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Writer's pictureMaria Alda Gomez Otero

Person-Centred Approach

Updated: Jun 7, 2019

Different counsellors in Devon work in different ways. You will find #counsellors and #psychotherapists who work from a body-centred perspective, and others who follow Freud’s theories very closely. Among the different #counselling approaches, some counsellors in Devon choose to use the #person-centred approach. In order to select the best counsellor for you, you may wish to know a little bit about the different approaches.




The person-centred approach was founded by #Carl Rogers. Carl Rogers believed that each individual has an innate capacity to grow and change. This is what is called the #self-actualising theory. Each person is a #self-healing system, able to reach the best of their human capacities. Rogers used the research available to him and his experience to prove that a trusting relationship with a therapist, who applies the core conditions of #congruence, uncondtional positive regard, and #empathy, results in personality change. It is agreed by therapists of different theories that these conditions facilitate human growth into a more functional and independent individual.


The person-centred approach suggests that a therapist can be most helpful by letting a client find solutions to their own problems. In this approach, the counsellor helps by encouraging and reflecting on what a client brings to the sessions. It is a non-directive approach.


The three core conditions mean that a counsellor must be willing to be themselves in front of a client, accepting whatever feelings they may experience while working, including what we consider negative ones (congruence). They also mean that a counsellor must have unconditional positive regard for their clients, accepting them fully, including what they do not particularly like in them. Finally, they mean being able to walk in the clients’ shoes, experiencing life from their perspective to help them feel totally understood (empathy).


In order for a counsellor to work at ease with these core conditions, they need to have life experience and be open to continuously explore different ways of being, respecting those adopted by their clients. They need to be able to feel empathy for others as well as respect themselves as individuals constantly growing and changing.


For #personality change to take place in therapy, you must trust your counsellor to fully accept who you are, especially those things that you don’t particularly like about yourself. In therapy, you will be able to express your real self, deepening your awareness of who you are and what it means to be you.

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