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CarlRogers

CARLROGERS
19021987
Dr.C.GeorgeBoeree
EnFranais,traduitparKateBondareva
Biography
CarlRogerswasbornJanuary8,1902inOakPark,Illinois,asuburbofChicago,thefourthofsix
children.Hisfatherwasasuccessfulcivilengineerandhismotherwasahousewifeanddevout
Christian.Hiseducationstartedinthesecondgrade,becausehecouldalreadyreadbefore
kindergarten.
WhenCarlwas12,hisfamilymovedtoafarmabout30mileswestofChicago,anditwasherethat
hewastospendhisadolescence.Withastrictupbringingandmanychores,Carlwastobecome
ratherisolated,independent,andselfdisciplined.
HewentontotheUniversityofWisconsinasanagriculturemajor.Later,heswitchedtoreligion
tostudyfortheministry.Duringthistime,hewasselectedasoneoften
studentstogotoBeijingfortheWorldStudentChristianFederation
Conferenceforsixmonths.Hetellsusthathisnewexperiencesso
broadenedhisthinkingthathebegantodoubtsomeofhisbasicreligious
views.
Aftergraduation,hemarriedHelenElliot(againsthisparentswishes),
movedtoNewYorkCity,andbeganattendingtheUnionTheological
Seminary,afamousliberalreligiousinstitution.Whilethere,hetooka
studentorganizedseminarcalledWhyamIenteringtheministry?Imightaswelltellyouthat,
unlessyouwanttochangeyourcareer,nevertakeaclasswithsuchatitle!Hetellsusthatmostofthe
participantsthoughttheirwayrightoutofreligiouswork.
Religionslosswas,ofcourse,psychologysgain:Rogersswitchedtotheclinicalpsychology
programofColumbiaUniversity,andreceivedhisPh.D.in1931.Hehadalreadybegunhisclinical
workattheRochesterSocietyforthePreventionofCrueltytoChildren.Atthisclinic,helearned
aboutOttoRankstheoryandtherapytechniques,whichstartedhimontheroadtodevelopinghis
ownapproach.
HewasofferedafullprofessorshipatOhioStatein1940.In1942,hewrotehisfirstbook,
CounselingandPsychotherapy.Then,in1945,hewasinvitedtosetupacounselingcenteratthe
UniversityofChicago.Itwaswhileworkingtherethatin1951hepublishedhismajorwork,Client
CenteredTherapy,whereinheoutlineshisbasictheory.
In1957,hereturnedtoteachathisalmamater,theUniversityofWisconsisn.Unfortunately,itwasa
timeofconflictwithintheirpsychologydepartment,andRogersbecameverydisillusionedwith
highereducation.In1964,hewashappytoacceptaresearchpositioninLaJolla,California.He
providedtherapy,gavespeeches,andwrote,untilhisdeathin1987.

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Theory
Rogerstheoryisaclinicalone,basedonyearsofexperiencedealingwithhisclients.Hehasthisin
commonwithFreud,forexample.AlsoincommonwithFreudisthathisisaparticularlyrichand
maturetheorywellthoughtoutandlogicallytight,withbroadapplication.
NotincommonwithFreud,however,isthefactthatRogersseespeopleasbasicallygoodorhealthy
oratveryleast,notbadorill.Inotherwords,heseesmentalhealthasthenormalprogressionof
life,andheseesmentalillness,criminality,andotherhumanproblems,asdistortionsofthatnatural
tendency.AlsonotincommonwithFreudisthefactthatRogerstheoryisarelativelysimpleone.
AlsonotincommonwithFreudisthatRogerstheoryisparticularlysimpleeleganteven!The
entiretheoryisbuiltonasingleforceoflifehecallstheactualizingtendency.Itcanbedefinedas
thebuiltinmotivationpresentineverylifeformtodevelopitspotentialstothefullestextent
possible.Werenotjusttalkingaboutsurvival:Rogersbelievesthatallcreaturesstrivetomakethe
verybestoftheirexistence.Iftheyfailtodoso,itisnotforalackofdesire.
