Read this article published on the Cercle Psy website.

The Person-Centered Approach of American psychologist Carl Rogers, long ignored in our country, is enjoying a new-found popularity. More and more therapists and caregivers, caught up in a humanist dynamic, are moving away from traditional psychotherapeutic theories to immerse themselves in the present moment and the emotions that emerge from it. What are the foundations of this approach? What Rogerian attitudes does the therapist adopt? Who is interested and trained in this approach today?

An understanding of Carl Rogers’ background helps us to grasp the specificity of his approach to the human being. His childhood was marked by an inflexible educational and religious framework, punctuated by strict rules that were commonly respected. At the same time, his family environment sensitized him to experimentation and scientific research. Later, when Carl Rogers became interested in psychology and began conducting his own interviews, he found himself torn between two main currents: behaviorism and psychoanalysis. But neither of them suited him.  » What Rogers refuted at the time was the power therapists exerted over their patients. He saw it as a way of imposing a vision of things, based mainly on personal beliefs. « , explains Geneviève Odier, a certified Person-Centered Approach (PCA) psychotherapist and author of Carl Rogers, Être vraiment soi-même (Eyrolles, 2012). After fully experimenting with both approaches, he created his own psychotherapeutic model based on his observations and pragmatic experiments. Rejecting a dualistic conception of body/mind or head/heart, he approaches the human being as a whole, promoting an « organismic totality ». The aim? To give the person the precious sensation of being whole, apprehended as a whole. The Person-Centred Approach was born. And the « patient » becomes the « client ».

 

Neither interpretation nor diagnosis

Indeed, one of the specific features of the Rogerian approach is that it does not consider the person as a patient, but rather as someone seeking to understand his or her disorder. The aim is to create a horizontal, non-hierarchical relationship between therapist and patient, as equals. The Rogerian therapist refuses to wear his or her expert hat, issuing neither an interpretation nor a diagnosis. Taking into account his or her subjectivity, he or she immerses himself or herself in the present moment, in the relationship with the other person, focusing on the person and his or her reality, accompanying him or her so that he or she contacts his or her own resources, takes power over himself or herself and becomes autonomous.  » Rogers calls on his clients to become aware of their true personality, to allow what defines them as unique individuals to emerge, » emphasizes Geneviève Odier. This desire for autonomy goes against the grain of psychoanalytic treatment, sometimes condemning the patient to a certain dependence on the analyst. The Rogerian approach is also characterized by its non-directiveness, allowing the client to invest this space as he or she wishes, without imposing anything.  » However, this does not mean that we are permissive and accept everything! It’s not a question of being lax, but rather of establishing a framework respected by each of the two people in the relationship. This enables us to be welcoming, not repressive. « says Geneviève Odier.

 

The therapist’s three key attitudes

Three major attitudes adopted by the Rogerian therapist, and intimately linked to each other, characterize the Person-Centered Approach. Not applied as techniques but lived in depth, they become, after training, a way of being, a state of mind for the therapist.  » Because we live and experience these attitudes, we can pass them on to our clients, enabling them to experience them, » says Geneviève Odier.

Congruence, a primordial attitude, plays an essential role in therapy. It is defined by a state of agreement and balance between what we do, what we say and what we feel. It’s the ability to be true, real and authentic in one’s relationship with a person. « According to Geneviève Odier,  » Being congruent means showing humility, showing oneself with one’s faults and qualities, and giving the client a complete image of oneself . Very often, a client consults a therapist precisely because he or she is suffering from a state of inadequacy or incongruence. The therapist being congruent will naturally encourage the client to be congruent, or to learn to be congruent.

Therapist: You say you’re suffering and you laugh. I don’t feel very comfortable with these two feelings being present at the same time.

Customer: I don’t know why I’m laughing… I… it’s not comfortable for me either… There’s something funny, but I don’t know what….

Therapist: Somehow, something funny would be associated with this suffering, right?

Customer (very moved): I don’t feel like laughing anymore… on the contrary…

Silence.

Therapist: You seem to be deep in thought, quite serious now…

Customer: Yeah… My uncle used to say to me: « No, you’re not in pain! Come on, let’s have a laugh like men! » (1)

Unconditional positive regard, the second Rogerian attitude, consists in welcoming and accepting the customer, without expectation or judgment. This respectful welcome of the other, in all his or her uniqueness, should enable the customer, in turn, to better accept him or herself. Mutual trust is established between the two protagonists.  » For example, I’m not going to judge a customer who tells me he used to beat his child. I’ll simply accept what he says with authenticity. The important thing is to stay as close as possible to his experience, his feelings, and his understanding of them. says Geneviève Odier.

