Learning and Being in Person-Centred Counselling (third edition)

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Our strong international presence within the field of person-centred experiential counselling and psychotherapy, combined with our long and rich history, is what puts the University of Nottingham at the cutting-edge of counselling training. The person-centred experiential approach The best vantage point from which to understand behaviour is from the internal frame of reference of the individual himself. To understand the behaviour of a person, we must look at the world from their point of view. Learning and Being in Person-Centred Counselling is an important book for any student of counselling and psychotherapy. Each chapter provides the reader with clear explanations of fundamental person centred concepts. Despite being first published more than 20 years ago, this book remains relevant to contemporary person-centred counselling practice. It is highly accessible to students at any level of study and contains numerous practical exercises to help the reader gain a deeper understanding of person-centred theory. I would highly recommend it to counselling and psychotherapy students and to any readers who wish to acquire a comprehensive understanding of person-centred counselling. Incongruence is “a discrepancy between the actual experience of the organism and the self-picture of the individual insofar as it represents that experience. Joseph, S. (2010). Therapeutic Approaches in Counselling and Psychotherapy: An introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave – a general introduction to the field of counselling and psychotherapy for those new to the field and who wish to find out about the different types of therapy

At Nottingham, we are committed to creating a safe, engaging and inclusive learning environment in which you are able to grow as a person and a professional. Classes are characterised byexperiential learningactivities, critical engagement with theoretical perspectives, and opportunities to reflect and share participants' unique perceptions of issues and events. When I am connected to my authentic being, I am able to be open to my actual experience – its immediacy and totality – and to integrate this into the world. Increasing organismic trust – they trust their own judgment and their ability to choose behavior that is appropriate for each moment. They do not rely on existing codes and social norms but trust that as they are open to experiences they will be able to trust their own sense of right and wrong. A reading of the ‘nineteen propositions’ gives a clear sense of how person-centred personality theory reflects a view of the person continually in process. The person is able, or potentially able to become free from conditions and move away from its debilitating effects towards becoming more integrated and fully functioning. In other words, Rogers viewed the negative effects of early relationships imposing conditions of worth as being largely responsible for the development of emotional or psychological disturbance; the other side of this coin is the person-centred idea that whilst some relationships can be damaging, others can be positively growth promoting.” (Merry, 2002: 23-27). Two primary sources that influence our self-concept are childhood experiences and evaluation by others.Psychological adjustment exists when the concept of the self is such that all the sensory and visceral experiences of the organism are, or may be, assimilated on a symbolic level into a consistent relationship with the concept of self. One major difference between humanistic counselors and other therapists is that they refer to those in therapy as “clients,” not “patients.” This is because they see the therapist and client as equal partners rather than as an expert treating a patient. This method involves removing obstacles so the client can move forward, freeing him or her for normal growth and development. By using non-directive techniques, Rogers assisted people in taking responsibility for themselves. The first MA Counselling ran for 20 years and later MA Counselling Children and Young People was added to the portfolio. The contribution of the original staff members to the development of our current work remains a strong influence. As the individual perceives and accepts into his self-structure more of his organic experiences, he finds that he is replacing his value system – based so largely upon introjections which have been distortedly symbolized – with a continuing organismic valuing process. We stop applying rigid rules to govern our values and use a more flexible way of valuing based upon our own experience, not on the values we have taken in from others.

Compared to other forms of psychotherapy, person-centered therapy has the advantage of being more readily available and more easily implemented in other healthcare roles. [11]Rogers himself stated that professional psychological knowledge is not required of the therapist; the qualities of the therapist and their experiential training are more important than intellectual training. [2] The organism reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual field is “reality” for the individual.Psychological maladjustment exists when the organism denies to awareness significant sensory and visceral experiences, which consequently are not symbolized and organised into the gestalt of the self-structure. When this situation exists, there is a basic or potential psychological tension. When we experience something that doesn’t fit with our picture of ourselves and we cannot fit it in with that picture, we feel tense, anxious, frightened or confused. Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. London: Constable. One reason why Rogers (1951) rejected interpretation was that he believed that, although symptoms did arise from past experience, it was more useful for the client to focus on the present and future than on the past. Rather than just liberating clients from their past, as psychodynamic therapists aim to do, Rogerians hope to help their clients to achieve personal growth and eventually to self-actualize.