The Person-centred Approach

Having described my approach to therapy as person-centred, it might be useful to outline here what this means to me. 

I say ‘to me’ because these days the term ‘person-centred’ has become commonplace and people use it to mean different things. Many types of helpers (not just counsellors and psychotherapists) and organisations claim to be person-centred. Sometimes this means little more than simply ‘putting the other person first’ or offering a ‘personalised’ service. 

The history of the person-centred approach

Person-centred therapy (originally termed ‘client-centred therapy’) originated from the work of Carl Rogers (1902-1987) and his colleagues, largely from the middle part of the 20th century.  Rogers was an American psychologist whose ideas and theories have had a profound influence on the counselling and psychotherapy world and on many other forms of helping activity and endeavour that draw on his underlying values and philosophy.  There have been many developments in theory and styles of practice over the years.

Rogers developed an approach that differed from the main psychological approaches of his time, namely psychoanalysis and behaviourism.  Today the radical and counter-cultural nature of the person-centred approach might best be understood as an alternative to the so-called ‘medical model’ approach to human distress and disturbance that in general aims to diagnose and ‘treat’ specific problems. The medical model is now the dominant model of healthcare, including mental healthcare, within Western cultures.

For those interested in understanding more about the contrasts between psychiatry, the medical model and the person-centred approach, see my book Humanising Psychiatry and Mental Health Care. The challenge of the person centred approach.

Key features of the person-centred approach that influence what I believe and how I work as a therapist

  • I view emotional and psychological distress and disturbance as understandable reactions to human experience (which includes the many things and people that condition us, often from a young age), rather than as something ‘faulty’ or ‘wrong’ within a person.
  • We are biological and social beings, who are profoundly influenced by our cultural and social environments from day one. As a therapist, I am particularly interested in how relationships continually shape our psychological and personality development, e.g. our sense of who we are, how we see the world, how we view and relate to other people and how we behave in response to our experiences.
  • Regardless of whatever environment or conditions we find ourselves in, I believe there is always the potential for constructive growth – in person-centred terms a ‘tendency to actualise’. This is not saying that potentials will always or fully become actualised, as sometimes this tendency is working simply towards survival or maintenance.  Many circumstances and environments (e.g. relationships with family, community, society and culture) can impede or distort this tendency.  I practice on the basis of trust that this innate tendency is always present.  My aim, therefore, is to provide the most favourable conditions that supports it.
  • Placing a deep trust in a person’s innate growth tendency means that I do not direct or lead people from a position of believing that I ‘know best’, although I do sometimes share forms of knowledge if helpful to do so. I do not set an agenda for what people bring to therapy or what to talk about and explore.  Rather, I view the therapeutic process as unfolding in a unique way, open to what may be discovered, without a pre-determined outcome.  I view this as a shared process.
  • I also believe, as an ethical principle, that people have a right for their autonomous wishes and impulses to be respected. Sometimes this is referred to as the right to self-determination – the right to determine one’s own path, way of being in the world and identity.  There are many considerations here, not least safety of self and others. Power dynamics within relationships are also relevant.  I work in a way that is sensitive to the power dynamics within the therapy relationship. 
  • All the above means I place a major emphasis on the nature of the therapy relationship and view the relationship itself as a significant influence on any change or growth process. I am particularly focused on my attitudes,  intentions and the feelings I hold towards the other person and whether and how these are perceived and received by them.  This is over and above any specific behavioural techniques, method or theoretical explanations.  I believe that there is great transformative and healing  power in relationship and offering certain relational qualities.
  • Carl Rogers described three particular attitudinal qualities offered by the therapist. These qualities depend on each other and operate as a coherent whole. He described them in different ways, sometimes using different terms, reflecting their many facets.  I view them as representing an overarching value system.  In other words, they are the expression of who the therapist is rather being skills to apply in a mechanical and instrumental way.


    Congruence     (sometimes described as genuineness or transparency) requires me to be aware of my own inner experience, which enables the ability to be real with the other person, i.e. not relating from behind a façade.

    Unconditional positive regard (a clunky term) describes my positively valuing the other person and seeing their intrinsic worth.  To me this is more than simply being non-judgmental and treating the other person with respect.  Again, fundamentally, it is an attitude that influences how and what I communicate.

    Empathy (or empathic understanding), according to Rogers, is being able to offer accurate understanding of a person’s world of experience (their feelings, thoughts, perceptions, behaviours) from their point of view.  It is not simply stepping into the other’s shoes, but sensing or imagining what it is like for that unique person in their unique shoes.

    I regard my skill and expertise as a therapist to include how I develop and communicate the above relational qualities.  It means paying attention to what influences (or can interfere with) my attitudes, as well as how they may be experienced by the other person.

  • A particular aspect of the person-centred approach is that it requires from me a high level of self-awareness and attending to my own life experiences, relationships and attitudes towards myself. This will be a key influence on my ability to be authentic and most deeply myself in relationships, as well as influence my ability to relate to others in a compassionate way.  I actually view this commitment to therapist self-awareness and personal development as an ethical imperative.

  • Typically, in my experience, the outcomes of person-centred therapy (which cannot be measured) are greater self-awareness, self-understanding and self-compassion. It can lead to being able to let go of judgments and defences that keep painful feelings and inner experiences deeply buried.  It can lead to experiences of deeper connectedness. All this may lead to changes in ways of behaving and communicating and influence what present and future choices we make.  For many it can also lead to a greater sense of meaning and purpose.  

I hope this has provided a general impression of how I work and the beliefs and values that influence my way of listening and being in relationship. I have taken the risk of oversimplifying, when in reality it is hard to convey the complexities, depth and at times beauty of an approach that, in my experience, has great healing power.

Would you like to work together?

Therapy

I offer 60 minute one-to-one sessions for adults. I’m based in Gloucestershire and provide sessions face to face and on-line.

Find out more

Supervision

I provide regular supervision or one-off consultation, either in person in Gloucestershire or on-line.

Find out more

Training

I deliver workshops for counsellors, psychotherapists, mental health professionals and those in allied roles.

Find out more

‘Listening of this very special, active kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know.’

Carl Rogers

Publications

View my published books, chapters and articles

Click here
All rights reserved ©2025