How It Works

Person-centered therapy, as envisioned by Rogers, was a movement away from the therapist’s traditional role as an expert and leader, and toward a process that allowed clients to use their own understanding of their experiences as a platform for healing. The success of person-centered therapy generally relies on three conditions: Unconditional positive regard, which means therapists must be empathetic and non-judgmental as they accept the client’s words and convey feelings of understanding, trust, and confidence that encourage clients to feel valued and to make their own (better) decisions and choices. Empathetic understanding, which means therapists completely understand and accept their clients’ thoughts and feelings, in a way that can help reshape an individual’s sense of their experiences. Congruence, or genuineness, which means therapists carry no air of authority or superiority but instead present a true and accessible self that clients can see is honest and transparent. When therapy is working well, clients experience themselves as better understood in their sessions, which often leads them to feel better understood in other areas of their lives as well. Research supports this idea: Studies have found that when clients perceive these three qualities to be present in their therapists—and particularly when they recognize the professional’s unconditional positive regard for them—they are more likely to report achieving positive outcomes; in other words, the relationship established between client and therapist is itself therapeutic A person-focused professional should have the ability to remain calm in sessions, even if a client expresses negative thoughts about the therapist. A trained therapist should allow a client to verbalize that they are frustrated or disappointed by them and help the individual discover what insights can be gained by exploring those feelings.