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Person-Centered Therapy: Concepts and Counselor Qualities

BreAnn Denson

Department of Psychology, Grand Canyon University

CNL-500-O508 Theories and Models of Counseling

Dr. Sade Dunn

September 29th, 2021

Person-Centered Therapy: Concepts and Counselor Qualities

Providing quality services for clients is essential to make sure there are quality results. It

can sometimes take trying different approaches to find the best approach for the client and their

presenting issues. As providers it is important to be genuine when providing services to clients

and build rapport with clients to feel comfortable. It can be challenging to remain genuine during

the therapeutic process with clients that cross certain boundaries that a provider is not willing to

deal with. Providers must remain objective and know their boundaries to be able to provide

quality services without disrupting the therapeutic process. Counselors are aware of and avoid

imposing their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. (ACA Ethics Code 2014) Person-

centered counseling may be challenging for some providers to remain empathic or genuine

without disrupting the process of counseling. Unconditional positive regard is especially

important during therapy but also may be difficult for counselors.

Person-Centered Therapy Effectiveness

Person-center therapy focuses on talk therapy where the client does most of the talking

and the counselor listens, only giving directive when necessary. Therapists are not supposed to

judge the client but to always show empathy and genuineness to avoid causing harm. Person-

centered therapy is beneficial to clients with a wide range of presenting issues because it allows

clients to be vocal. Clients have the opportunity to express how they are currently feeling and

what stressors are more prominent without being judged by their provider. If a client is feeling

depressed, anxiety or even substance abuse, having the opportunity to talk about these issues

may be a huge relief to be heard. Some clients may feel they are unheard or are accustomed to

getting told how to conduct themselves without getting their true feelings heard. Also, the feeling
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of not being judged can make clients feel more comfortable during their therapeutic process and

open up more which can be extremely helpful to the client. Opening up can be hard and client

being honest about their journey can challenging, so having a provider who is supportive is

important. This journey of becoming, is private yet sympathetic with the journey of all human

beings, involves recognizing the best within oneself and using our best qualities virtuously in the

process of self-actualization or eudaimonic well-being. (Kim, Joseph & Price 2020)

Genuineness

Counselors must build rapport with their clients and create an environment where the

client can feel comfortable. Therapy possibly will not work at its full potential if those involved

are holding back during the process due to feeling their therapist may not care. Allowing the

client to be in a judge free environment and not control the therapeutic process can allow the

client to take big steps forward. “In facilitating this natural tendency, Rogers (1978) describes the

attitudes held by the therapist as promoting equality in the relationship and as a commitment to

not control the client..” (Cook & Monk 2020) Counselors showing a genuine care for the client’s

process will help the client continue to make progress. As humans, support from another can

contribute to the process of moving forward at a faster pace. If a counselor continues to be self-

aware of their limits and know their boundaries, they can remain genuine in the work they are

providing. Remaining objective is important when a provider does not agree with clients and

their actions. If a provider cannot handle a client’s barriers, then knowing when to refer the client

to another provider is essential to avoid doing any harm and lose that genuineness.

Empathy
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When clients feel they are heard and understood, it aids in the therapeutic process.

Showing empathy to clients can help build trust and an understanding environment for clients.

Empathy shows that the provider is not judging the client and allowing the client to understand

the provider can see their point of view. When counselors are empathetic, they open up

opportunities to connect better with their clients and share similar feelings. “Such commonalities

included heightened feelings of empathy, acceptance and receptivity toward clients; powerful

feelings of immersion in therapeutic work; being real; increased perceptual clarity; and greater

levels of awareness, aliveness, openness and satisfaction..” (Kim, Joseph & Price 2020)

Counselors can be empathetic and still hold their clients accountable for their actions. Having an

open discussion about the barriers and how the client thinks reducing some of those barriers can

be helpful, is directly related to why clients come to therapy to begin with. Counselors can still

allow the client to lead, while asking important questions that will challenge the client. Just

because a counselor is holding a client accountable does not limit the empathy they may have for

that client.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Unconditional positive regard is showing support and acceptance to clients regardless of what

the individual has said or done. An article also describes it as “It involves as much feeling of

acceptance for the client’s expression of negative, “bad,” painful, fearful, defensive, abnormal

feelings as for his expression of “good,” positive, mature, confident, social feelings, as much

acceptance of ways in which he is inconsistent as of ways in which he is consistent.” (Wilkins

200) This is important during the therapeutic process so the client can feel safe and comfortable

enough to fully open up. This allows the client to be their true self and not hold back during
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therapy. Clients being aware they are coming into a safe and understanding environment can aid

in the progression of the client. Counselors can make sure they remain objective during sessions,

know their limits as well as practice self-awareness. Making clients feel understood during their

process is just as important to the provider, while remaining genuine to the client and providing

small directives when needed. Allowing the client to come to their own realization may be more

meaningful to the client and lead to them accepting themselves more. Therapeutic empathy in the

context of unconditional positive regard necessarily provides a novel context for self-criticism.

(Frankel, Rachlin , & Yip-Bannicq 2012).

Key principles of the Ethics Code

Person centered therapy has helped create many key principles in the ACA ethics code. A

counselor’s job is to do no harm and provide the best services possible without harming the

therapeutic process. Person centered therapy helps put guidelines in place for therapist to keep

the client the center focus at all times. The ethics code states, “Counselors are aware of and avoid

imposing their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors..” This keeps client’s needs top

priority and reduces counselors need to impose their views. The ethics code also states

“Counselors respect the diversity of clients, trainees, and research participants and seek training

in areas in which they are at risk of imposing their values onto clients, especially when the

counselor’s values are inconsistent with the client’s goals or are discriminatory in nature..”

Counselors may not agree with the client but allowing the client to go through their own process

of self-realization is important to person-centered therapy. Lastly, each client is different and

respecting them and their process is needed and a responsibility of counselors. Counselors must

genuinely care for the welfare of their client and make their clients feel heard. The primary
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responsibility of counselors is to respect the dignity and promote the welfare of clients. (ACA

Ethics Code 2014)

Counseling can be difficult for some and even and even harder when presented with

barriers from clients. But remaining objective and seeking the proper training can always be

helpful. Keeping the client first and allowing them to see their barriers and how they want to

approach those barriers can be immensely helpful. Remaining genuine, empathic, and

understanding is a primary task for counselors to not disrupt the process.

References

American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. 2014 code of ethics -

american counseling association. (n.d.) from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-

code-of-ethics.pdf.

Cook, D., & Monk, L. (2020). ‘Being able to take that mask off’: Adolescent clients’ experiences

of power in person-centered therapy relationships. Person-Centered & Experiential

Psychotherapies, 19(2), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2020.1717982

Frankel, M., Rachlin, H., & Yip-Bannicq, M. (2012). How nondirective therapy directs: The
power of empathy in the context of unconditional positive regard. Person-Centered &
Experiential Psychotherapies, 11(3), 205–214.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2012.695292

Kim, J., Joseph, S., & Price, S. (2020). The positive psychology of relational depth and its

association with unconditional positive self-regard and authenticity. Person-Centered &

Experiential Psychotherapies, 19(1), 12–21.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2020.1717983

Murdock, N. L. (2017). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: A case approach. Pearson.

Proctor, C., Tweed, R. G., & Morris, D. B. (2020). Unconditional positive self-regard: The role
of perceived parental conditional regard. The Humanistic Psychologist.
https://doi.org/10.1037/hum0000168
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Wilkins, P. (2000). Unconditional positive regard reconsidered. British Journal of Guidance &
Counselling, 28(1), 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/030698800109592