Person Centered Therapy Essay

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Abstract
This paper focuses on person-centered therapy. Person-centered therapy is an approach to help individuals develop a sense of self. This therapy is different from others as the client is responsible for improving his own life, not the therapist. However, it is important for the therapist to create a conducive environment for the client so that the client feels safe and secure and will be at ease to share problems or issues during therapy sessions. Three core conditions that will aid the therapist in doing so is being congruent, having unconditional positive regard and being emphatic. This paper explores the effectiveness of person-centered therapy in creating therapeutic alliance. It also explores the necessary conditions for constructive personality change to occur, exist and continue over a period of time as well as the personal characteristics that are most important for a person-centered therapist to be genuine and lastly the personal characteristics of the writer, which might assist or hinder ability to work with clients effectively.

INTRODUCTION
A Discussion of Person-Centered Therapy
Person-centered therapy according to (Mearns & Thorne, 1999, p. 5) is the aim of helping a client to undo the ‘personal theory’, which he had formed through his …show more content…

Therapists must access their own internal process such as their feelings, attitudes and moods. Therapists’, who are not receptive to the awareness of their flow of thoughts and feelings, will not be able to help clients be aware of theirs (Kahn, 1997, p. 40). Though congruence does not mean that therapists have to share personal issues with clients, a therapist must not conceal their inner process from the client, and not be defensive but transparent (Kahn, 1997, p. 41). By being open sometimes a therapist learns more not only about their client but about themselves