Role of the counselor in Person centered counseling

The counselors role is holistic one. He or she sets up and promotes a climate in which the client is free and encouraged to explore all aspects of self (Rogers 1951, 1980). This atmosphere focuses on the counselor client relationship, which Rogers describes as one with a special “I-Thou” personal quality. The counselor is aware of the client’s verbal and nonverbal language, and the counselor reflects back what he or she is hearing or observing (Braaten 1986). Neither the client nor the counselor knows what direction the sessions will take or what goals will emerge in the process. The client is a person in process who is “entitled to direct his or her own therapy’(Moon 2007). Thus, the counselor’s job is to work as facilitator rather than a director. In the person centered approach, the counselor is the process expert and expert learner. Patience is essential (Miller 1996).