Techniques of Person Centered Counseling

For person centered therapists, the quality of the counseling relationship is much more important than techniques (Glauser & Bozarth 2001) Rogers 1957 believed there are three necessary and sufficient conditions of counseling;

1. Empathy
2. Unconditional positive regard (acceptance, prizing)
3. Congruence (genuineness, openness, authenticity, transparency)

Empathy may be subjective, interpersonal or objective (Clark 2004, Rogers 1964) Often it is a combination of all three. In therapeutic situations empathy is primarily the counselor’s ability to feel with clients and convey this understanding back to them, This may be done in multiple ways but essentially empathy is an attempt to think with, rather than for or about, the client and to grasp the client’s communications, intentions and meaning (Brammer et al 1993). Rogers 1975 noted “The research keeps piling up and it points strongly to the conclusion that a high degree of empathy in a relationship is possibly the most potent and certainly one of the most potent factors in bringing about change and learning.
Unconditional positive regard also known as acceptance, is a deep and genuine caring for the client as a person-that is, prizing the person just for being (Rogers 1961, 1980)
Congruence is the condition of being transparent in the therapeutic relationship by giving up roles and facades (Rogers 1980. It is the “counselor’s readiness for setting aside concerns and personal preoccupation and for being available and open in relationship with the client (Moon 2007)
Since 1980, person centered counselors have tried a number of other procedures for working with clients, such as limited self disclosure of feelings, thoughts and values (Corey 2005). Clients, however, grow by experiencing themselves and others in relationship (Cormier & Cormier 1998). Therefore, Rogers 1967 believed that significant positive personality change could not occur except in relationships.

Methods that help promote the counselor-client relationship include, but are not limited to, active and passive listening, accurate reflection of thoughts and feelings, clarification, summarization, confrontation and general or open-ended leads. Questions are avoided whenever possible (Tursi & Cochran 2006).