Person-centred therapy: 100 key points

SECTION 1: THE UNDERLYING EPISTEMOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY AND PRINCIPLES OF PERSON-CENTRED THERAPY. 1. The person-centred approach is a system of ideas and attitudes in which person-centred therapy is rooted. 2. Person-centred therapy has been from the outset and remains a radical challenge to the prevailing medical model and the notion of therapist as 'expert'. 3. The person-centred approach embraces a family of person-centred therapies. 4. There is a philosophical basis to person-centred therapy. 5. The principle of non-directivity underpins person-centred therapy. 6. 'Power' and how it is exercised are central to person-centred therapy. 7. The issue of the compatibility of using techniques in a person-centred framework is unresolved and contentious. SECTION 2: CLASSICAL PERSON-CENTRED THEORY. 8. Person-centred practice, however it is now carried out, is founded on theory based on empirical research and observation as described by Rogers and his colleagues in the 1940s and 1950s. 9. The actualising tendency is the crucial concept at the heart of approaches to person-centred therapy. 10. The 'nineteen propositions' detailed in Rogers (1951) and the classic paper Rogers (1959) provide an elegant statement of a theory of personality consistent with person-centred concepts of change. 11. Although person-centred theory is an organismic theory, not a self theory, the notion of 'self' remains important. 12. The root of psychological and emotional distress lies in the acquisition of conditions of worth. 13. The proposal of six necessary and sufficient conditions for therapeutic change is an integrative statement describing the elements of any successful therapeutic relationship. It is untrue that the practice of person-centred therapy involves but three 'core conditions'. 14. Because there is no stated or implied ranking of the six necessary and sufficient conditions and they are only effective in combination, it may be a mistake to favour one above the other.

15. The need for (psychological) contact is an often unconsidered pre-requisite for person-centred therapy. To be in contact is to be in relationship. 16. That the client is incongruent and at least to some degree aware of that incongruence (as vulnerability or anxiety) is a necessary condition for therapy. 17. Rogers' seven stages of process provides a model for therapeutic change and guidance for the therapist in the encounter. 18. For therapy to be effective, the therapist must be congruent in the relationship. This is a requirement to 'be' and not necessarily to 'do'. 19. Unconditional positive regard is the linchpin on which person-centred therapy turns but it presents a real challenge to the therapist. However, without this quality of acceptance there is a strong possibility that therapy will be unsuccessful. 20. 'The ideal person-centred therapist is first of all empathic.' 'Being empathic is a complex, demanding, strong yet subtle and gentle way of being'. 21. The effectiveness of a therapist's unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding depends on the extent to which they are perceived by the client. 22. In person-centred theory, there is no acceptance of the unconscious as a repository of repressed functions and primitive drives or desires and therefore 'transference' is of little or no relevance. SECTION 3: REVISIONS, RECONSIDERATIONS AND ADVANCES IN PERSON-CENTRED THEORY. 23. Person-centred therapy is not based on an ossified, mid-twentieth century theory but alive, dynamic and being actively researched and developed. 24. From the outset, an understanding of child development and psychotherapy with children and young people has been fundamental to the person-centred approach. Theory and practice continue to be developed and refined. 25. In the view of some, there are times when the integration of the necessary and sufficient conditions leads to another, 'transformational' quality known as 'presence'.

40. It is untrue that person-centred theory holds that there is an ideal endpoint to human development and this has implications for therapy. 41. It is untrue that the model of the person advanced in person-centred theory is inadequate to explain psychopathology and leads to an unprofessional disregard for assessment. 42. It is untrue that person-centred theory includes an unduly optimistic view of human nature as fundamentally 'good' and that this leads to a naive disregard for destructive drives and an avoidance of challenge and confrontation in the therapeutic endeavour. 43. Rogers' (1957/1959) statement of the necessary and sufficient conditions has been challenged. While many accept the necessity of these, the sufficiency is doubted. 44. Person-centred therapy is seen as arising from and bound to a particular culture milieu and this limits its relevance and applicability. 45. In ignoring 'transference' person-centred therapy is seen as naive and seriously lacking. 46. The non-directive attitude is a fiction and an irresponsible denial o

26. For some, in classic person-centred theory the notion of the 'individual/self' as a discrete entity is over-emphasised, incomplete and/or culture bound. 27. The person may constitute a multiplicity of 'selves' rather than a unitary self. 28. Empathy is seen as multi-faceted and complex but it is important to remember that empathic understanding is what is essential to effective therapy. 29. Although the basic hypothesis does not call for it, the communication to and/or perception of the therapist's congruence by the client has recently received attention. 30. Although it remains under-researched, unconditional positive regard has been reconsidered and re-evaluated. 31. Person-centred therapy is rooted in a philosophical and ethical tradition: the work of Peter Schmid. 32. Although diagnosis has no place in person-centred practice, assessment may be an ethical obligation. 33. Person-centred theory includes ways of understanding of psychopathology. These differ from the predominant 'medical model'. 34. Pre-therapy and contact work constitute an important, person-centred way of working with 'contact impairment' and extreme mental and emotional distress. 35. Client incongruence, w…