0390435333.pdf

Feist−Feist: Theories of

Personality, Seventh

Edition

III. Humanistic/Existential

Theories

11. Rogers:
    Person−Centered Theory

© The McGraw−Hill^333

Companies, 2009

Outcomes

If the process of therapeutic change is set in motion, then certain observable out-
comes can be expected. The most basic outcome of successful client-centered ther-
apy is a congruent client who is less defensive and more open to experience. Each
of the remaining outcomes is a logical extension of this basic one.
As a result of being more congruent and less defensive, clients have a clearer
picture of themselves and a more realistic view of the world. They are better able to
assimilate experiences into the self on the symbolic level; they are more effective in
solving problems; and they have a higher level of positive self-regard.
Being realistic, they have a more accurate view of their potentials, which per-
mits them to narrow the gap between self-ideal and real self. Typically, this gap is
narrowed because both the ideal self and the true self show some movement. Be-
cause clients are more realistic, they lower their expectations of what they should be
or would like to be; and because they have an increase in positive self-regard, they
raise their view of what they really are.
Because their ideal self and their real self are more congruent, clients experi-
ence less physiological and psychological tension, are less vulnerable to threat, and
have less anxiety. They are less likely to look to others for direction and less likely
to use others’ opinions and values as the criteria for evaluating their own experi-
ences. Instead, they become more self-directed and more likely to perceive that the
locus of evaluation resides within themselves. They no longer feel compelled to
please other people and to meet external expectations. They feel sufficiently safe to

Chapter 11 Rogers: Person-Centered Theory 327

TABLE 11.1

Rogers’s Theory of Therapeutic Change

Ifthe following conditions exist:

1. A vulnerable or anxious client


2. contacts a counselor who possesses


3. congruence in the relationship,


4. unconditional positive regard for
   the client,and


5. empathic understanding for the
   client’s internal frame of
   reference,and


6. the client perceives Conditions 3, 4,
   and 5—the three necessary and
   sufficient conditions for therapeutic
   growth;

Thentherapeutic change occurs and the

client will

1. become more congruent;


2. be less defensive;


3. become more open to experiences;


4. have a more realistic view of the
   world;


5. develop positive self-regard;


6. narrow the gap between ideal self
   and real self;


7. be less vulnerable to threat;


8. become less anxious;


9. take ownership of experiences;


10. become more accepting of others;


11. become more congruent in
    relationships with others.

Note:Boldfaced phrases represent the key therapeutic conditions and the most basic outcomes.