Chapter 5- Person Centered Therapy

Chapter 5- Person Centered Therapy

According to the text, Carl Rogers is the founder of the Person Centered Therapy. In person centered therapy the client knows that they have and issue and subconsciously knows how to fix it, thus the counselor does not diagnose the client. Rogers found that techniques and diagnosing the client impeded their self development, thus he found it useful to not practice any techniques except for showing empathy. In this theory, happiness is seen as a journey rather than a goal. Hence, the client goal is continuous self improvement. Feelings are also deemed extremely important.

In my current role, as a graduate assistant in academic coaching, I have many students that make appointments to work on their academics. During a few of my student interactions, I have found that some of my students know the answers to the questions they ask. However, they are looking for confirmation in their actions. During my first few interactions with these students, I did not realize this and I would try to educated them on different study techniques. Eventually, I realized that they already knew what to do, but were struggling with making decisions between social life. In reading about this theory and reflecting on some of the practices, I realized that I have already began to practice Person Centered Therapy in some of my sessions and it has been helpful, sometimes.