CLIENT-FOCUSED (ROGERIAN) PSYCHOTHERAPY THEORY
Carl Rogers opposed the dominant, authoritarian and knowing-best attitude of psychotherapists. He offered a new perspective that valued equality and reciprocity. This perspective embraced the client as a unique individual; He valued his inner experiences and ability to act independently rather than directing or shaping him. Although the roots of client-focused therapy date back to the 1940s, it continues to influence the modern psychotherapy world as a unique perspective.
Client-focused theory; It offers a holistic perspective covering human nature, personality development and psychotherapy practice. It is a humanist theory in the way it deals with humans. In client-focused therapy, the patient was called 'client' for the first time and it was emphasized that he had an active role in the therapy, unlike his previous passive stance. A new school has emerged that trusts the client to know what is best for him/her and allows the client to direct the therapy in a way that is best for him/her. The therapist's role as leader or expert was rejected, instead the therapist was assigned the role of helper. It has been suggested that the therapist and the client have equal roles and equal power in therapy.
According to Rogers, people apply to psychotherapy because they experience psychological stress, and the main reason for psychological stress is that the person's experiences differ from the person's self-perception. The difference between real self and ideal self; It occurs because the person's experiences differ from his true self in terms of the need to be loved, valued and accepted by other people. These needs push the individual to behave in a way that he believes will be accepted and valued. This situation causes the person to create an external reference point through which he shapes his self according to the perception of other people. The situation where other people offer value, acceptance and love conditionally is called conditional acceptance.
Often, individuals tend to deny their true selves and live according to other people's conditions. Rogers defines the true self as the free self, free from the judgments of other people. Rogers also noted that the individual's organism has a tendency to self-actualize and focus on its internal reference point, that is, its own internal judgment system. It indicates that they can reach the potential to use their desires. The external reference point is based on the person's perception and value mechanisms of other people; The internal reference point indicates that the client considers his own perception and individual experiences as the main point of his self-evaluation.
Change is possible when the client reaches the point of taking the internal reference point as a basis. The therapist's duty in the client's journey from being based on the external reference point to being based on the internal reference point is to accept the client as he is and to help him on this path.
According to the client-focused theory, the goal of therapy is to reach the client's fully functioning individual level. is to reach. A fully functioning individual is a self-actualizing individual. First, the fully functioning individual relies on his or her own experiences rather than being guided by others. The fully functioning individual is not shaped or limited. He is open to new experiences and lives life to the fullest and satisfaction. He is experiencing an experience of freedom. The fully functioning individual is creative, curious, spontaneous, authentic, and unique. Rather than feeling happy all the time, they are flexible and open to change. Can easily adapt to new situations. He is ready to tackle challenges. To be a fully functioning individual is not to reach an end point, but to be in a state of continuous development and change.
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