ineffective as a person-centred counsellor since his true inner beliefs will ultimately be transmitted to clients who will then be adversely affected by them.

Carl Rogers believed that a truly therapeutic relationship between client and counsellor depended on the existence, within the counsellor, of three important or ‘core’ conditions, which he referred to as congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy. Most practitioners, using various models of counselling, would probably claim to value each individual in the way described by Rogers yet very often this is not reflected in the kind of

work they do. They maybe directive or controlling in their attitudes towards clients, an

Orientation, which is often due, in part at least, to having neglected their own personal growth and development. It is impossible, according to Rogers, for any person to value others unless that person is ready to value and care for their own identical needs.

Abraham Maslow (1908-70) is another theorist whose contribution to the person-centred approach to counselling is very significant. In 1958, he introduced the idea of a third force in psychology, the first two being psychoanalytic theory and behaviourism. Like Rogers, Maslow is usually referred to as a humanistic psychologist, since both their approaches emphasise the uniqueness of human beings, and both are concerned with subjective experience and human values. Their position is quite different both from that taken by the Behaviourist, this group include those models of counselling and therapy, which are directly linked to the learning theories of behavioural psychology. However, there has been a progressive movement away from the rigid ideas of pure behaviourism, towards a wider view of personality, which encompasses cognition and human interaction. This has led to the evolution of cognitive therapies, one of the most enduring of which is Albert Ellis’s rational emotive behaviour therapy.

Maslow’s view of the human person is essentially positive and optimistic, and is concerned to direct attention to the ‘healthy’ tendencies, which he believed to be present in everyone. Maslow’s positive evaluation of nature, and his stress on the uniqueness of human experience, reflect the philosophy underlying the person-centred model of counselling, and

in this respect uphold and corroborate the views expressed by Rogers.

The ‘core ‘ conditions are Rogers key concepts and principles in person-centred counselling and an important part of the practice model. The word ‘congruence’ refers to the counsellor’s ability to be a real or genuine person in the counselling situation, a person who has no need to act as an expert, to feel superior or to pretend in any way. Because of this lack of pretence or superiority, the counsellor who is congruent or genuine will encourage the client to seek the truth within him, and go on to identify the very core of his problem more effectively. Rogers used the word ‘transparent’ to describe the truly congruent or genuine counsellor, and by this he meant that the counsellors openness should be such that the client is able to see right through to the real person beneath. This means, for example, that even when a client behaves in a difficult or inconsistent fashion, the person-centred counsellor is willing to bring his perception of the client’s behaviour into the open and to discuss it supportively with him. When this true sharing of perceptions takes place between counsellor and client, there is a greater chance that the client will be encouraged to become more open with himself, and this openness should in turn lead to a deeper insight, healing and progress.

The phrase ‘unconditional positive regard’ refers to the respect or valuing which the counsellor feels for the client. This should be given to the client without any conditions attached, for in the person-centred model the client is seen as a unique person who, regardless of his problems or difficulties, has a right to be accepted for himself. Rogers

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sometimes uses the word ‘prizing’ to describe this attitude, and he believed that this prizing is necessary if the client is to feel safe within a counselling situation. Feeling safe also implies that the client knows that the counsellor is not judging him, even though the counsellor may very well have a value system, which is different from his, own. For example, if a client was to tell his counsellor he is gay then a counsellor will not allow such values and beliefs to shadow his counselling procedure. The counsellor will appreciate him as a person and not judge him regardless of his personal beliefs.

The word ‘empathy is used to describe a particular characteristic, which the counsellor possesses in relation to the client. When a counsellor is empathic it means that he is capable of understanding the client in the very deepest senses, that he can, when necessary, stand in the clients shoes and perceive things as the client perceives them and that he can also transmit this deep understanding back to the client, through reflection, who will be encouraged and supported by it. This ability to enter into the true spirit or feelings of another person’s world is sometimes referred to as being within the clients ‘frame of reference’. It is quite different from sympathy because sympathy is concerned with feelings of pity, compassion or tenderness towards another person, whereas empathy requires much more effort, concentration and discipline. This is reflected when a client is telling a story which is quite distressing but nevertheless manages to convey his story without any emotion, whereas a counsellor using empathy is quite disturbed and moved by the story. In order to develop true empathy a counsellor needs to strive constantly for a clearer awareness of all aspects of the client’s feelings, and then to experience his private world with him, as if it were his own. This is extremely difficult to accomplish and sustain, not least because it involves a continuous and intense active listening, not just to words but also to the feelings expressed and conveyed when no words are spoken.

