What is Person-Centred Counselling?
Person-centred counselling was founded by Carl Rogers in the 1940s. He developed his theoretical perspective as an alternative to others around at the time, such as psychoanalysis. He used it with a wide range of people individually and in groups.
What will a person-centred therapist do?
In all sessions they will offer you the core conditions:
Empathy - they try to understand the world from your perspective
Unconditional positive regard - true acceptance of you as a human being without judgement
Congruence - they will be their true selves, not playing a role.
They are also non-directive, which means you, the client decides what to talk about or do. They do not give advice, but believe you hold the solutions.
Person-centred counsellors believe that all humans are basically good and have the capacity for growth and change. Without this they would not have hope. They believe that we all have a natural instinct (actualising tendency) to become the best that we can be, however life events can be barriers for people trying to fulfil their potential.