‘’Evaluate the claim that Person-Centred Therapy offers the therapist all that he/she will need to treat client’s’’. When looking at Person-Centred Therapy the name that most commonly pops up is that of Carl Rogers. Rogers believed that people continually strive ‘to become a person’. He was convinced that a strict upbringing resulted in the repression of emotions. Love is an important emotion to aid our survival, particularly from those that are around us with whom we depend upon for survival. He argued that in infancy we developed positive, self- regard and needed this in order to survive. Carl Rogers Theory of the self-concept
Carl Rogers theory of the concept of self relates to the individuals perception or image of themselves which is based on life experience. So if a child’s first experiences are negative, Rogers believed it likely that by the time they became an adult, the child would have a poor self-concept. The theory includes the organismic self (or self-actualising tendency) and self-concept. The organismic self is with us from birth and strives to mature and achieve self-actualisation. The self-concept is acquired in early childhood, it is shaped by positive attitudes we receive from important others (usually parents). The self-concept usually comes into play due to secondary needs, positive regard from others and positive self-regard. An example of positive regard from others would be of a parent not paying much attention to their child telling them about their day, but as soon as the child mentions they gain high marks in a maths exam they look up and ask questions. Positive self-regard is an internalised version of the previous example. Rogers developed a warm and caring regard for his clients, letting them speak without reacting then solely reflecting feelings back to the client. ‘’good feelings are encouraged, there-by strengthening the