In the 1940s, Carl Rogers created person-centered therapy, which moved away from the conventional model of the therapist as an expert and toward a nondirective, empathic strategy that empowers and motivates the patient throughout the therapeutic process.The therapy is founded on Rogers’ theory that every person aspires to and is capable of realizing their own potential. The field of psychotherapy as well as many other fields have been greatly impacted by person-centered therapy, also referred to as Rogerian therapy.

According to Rogers, “Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behavior; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided.”

The person centered therapist earns to recognize and trust human potential , providing clients with empathy and unconditional positive regard to help facilitate change, the therapist avoids directing the course of therapy by following the clients lead whenever possible, instead the therapists offers support , guidance , and structure so that the client can discover personalized solutions within themselves.

The six elements required for development, in accordance with Rogerian theory, are:

1. 1. Therapist-Client Psychological Contact: This first requirement simply states that the client and therapist must have a working relationship in order for the client to experience good personal change.The therapist-client relationship consists of the five characteristics listed below, which can differ in intensity.
      
      
   2. Client Incongruence or Vulnerability: The client is more susceptible to fears and anxieties when there is a mismatch between how they see themselves and their real experiences.The client frequently isn’t conscious of the discrepancy.
      
      
   3. Therapist Congruence or Genuineness: The therapist should be self-aware, genuine, and congruent. This does not suggest that the therapist must be flawless, but rather that within the therapeutic relationship, he or she must be authentic.
      
      

   4. Therapist Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR): The therapist should accept the client’s experiences, whether they are good or negative, without any restrictions or bias. In this way, the client can share experiences without fear of being judged.
      
      

   5. Therapist Empathy: The therapist exhibits empathy for the clients’ experiences and can identify their emotions without becoming emotionally engaged.
      
      

   6. Client Perception: The client senses the therapist’s empathic comprehension and unwavering positive regard to some extent. This is communicated through the words and behaviors of the therapist.

Techniques of applying PCT

By using this strategy, mental health workers aim to foster the conditions necessary for their clients’ change. These three methods allow therapists to support their patients’ psychological development, increase their level of self-awareness, and alter their behavior on their own initiative. This calls for a therapy setting that is accommodating, uncritical, and sympathetic.In this type of environment, a client feels safe and free from judgment. They use three techniques to achieve this:

• • Genuineness and congruence

• • Unconditional positive regard

• • Empathetic understanding

1.Genuineness and Congruence

Therapists who focus on their client exhibit sincerity and consistency  with them. This implies that they always behave in a manner consistent with their own thoughts and emotions, enabling them to express themselves honestly and openly.

This necessitates self-awareness and a practical comprehension of the interactions between interior experiences-like thoughts and feelings- and external experiences. Your counsellor can assist in teaching you these critical skills by serving as an example of sincerity and consistency. You and your therapist can establish a safe, trusthworthy connection by acting sincere and congruently. This trust contributes to a feeling of safety, which may help you engage with therapy more comfortably.

2.Unconditional positive regard

Rogers believed that unconditional positive regard is essential for healthy development and tried to establish it as a therapeutic component. Through providing unconditional positive regard, humanistic therapist seek to help their clients accept and take responsibility for themselves. Humanistic psychologists believe that by showing the client unconditional positive regard and acceptance, the therapist is providing the best possible conditions for personal growth to the client.

By definition, it is essential in any helping relationship to have an anticipation for change. In the counseling relationship, that anticipation presents as Hope—an optimism that something good and positive will develop to bring about constructive change in the clients personality.

Thus, unconditional positive regard means that the therapist has and shows overall acceptance of the client by setting aside their own personal opinions and biases. The main factor in unconditional positive regard is the ability to isolate behaviors from the person who displays them.

3.Empathetic Understanding

During sessions, your therapist will also demonstrate empathy by reflecting your thoughts and emotions to you. They will make an effort to comprehend you and continue to be sensitive to your experience and point of view.

The intention is to make it easier for you to connect with your counsellor and make sure you feel completely understood. This might give you the space you need to consider your own inner feelings, perceptions, and ideas, which might give you access to fresh perspectives you hadn’t had before.

Benefits of Client-Centered Therapy

Self-concept, which is your organized collection of beliefs and ideas about yourself, may be improved by client-centered therapy. Self-concept is crucial in determining how people perceive themselves as well as how they regard and engage with the outside world.

Sometimes, self-concept is congruent with reality. Other times, a person’s views of themselves are irrational or out of step with reality. While most people at least slightly skew reality, incongruence can happen when self-concept and reality are at odds. Imagine a young woman who, despite the fact that she finds herself uninteresting and a poor conversationalist, other people find her intriguing and quite engaging. Because her self-perceptions are not congruent with reality, she may experience impaired self-esteem.

Through the process of client-centered therapy, you can learn to adjust your self-concept in order to achieve congruence. The techniques used in the client-centered approach are all focused on helping you reach a more realistic view of yourself and the world.