What is person-centred therapy?
Person-centered therapy is a non-directive, empathic approach that empowers and motivates clients in the therapeutic process. It stems from the belief that every person strives for and has the capacity to fulfill his or her own potential.
Rather than seeing people as inherently flawed, with problematic behaviours and thoughts that require treatment, person-centered therapy identifies that each person has the capacity and desire for personal growth and change - termed “actualizing tendency,” or self-actualization.
“Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behavior; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided”
The person-centered therapist trusts this human potential, providing clients with empathy and unconditional positive regard to help facilitate change. The therapist avoids directing the course of therapy and follows the client’s direction so that the client can discover solutions within themselves.
Person-centered therapy was at the forefront of the humanistic psychology movement, and it has influenced many therapeutic techniques and the mental health field, and numerous other disciplines, from medicine to education.
Resources where you can find out more about Person-Centered Therapy
- The Association for the Development of the Person Centered Approach
- British Association for the Person-Centered Approach
- Person Centered International
Content reproduced from GoodTherapy.org