Roger's Client Centred Therapy (OCR A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
5.5.3 Roger's Client-Centred Therapy
Focus on self involves our ideas and values about who we are and what we can do. For self-actualisation to occur, there needs to be congruence between our perceived self and our ideal self. To help reduce the gap between these, Rogers developed client-centred therapy, addressing problems like low self-esteem that often stem from childhood, particularly from a lack of unconditional positive regard from parents. This gap can be narrowed by developing a healthier self-view and receiving unconditional positive regard from a therapist.
Core conditions of worth:
- Empathy
- Congruence
- Unconditional positive regard
Unconditional positive regards: The basic acceptance and support of a person regardless of what the person says or does.
Conditions of worth: Requirements that the individual feels they need to meet to be loved (also called conditional positive regard)
Person-centered therapy: The therapist provides unconditional positive regard aiming to achieve congruence.
Positive evaluation:
P: The humanistic approach has led to practical application in the form of Rogers' client-centred therapy.
E: This is argued to have revolutionised counselling for mental health problems such as depression and anxiety and has therefore helped many people to overcome difficulties they experience in everyday life.
E: This is a strength as the humanistic approach has made a significant contribution to improving people's quality of life, which may also benefit the economy, as people may be more likely to come to work.
P: Humanists reject any attempt to simplify behaviour into smaller components.
E: It considers all components of the body to prevent important aspects from getting overlooked.
E: Therefore, it is not reductionist.
P: Emphasises that humans have free will over their behaviour.
E: Humans have the ability to make genuine choices over their actions
E: Therefore, it is less deterministic than the biological and behaviourist approach
Negative evaluation:
P: Many of the approach's core concepts are abstract and untestable.
E: For example, concepts such as self-actualisation and congruence may be difficult to assess under experimental conditions. As a result, they can't be directly measured and empirical evidence can't be gained to support the key concepts of the theory.
E: This is a weakness as it makes it hard to know how accurate the explanations are as they aren't falsifiable, ultimately reducing the scientific credibility of psychology
P: Culturally biassed
E: The humanistic approach values concepts that are valued in individualistic cultures e.g. personal success and self-actualisation. However, collectivist cultures such as China and Korea are focused on community and helping each other, rather than pushing individual, personal growth
E: Therefore, the approach cannot be applied to collectivist cultures, reducing its usefulness