Strengths and Contributions of Person centered counseling

Person centered counseling’s unique aspects include the following;
1. The approach revolutionized the counseling profession by linking counseling with psychotherapy and demystifying it by making audiotapes of actual sessions and publishing actual transcripts of counseling sessions (Goodyear 1987).
2. The person centered approach to counseling is applicable to a wide range of human problems, including institutional changes, labor-management relationships, leadership development, career decision making and international diplomacy. For instance, Cornelius-White 2005 has found the person centered approach can be effective in promoting multicultural counseling. Likewise Lemoire and Chen 2005, have argued that the person centered approach seems to have the potential to create the necessary conditions that counteract stigmatization, allowing adolescents who are associated with a stigmatized sexual minority group to cope with their sexual identity in a manner that is more constructive for them.
3. The approach has generated extensive research (Tursi &Cochran 2006). It initially set the standard for doing research on counseling variables, especially those that Rogers 1957 deemed necessary and sufficient to being about therapeutic change.
4. The approach is effective in a number of settings, person centered counseling helps improve psychological adjustment, learning and frustration tolerance and decrease defensiveness. It is appropriate in treating mild to moderate anxiety states, adjustment disorders, and conditions not attributable to mental disorders, such as uncomplicated bereavement or interpersonal relations (Seligman 1997)
5. The person centered approach may be especially helpful in working with clients who have experienced tragedies since it allows them to struggle though emotion and actually become less affected in time by fully realizing feelings related to tragedies (Tursi & Cochran 2006).
6. The approach focuses on the open and accepting relationship established by counselors and clients and the short term nature of the helping process.
7. The basics of the approach take a relatively short time to learn. With its emphasis on mastering listening skills, person centered counseling is foundation for training many paraprofessional helpers. Furthermore it is the basis for several new and emerging approaches to treatment and it is frequently combined with other theoretical orientations to counseling such as cognitive and behavioral (Prochaska & Norcross 2007.
8. The approach has positive view of human nature and continues to evolve.