Rogerscaptureswiththissinglegreatneedormotivealltheothermotivesthatothertheoriststalk
about.Heasksus,whydowewantairandwaterandfood?Whydoweseeksafety,love,andasense
ofcompetence?Why,indeed,doweseektodiscovernewmedicines,inventnewpowersources,or
createnewworksofart?Because,heanswers,itisinournatureaslivingthingstodotheverybest
wecan!
Keepinmindthat,unlikeMaslowsuseoftheterm,Rogersappliesittoalllivingcreatures.Someof
hisearliestexamples,infact,includeseaweedandmushrooms!Thinkaboutit:Doesntitsometimes
amazeyouthewayweedswillgrowthroughthesidewalk,orsaplingscrackboulders,oranimals
survivedesertconditionsorthefrozennorth?
Healsoappliedtheideatoecosystems,sayingthatanecosystemsuchasaforest,withallits
complexity,hasamuchgreateractualizationpotentialthanasimpleecosystemsuchasacornfield.If
onebugweretobecomeextinctinaforest,therearelikelytobeothercreaturesthatwilladapttofill
thegapOntheotherhand,oneboutofcornblightorsomesuchdisaster,andyouhaveadust
bowl.Thesameforusasindividuals:Ifweliveasweshould,wewillbecomeincreasinglycomplex,
liketheforest,andtherebyremainflexibleinthefaceoflifeslittleandbigdisasters.
People,however,inthecourseofactualizingtheirpotentials,createdsocietyandculture.Inandof
itself,thatsnotaproblem:Weareasocialcreature,itisournature.Butwhenwecreatedculture,it
developedalifeofitsown.Ratherthanremainingclosetootheraspectsofournatures,culturecan
becomeaforceinitsownright.Andevenif,inthelongrun,aculturethatinterfereswithour
actualizationdiesout,we,inalllikelihood,willdiewithit.
Dontmisunderstand:Cultureandsocietyarenotintrinsicallyevil!Itsmorealongthelinesofthe
birdsofparadisefoundinPapuaNewGuinea.Thecolorfulanddramaticplumageofthemales
apparentlydistractpredatorsfromfemalesandtheyoung.Naturalselectionhasledthesebirds
towardsmoreandmoreelaboratetailfeathers,untilinsomespeciesthemalecannolongergetoffthe
ground.Atthatpoint,beingcolorfuldoesntdothemaleorthespeciesmuchgood!Inthesame
way,ourelaboratesocieties,complexcultures,incredibletechnologies,forallthattheyhavehelpedus
tosurviveandprosper,mayatthesametimeservetoharmus,andpossiblyevendestroyus.
Details
Rogerstellsusthatorganismsknowwhatisgoodforthem.Evolutionhasprovideduswiththe
senses,thetastes,thediscriminationsweneed:Whenwehunger,wefindfoodnotjustanyfood,
butfoodthattastesgood.Foodthattastesbadislikelytobespoiled,rotten,unhealthy.Thatwhat
goodandbadtastesareourevolutionarylessonsmadeclear!Thisiscalledorganismicvaluing.
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Amongthemanythingsthatweinstinctivelyvalueispositiveregard,Rogersumbrellatermfor
thingslikelove,affection,attention,nurturance,andsoon.Itisclearthatbabiesneedloveand
attention.Infact,itmaywellbethattheydiewithoutit.Theycertainlyfailtothrivei.e.becomeall
theycanbe.
Anotherthingperhapspeculiarlyhumanthatwevalueispositiveselfregard,thatis,self
esteem,selfworth,apositiveselfimage.Weachievethispositiveselfregardbyexperiencingthe
positiveregardothersshowusoverouryearsofgrowingup.Withoutthisselfregard,wefeelsmall
andhelpless,andagainwefailtobecomeallthatwecanbe!
LikeMaslow,Rogersbelievesthat,iflefttotheirowndevices,animalswilltendtoeatanddrink
thingsthataregoodforthem,andconsumetheminbalancedproportions.Babies,too,seemtowant
andlikewhattheyneed.Somewherealongtheline,however,wehavecreatedanenvironmentfor
ourselvesthatissignificantlydifferentfromtheoneinwhichweevolved.Inthisnewenvironment
aresuchthingsasrefinedsugar,flour,butter,chocolate,andsoon,thatourancestorsinAfricanever
knew.Thesethingshaveflavorsthatappealtoourorganismicvaluingyetdonotserveour
actualizationwell.Overmillionsofyears,wemayevolvetofindbrocollimoresatisfyingthan
cheesecakebutbythen,itllbewaytoolateforyouandme.