Empathic understanding, the third major attitude, is defined by a deep sensitivity to the client’s feelings and world, without any intellectual or emotional restraints. The therapist seeks to truly understand the client, while maintaining emotional awareness to avoid any confusion between the client and himself. To « verify » (a term chosen by Rogers himself) that his understanding of his client is not truncated, he resorts to reformulating the content.

Customer: I’m fed up, I can’t stand anything anymore, I’m tired, the secretary doesn’t understand a thing (…) I’ve decided not to see my children at weekends, every time they come, I sleep or catch up on work (…) ».

Therapist: If I’ve understood correctly, you’re feeling very weary about your workload, and the worries associated with it, to the point where you no longer have the time or strength to devote to the leisure activities you’d like to share with your children.

Customer: Yes, that’s exactly it. I’m overworked, and I need to find ways to keep some time for my children. (2)

 

A dynamic of acceptance

Sandra Pedevilla, psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer in the Person-Centered Approach and former president of AFP-ACP (Association Française de Psychothérapie dans l’Approche Centrée sur la Personne), analyzes:  » In an ordinary conversation, I can indulge in giving advice, making suggestions, being seductive and judgmental. In an ACP interview, I try, with all my being, to reach out to my client in a disciplined way, offering a deep relationship. I try to offer warm empathy at an unusual level of depth, I check myself for the absence of value conditions, while I strive to maintain a state of congruence, i.e. a fine awareness of what’s inside me. These unusual attitudes call for a high level of personal investment. « . Joined by the therapist, the client gradually tends to lower his defenses and to perceive and welcome elements of his personality that may have seemed threatening. Their view of themselves and others becomes less conditional. Gradually, he must experience congruence himself, moving from rigidity to inner fluidity, so that new elements emerge more freely to consciousness. He naturally learns to identify and express his emotions and needs.  » Incongruence is often a source of anxiety for a person. The more congruent they become, the more they will want to listen to themselves, accept themselves and empathize not only with themselves, but also with others. « adds Sandra Pedevilla. An ACP helping relationship is well suited to people suffering from problems relating to their marital, family or professional life, and particularly to people who have suffered childhood traumas. On the other hand, since it focuses primarily on the person and not the symptom, it will be less effective in treating phobias, for example.

 

Who trains at ACP?

Geneviève Odier reports a growing interest in the Rogerian approach, on the part of psychologists, doctors, social workers, nurses, adult educators, teachers, investigators, mediators, etc.: « This reflects a return to our roots, a desire to rediscover a healthier, simpler, more natural relationship with others. Various French and international organizations offer three- to five-year training courses in the Person-Centered Approach. In November 2001, the European ACP Network established three major criteria for training: experimentation with personal development, analysis of the theoretical works of Carl Rogers and other person-centered and experiential theorists, and practical application of these aspects, under supervision. The Association Française de Psychothérapie dans l’Approche Centrée sur la Personne (French Association for Psychotherapy in the Person-Centered Approach) centralizes all validated organizations on its website.

But Carl Rogers’ humanistic approach has not escaped the psychological battleground, and is still criticized by theorists from other currents, particularly psychoanalytical ones. Some, for whom the alliance of the therapeutic and the financial creates a malaise, criticize his use of the term « client ». Others criticize it for being too permissive, resulting from a sometimes partial reading of the non-directiveness that characterizes it. Still other theorists criticize ACP therapists for allowing themselves the freedom to talk about themselves to the client, as a departure from the rule of the mute, mysterious therapist, like a blank page onto which the patient projects what and whom he or she wants.

 

To find out more…

Antoine Bioy and Anne Maquet (Dunod, 2003). Training in the helping relationship. Concepts, methods, applications.
Geneviève Odier (Eyrolles, 2012). Carl Rogers. Being truly yourself.
Carl Ransom Rogers (Dunod, published 1968, reissued 2005). Translated from the English by E. L. Herbert. Le développement de la personne.
Association Française pour la Psychothérapie dans l’Approche Centrée sur la Personnehttp://www.afpacp.fr/