Rogers put forward the view that each individual has within himself a strong tendency to grow, to develop and to reach the maximum potential of which he is capable in life. This is

‘actualising tendency’, the concept of actualising tendency is crucial in the person-centred model of counselling because it places a firm emphasis on the innate ability of people to improve and to regulate their lives, if external forces allow them to do so. Often a persons actualising tendency is inhibited or obscured because of adverse circumstances such as emotional deprivation or traumatic experiences in childhood. The concept of the actualising tendency is also important for a much more fundamental reason, and this concerns the idea that if we, as counsellors, believe that people possess a drive towards growth and wholeness, then we must accept them as being intrinsically ‘good’ and therefore worthy of our deepest respect.

An understanding of the self-concept is important in person-centred counselling for it relates to the individuals perception or image of himself which is based on his life experience and the way he sees himself reflected in the attitudes expressed by his family and friends. People acquire their self-concept very early in childhood and it is continually reinforced by ongoing interactions with other people throughout life. For example when an infant begins to interact with his environment, he simultaneously starts to build a picture of himself in relation to it, and if early experiences are bad or negative, then the subsequent development of the self-

concept will also be negative. Thus, an individual who has received very little love and a great deal of criticism from parents in early life will, in all probability, grow into adulthood with a poor self-concept.

As well as the self-concept, each individual also possesses, according to Rogers, an ‘organismic self’ which is essentially the real inner life of the person. This organismic self is present from birth and consists of the basic force, which regulates each person’s physiological and psychological growth.

The desire for deeper awareness of self is very strong, according to Rogers. This is one of the reasons it is important for person-centred counsellors to receive personal counselling to achieve continuous self-development and to be able to demonstrate they have worked on themselves and therefore are prepared to work with clients. Rogers also believed that exploration and clarification of a person’s current life situation would invariably lead towards growth and healing.

A significant criticism levelled against the person-centred model of counselling is that the counsellor who uses this approach is in danger of becoming merely passive or laissez-faire. Person-centred counselling, especially in today’s age of wanting quick results and fixes is seen by some therapist as not being enough or the procedure being too time consuming. This is one of the reasons some therapist will choose to use other models in therapy.

Is it ever possible, therefore, to integrate techniques and procedures from other models of counselling with the person centred approach? It seems that a sizeable number of counsellors who are person-centred in their basic orientation, do in fact select and use ideas from other models, when and if clients request and need them. Clients can be given UPR, empathy and congruence, and be helped in other ways too. It is true that a directive or teaching approach cannot be used consistently with person-centred counselling if the distinct features of the latter are to be retained. It is still possible and frequently desirable, to use elements of REBT, behavioural, Gestalt or psychodynamic counselling within the framework of the person-centred approach. Relaxation techniques, positive imagery or rational thinking exercises are all useful adjuncts to short-term and crisis counselling in particular.

The REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy) model of counselling emphasises an active, instructive and re-educative approach, which is different from the Rogerian model. Albert Ellis who had a great interest in behavioural learning theory developed REBT. REBT is concerned, not just with clients thinking, but also with the emotions and

behaviours, which follow on from this. The principal aim of the therapy is to help clients to

change their irrational patterns of thinking, and to show them how these dysfunctional patterns can lead to emotional disturbance and counterproductive behaviour.

Ellis has described the relationship between thinking and emotion through the use of his ABC model of personality and emotional disturbance. According to the model, it is not what happens at point A which causes an individual to experience disturbance or discomfort: on the contrary, it is the individual’s own self-talk or ‘catastrophising which inflicts the damage and this takes place at point B. Then at point C, the individual experiences the emotional disturbance or reaction, which follows directly from his own negative self-talk. The mistake most people make, according to Ellis, is that they identify the activating event at point A as the cause of their unhappiness, whereas in reality it is the way that they think about the event (point B), which causes the problem.

