Transcript Person-Centered Therapy

Person-Centered Therapy
Text: Chapter 9
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
Outside Reading
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Person-Centered Therapy
Experiential/Relationship Oriented
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Developer: Carl R. Rogers
Rogers: Example of a flower seed
This seed has in it the potential to develop into a
beautiful flower
The seed needs proper environmental conditions
Rogers sees humans in this same way
To fulfill our psychological potential, we need the
right environmental conditions.
 Organismic valuing process - the innate
tendency which allows individuals to
evaluate their experience
 That is, to know what experiences are
growth producing and what experiences are
detrimental to growth
 The actualizing tendency/self actualization
 Locus of evaluation: internal/external.
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 Unconditional positive regard
 Conditional regard/conditions of worth
 The need for positive regard - this need
may override the organismic valuing
process
 Introjected values
 Self/Self Concept - as we interact with
others, our self concept is developing
 The picture we have of who we are.
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 Incongruence - this occurs when there is
inconsistency between two things within
personality
 There are several types of incongruence that
relate to Rogers’ theory
 These are:
Incongruence between self and experience
Incongruence between organismic valuing
process and introjected values/behavior
Incongruence between real self and ideal self.
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An Example
Incongruence between
Self and Experience
Self/Self
Concept
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responsible person Behavior: drinks too much,
good husband becomes alcoholic,
good father
irresponsible behavior.
Rather than change picture of self (“I am an alcoholic and I
behave in irresponsible ways at times.”) the individual may
protect self using denial and distortion
“Oh yes, I drink some, but I am not an alcoholic.”
Other examples.
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Incongruence between Organismic Valuing
Process and Introjected Values/ Behavior
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Example: Inner self which leads in one direction is
inconsistent with behavior which is based on what
others (culture and society) want us to be and do
Examples:
Student wants to major in art, but family has
always pushed toward medicine since all males in
family have had medical careers
Perhaps, this is the dilemma of the gay person who
wants to be true to self, but fears consequences.
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Incongruence between Real Self and
Ideal Self
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Those seeking therapy often have great
disparity between real and ideal self.
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Goals of Therapy
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Little inconsistency between self/experience or
OVP and introjected values/ behavior
Self concept that is broad, all inclusive,
allowing us to see ourselves in all the ways which
we are
Therefore, there would be very little or no denial
and distortion
If this happens, Rogers believed we can get in
touch with the organismic valuing process.
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Getting in touch with the organismic valuing process
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Allows us to make decisions which are best for us
and others
Remember: Rogers sees individuals as basically
good with an innate goodness that motivates
toward self actualization
If we are innately positive, forward moving, and
good, why do we engage in unhealthy behavior?
Answer?
the environment.
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The Conditions Conducive to Positive Growth
What the therapist provides which nurtures
growth:
1. Unconditional positive regard
2. Empathic understanding
3. Congruence, genuineness, realness.
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1. Unconditional positive regard -
a non-possessive, caring, love, acceptance,
and prizing of the person
• no matter what he/she is doing or feeling
• This is in contrast to conditional positive
regard/conditions of worth
• Can you do this with your client, child,
spouse, etc.?
• Example.
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2. Empathic understanding –
• feeling
with someone, seeing their
point of view, putting yourself in
their shoes, communicating that you
understand from their point of view
• Can you do this with your child,
spouse, etc.?
• Example.
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3.Congruence, genuineness, or realness –
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openness, honesty in the relationship
with another
being completely oneself in the
relationship, without pretending or
putting up facades
These 3 conditions are needed if
individuals are to become more fully
functioning, more self-actualized.
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Person-Centered Therapy
• Rogers attempted to provide these three conditions
• Clients changed by moving away from the
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superficial self and toward one’s true self
Away from facades
Away from “oughts”
Away from pleasing others
Toward self-direction
Toward openness to experience
Toward greater trust in self.
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Emotion-Focused Therapy
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Sue Johnson
Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson
Based on attachment theory
Similar to object relations theory but . . .
Secure attachment – an affectionate relationship
in which partners mutually derive and provide
closeness, comfort and security
• Attachment injury – when one partner violates
the expectation that the other will offer comfort
and caring, esp. in times of distress.
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• Underneath the distress, partners are asking:
“Can I count on you, depend on you?”
• A primal panic – when partner is emotionally
unavailable or unresponsive we face being out
in the cold, alone and helpless
• We respond in one of two ways:
1. Demanding and clinging
2. Withdraw and detach
• If we love our partner, why do we not respond
with caring? (p. 31)
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• Demon dialogues (p. 32)
• Protest polka – one partner becomes critical
and aggressive and the other defensive and
distant
• This dance takes over the relationship.
• The blaming in this dialogue is an
attachment cry, a protest against
disconnection (p. 47)
• Key moments in EFT are moments of
secure bonding (p. 47).
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The Healing Conversations of EFT
1. Recognizing the demon dialogues
2. Finding the raw spots – understand that
dialogues are about the safety of their
emotional attachment and begin to plug
into safer feelings, such as sadness, fear,
embarrassment, loneliness
3. Revisit a rocky moment (p. 52-53)
4. Hold me tight conversation – transforms
relationships (p. 54).
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Emotion Focused Couple Therapy
Susan Johnson
• Assessment
• Identify the destructive interactional cycle that
maintains marital distress
• Discovering the feelings underlying
interactional positions
• Reframing the problem in terms of the cycle
• Promoting the owning of needs and of new
aspects of self
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• Promoting the acceptance of these
aspects of self by the other
• Facilitating the expression of needs and
wants and creating safe emotional
engagement
• Fostering collaboration in regard to
problem issues
• Consolidating new positions and new
cycles of attachment behavior
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