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What Is Person (Client) Centered Therapy?

For some people, an ideal therapy experience doesn’t necessarily mean consulting a professional,
answering questions that’ll help them determine what’s wrong, and listening to another person
advise them on how to work through their struggles. Therapy can also involve a more humanistic
approach, where your therapist merely guides your journey of self-discovery and supports you in
finding the answers you’ve been seeking. After all, you’re the expert on your own life.

This type of psychotherapy is known as client centered therapy, and it focuses on maximizing your
ability to find your own solutions with the right amount of support. If you are looking for an effective
humanistic therapy method to help support your mental health, this type of counseling is an excellent
place to start.

What Is Client Centered Therapy?

Client centered therapy, or person centered therapy, is a non-directive approach to talk therapy. It
requires the client to actively take the reins during each therapy session, while the therapist acts
mainly as a guide or a source of support for the client. “Person centered therapy allows the client to
steer the ship. There’s no agenda, no rush,” says Talkspace therapist Catherine Richardson, MA,

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LPC, EMDR. This person centered approach supports mental health by coming from a place of
empathy during each counselling session.

The concept of client centered therapy might seem like a stretch — after all, most kinds of
humanistic therapy essentially focus on the client. What sets this type of therapy apart, however, is
that it centers the client in a more positive and inclusive manner, providing deeper insight into the
difficult situation they’re facing while also maximizing their ability to resolve it on their own. This
type of talk therapy supports a therapeutic process that encourages positive change within the client.

In the 1930s, American psychologist Carl Rogers developed client centered therapy to serve as a
contrast to the practice of psychoanalysis, which was widespread at the time. Rogers believed that no
other person’s ideas could be as valid as one’s individual experience, and that exploring these
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experiences in a supportive, non-judgemental environment is necessary in order to achieve a positive

therapy experience.

Rogers’ theories on humanistic psychology gave rise to the client centered approach to
psychotherapy, known as Rogerian therapy. Rogers used the term “client” rather than “patient” to
promote equality in the therapist-client relationship. Traditionally, there was a power imbalance
between the therapist and the patient, but client centered therapy emphasizes that the client’s
experience is just as valid as a professional’s insight, and therefore the two parties should be viewed
as equals.

How Does Client Centered Therapy Work?

Client centered therapy requires the therapist to focus on the client’s needs. Rather than giving an in-
depth analysis of the client’s difficulties or blaming the client’s present thoughts and behaviors on
past experiences, the therapist listens to the client and provides a conducive environment for them to
make decisions independently. It also means that the therapist avoids judging the client for any
reason, and accepts them fully. This lack of judgement is a quality known in this field as
“unconditional positive regard.”

The practice of client centered therapy requires the therapist to understand how the world works from
the client’s point of view. Therefore, they may ask questions for clarification when in doubt about
something their client shared.

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According to the client centered theory, a negative and indirect approach makes a client more
conscious of those parts of themselves that they were previously in denial about. When the therapist
responds to the client’s feelings and brings a level of empathy to each therapy session, it brings those
parts into focus, but when there’s little or no intrusion, the client is free to make decisions
independently without making the therapist the center of their thoughts and feelings.

Essentially, client centered therapy doesn’t particularly aim to solve specific problems or relieve
symptoms, but to help the client get rid of the idea that they are being influenced by external factors
beyond their control. The goals of this practice include increasing self-awareness, improving the
client’s ability to use self-direction to make desired changes, increasing clarity, improving self-
esteem and boosting the client’s self-reliance.
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Therapists who practice Carl Rogers’ person centered therapy should exhibit three essential qualities:
genuineness, unconditional positive regard, and empathetic understanding.

Genuineness

Open communication between the therapist and client should be established, where the client
centered therapist feels comfortable sharing their feelings with the client. This will similarly
encourage the client to share their own feelings and engage in honest conversations.

Unconditional positive regard

Carl Rogers believed that offering people conditional support often makes them develop further
problems, and therefore, the client centered therapist should create a climate of unconditional
positive regard, where the client is free to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of
judgement.

Empathetic understanding

Empathy is a key quality in client centered therapy. It fosters a positive relationship between the
therapist and client and represents a mirror that reflects the client’s thoughts and emotions so as to
help them gain more insight INTO the situation they’re struggling with and into themselves.

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The Importance of Self-Concept

Another key feature of Carl Rogers’ person centered therapy is the notion of self, also known as the
self-concept. Rogers defined this concept as “the organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs
one has about themselves.”

The self-concept is important to your total life experience and influences the way you view yourself
and the world around you. For instance, if you consider yourself to be smart, you may act in an
assertive manner and see your actions as something done by a person who’s smart.

However, the self-concept doesn’t always match your reality, and you may see yourself a lot
differently from the way other people see you. For instance, you might see yourself as uninteresting,
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while other people find you to be an exciting person to be around. This opinion of yourself may
gradually start to reflect in your behavior, and make you develop a low self-esteem.

With person centered therapy, you can receive genuine support that will help you obtain a more
positive view of yourself.

What Are the Methods Involved in Client Centered Therapy?

In addition to practicing unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathetic understanding, a

client centered therapist can help the client get positive results from therapy sessions by employing
the following techniques:

 Boundaries — Setting clear boundaries to maintain a healthy and appropriate relationship,

such as ruling out certain topics of conversation and making it clear how long each session
will last.
 Personal experiences — Keeping in mind that the client is the expert when it comes to
personal experiences. It’s more helpful to let the client explain what they feel the problem
may be, rather than telling them what the problem is and how they can resolve it.
 Active listening — Listening actively to the client and helping them work through their
thoughts. This can help in making the client’s point of view a lot clearer, even to themselves.
 Calm — Sometimes, a client may express negative thoughts about themselves, the people
around them, or about their therapist. Therapists are trained to stay calm while helping their
clients work through their emotions. However, personal abuse should not be tolerated by
therapists.

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 Positive tone — Maintaining a positive tone of voice encourages the client to communicate
openly. Knowing when to slow down the pace of the conversation or take short pauses can be
helpful.
 Additional help — It’s also important to realize when the client requires more help than
person centered therapy can offer. In such cases, the therapist may recommend further
professional help for the client.

Source: Google

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