Person Centred Approach
“The Person-Centred Approach was developed by Carl Rogers (1902-1987).
At the heart of this approach is the basic trust in human beings and in the movement of every organism toward constructive fulfilment of its, his, or her possibilities (from Carl R. Rogers. Way of Being. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980, p.117).
Rogers stated that ‘Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behaviour; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided.’ (from Carl R. Rogers. Way of Being. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980, p.115-117).
…Originally described as non-directive, this therapy moved away from the idea that the therapist was the expert and towards a theory that trusted the innate tendency (known as the actualising tendency) of human beings to find fulfilment of their personal potentials. An important part of this theory is that in a particular psychological environment, the fulfilment of personal potentials includes sociability, the need to be with other human beings and a desire to know and be known by other people. It also includes being open to experience, being trusting and trustworthy, being curious about the world, being creative and compassionate.
At one level, Rogers’ theory and work is very simple to describe. As many people would attest, both those using the approach and those working as person-therapists/counsellors, it can be very difficult to put into practice because the approach does not use techniques but relies on the personal qualities of the therapist/person to build a non-judgemental and empathic relationship.”
The British Association for the Person-Centred Approach
Testimonials
It is within the herd that I have finally found my voice.....long forgotten but not lost.
Thank you, Cleo and Sultana for allowing me to be part of the herd.
Thanks to my therapist I am now more assertive and clearer of my needs and therefore more able to live a life that I want rather than what people want.
Although at the beginning I was very scared of horses, today I realised that the biggest fear was that I could be as powerful as the horses.
