Approaches / Humanistic and experiential
Person-centred therapy
A relationship-based approach that emphasises the therapist's empathy, acceptance and genuineness.
Overview
Person-centred therapy, also called client-centred therapy, centres on the quality of the relationship between client and therapist. It was developed by Carl Rogers and is a core strand of humanistic counselling.
Core ideas
Rogers described conditions that he considered important for change: empathy, unconditional positive regard and congruence, perceived by the client. The approach assumes that people have a tendency to grow when such conditions are present.
The therapist is non-directive about content and follows the client's lead.
What a session can involve
A session is usually open, with the client deciding what to talk about. The therapist listens closely, reflects what they hear and avoids giving advice or interpretation.
Formats and settings
Person-centred counselling is widely offered in the UK, in schools, universities, charities, workplaces and private practice. It is also used in groups and with young people.
How it relates to other approaches
Its ideas have shaped many other approaches, including motivational interviewing and emotion-focused therapy. Many practitioners in other approaches treat Rogers' conditions as part of the general therapeutic relationship.
Limits and open questions
Researchers debate whether Rogers' conditions are sufficient, as he proposed, or one factor among several. Some clients want more structure than a non-directive style provides.
A 2021 trial in one English service compared person-centred experiential therapy with CBT for adults with moderate or severe depression. At six months the former met the study's predefined test of non-inferiority; at twelve months scores favoured CBT and non-inferiority was not established. The trial had exclusions and some participants did not complete follow-up, so its results should not be assumed to apply to everyone or to every form of person-centred therapy.
History
Rogers published Counseling and Psychotherapy in 1942, Client-Centered Therapy in 1951 and his paper on the necessary and sufficient conditions in 1957. Later work extended the approach to groups and education.
Key people
Carl Rogers developed the approach. Eugene Gendlin, who worked with Rogers, developed focusing.
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Randomised trial in one English service: non-inferiority was supported at six months but not at twelve months; the record includes the accepted manuscript and describes the eligibility criteria and missing follow-up data.
BACP, What is person-centred counselling?
Supports: An introductory description of the approach from a UK professional body.
Supports: Rogers' original statement of the conditions he proposed for therapeutic change.