Person-Centered Therapy
Person-centered therapy is all about you! But not in the way you may think.
What has been referred to as 'more of a worldview than a form of therapy,’ PC therapy focuses on providing you with unconditional acceptance no matter what you are experiencing and increasing the bond between you and your therapist. You can expect your PC therapist to always treat you as the expert of your experience. Person-centered therapy focuses on the strengths of an individual and their many identities and strives towards self-actualization. PC views the person, rather than the disorder.
This approach to counseling focuses on 3 core areas, and you can expect your person-centered therapist to display the following:
- Accurate Empathy: Feeling heard and understood is the core of therapy, according to this approach. Your PC therapist will actively listen to you, ask questions to help better understand the "private world", and express empathy through the reflection of the feeling you are conveying- not just the "content"- the situation that may have brought up the feeling.
- Unconditional Positive Regard: You can expect your person-centered therapist to create a warm environment that conveys complete acceptance. The therapist does not show judgment, approval, or disapproval, no matter how unconventional the client's views may be. Rather, the therapist is accepting of all parts of the value system the client may enter with. This can help the client to drop their natural defenses such as fear or critique, allowing them to freely express feelings and direct their self-exploration as they see fit- rather than how society sees fit.
- Congruence: A person-centered therapist conveying this quality does so transparently. They share feelings and thoughts to genuinely relate to the client to strengthen the relationship. Within the client-therapist relationship, the therapist is genuinely themselves and presents as authentic, not as the "expert" or "authority" in the room. The therapist does not hide behind a professional façade or deceive the client. Therapists may share their emotional reactions with their clients but do not share personal problems with clients or shift the focus to themselves in any way.
To see if person-centered therapy is right for you, explore ways you thrive. Do you thrive and accomplish goals when you feel highly supported, encouraged, and accepted no matter what? Maybe you are searching for a space to be utterly yourself and want a more non-direct approach to therapy. If this is you, you may benefit from trying out a person-centered therapist!