In common with the Rogerian model, REBT theory regards the relationship between counsellor and client as being very important. The REBT model emphasises the need to understand the client and his problem, and identifies a further need to communicate this understanding and acceptance to the client. However, there is less stress on empathy than in Rogers model. The ability to enter into the client’s world, which is sometimes referred to as ‘being within the clients frame of reference’, is a fundamental prerequisite of the person-centred model. Whereas person-centred counselling is non-directive in its approach to

clients, a view implicit in REBT theory is that people who are emotionally disturbed need to be actively, and authoritatively, taught to accept themselves and others. For this reason

the REBT counsellor is more direct in his approach. REBT practice can prove to be valuable when a client needs directness and challenge for the client to be able to move on. REBT counselling can be effective in helping clients to look more closely at the beliefs which they hold so that irrational thinking can be identified and changed. However, as discussed before

with less stress on empathy and not being in the ‘client’s frame of reference’ can also have harmful effects when a client may not be ready for appropriate directness and challenge. It can then be said that by initially introducing the person-centred approach first, one can be sure the client is ready for appropriate interaction and that introduction of other theories is done when and if the client is ready.

Developed in the 1940s by Laura and Frederick (Fritz) Perls, Gestalt therapy is indebted also to the psychoanalytic tradition from which Perls came. Regardless of which model of counselling is used, the working relationship between client and counsellor is of fundamental importance to the success of the therapy in progress. Perhaps what distinguishes Gestalt counselling from other models is the degree to which the counsellor is prepared to be himself, to be open about his feelings and experiences, and to be willing to share these with the client when necessary. The relationship is often described as one that is based on free dialogue between client and counsellor, and this often means that the counsellor may be quite confrontational in what he says to the client. In Gestalt therapy confrontation should never involve inappropriate pressure on the client, it has been known for some therapists to

abuse this. A counsellor can, for example, use confrontation in a positive way when the counsellor draws attention to the discrepancies existing between what the client says and how he actually appears when he is speaking. The client who looks habitually bored, but who insists that he enjoys his counselling sessions, is probably unaware that his physical appearance is a clear indication of the true state of his feelings. A Gestalt therapist is concerned to encourage the client to take responsibility for himself, and to get in touch with his innate ability to solve problems. This is similar to the client empowerment implicit in person-centred counselling, but in the Gestalt model the counsellor’s approach is much more active, for he may use specific directions to facilitate awareness and change in the client during therapy.

Since the central focus of Gestalt counselling is on the totality of the client’s immediate experience, techniques such as role-playing, which are designed to elicit spontaneous feelings and self-awareness, are often applied. One technique used in Gestalt therapy is the ‘empty chair’ which can prove very powerful and effective, for example a client can re-enact two elements of a dream or a client may have some unfinished matter with a dead person and can use the empty chair to pretend he is talking to the person. These skills must be instigated with a great deal of thought and expertise on the part of the counsellor This means in effect, that the Gestalt counsellor or a counsellor who chooses to use Gestalt intervention should be adequately trained in the skills which underpin the model (i.e. the skills of listening, observing and responding when appropriate) As well as Gestalt techniques proving effective, they can be damaging if not used appropriately or with adequate skills.

It is imperative the counsellor is aware of and takes ownership of the dangers of using inappropriate techniques. A person-centred counsellor working with the client and using the core conditions can do little damage to the client’s frame of mind. As illustrated above techniques used from other models can be very effective and powerful in the development of counselling sessions but these must only be used when appropriate for the client and when the client is ready. Counsellors can often make the mistake of using techniques because they feel it is appropriate and beneficial in the session and forget whom they are actually doing it for, themselves? Or the client?

All the theories explored are valuable and have an appropriate place within a counselling situation. It is the responsibility of the counsellor to only use intervention of techniques when it is safe to do so and the client is ready, and this can be established by developing a relationship with the ‘core’ conditions outlined in the person-centred theory.