Oursocietyalsoleadsusastraywithconditionsofworth.Aswegrowup,ourparents,teachers,
peers,themedia,andothers,onlygiveuswhatweneedwhenweshowweareworthy,ratherthan
justbecauseweneedit.Wegetadrinkwhenwefinishourclass,wegetsomethingsweetwhenwe
finishourvegetables,andmostimportantly,wegetloveandaffectionifandonlyifwebehave!
GettingpositiveregardononconditionRogerscallsconditionalpositiveregard.Becausewedo
indeedneedpositiveregard,theseconditionsareverypowerful,andwebendourselvesintoashape
determined,notbyourorganismicvaluingorouractualizingtendency,butbyasocietythatmayor
maynottrulyhaveourbestinterestsatheart.Agoodlittleboyorgirlmaynotbeahealthyor
happyboyorgirl!
Overtime,thisconditioningleadsustohaveconditionalpositiveselfregardaswell.Webeginto
likeourselvesonlyifwemeetupwiththestandardsothershaveappliedtous,ratherthanifweare
trulyactualizingourpotentials.Andsincethesestandardswerecreatedwithoutkeepingeach
individualinmind,moreoftenthannotwefindourselvesunabletomeetthem,andthereforeunable
tomaintainanysenseofselfesteem.

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Incongruity
Theaspectofyourbeingthatisfoundedintheactualizingtendency,followsorganismicvaluing,
needsandreceivespositiveregardandselfregard,Rogerscallstherealself.Itistheyouthat,ifall
goeswell,youwillbecome.
Ontheotherhand,totheextentthatoursocietyisoutofsynchwiththeactualizingtendency,andwe
areforcedtolivewithconditionsofworththatareoutofstepwithorganismicvaluing,andreceive
onlyconditionalpositiveregardandselfregard,wedevelopinsteadanidealself.Byideal,Rogersis
suggestingsomethingnotreal,somethingthatisalwaysoutofourreach,thestandardwecantmeet.
Thisgapbetweentherealselfandtheidealself,theIamandtheIshouldiscalledincongruity.
Thegreaterthegap,themoreincongruity.Themoreincongruity,themoresuffering.Infact,
incongruityisessentiallywhatRogersmeansbyneurosis:Beingoutofsynchwithyourownself.If
thisallsoundsfamiliartoyou,itispreciselythesamepointmadebyKarenHorney!

Defenses
Whenyouareinasituationwherethereisanincongruitybetweenyourimageofyourselfandyour
immediateexperienceofyourself(i.e.betweentheidealandtherealself),youareinathreatening
situation.Forexample,ifyouhavebeentaughttofeelunworthyifyoudonotgetA'sonallyour
tests,andyetyouaren'treallyallthatgreatastudent,thensituationssuchastestsaregoingtobring
thatincongruitytolighttestswillbeverythreatening.
Whenyouareexpectingathreateningsituation,youwillfeelanxiety.Anxietyisasignalindicating
thatthereistroubleahead,thatyoushouldavoidthesituation!Onewaytoavoidthesituation,of
course,istopickyourselfupandrunforthehills.Sincethatisnotusuallyanoptioninlife,insteadof
runningphysically,werunpsychologically,byusingdefenses.
Rogers'ideaofdefensesisverysimilartoFreud's,exceptthatRogersconsiderseverythingfroma
perceptualpointofview,sothatevenmemoriesandimpulsesarethoughtofasperceptions.
Fortunatelyforus,hehasonlytwodefenses:denialandperceptualdistortion.
DenialmeansverymuchwhatitdoesinFreud'ssystem:Youblockoutthethreateningsituation
altogether.Anexamplemightbethepersonwhoneverpicksuphistestorasksabouttestresults,so
hedoesn'thavetofacepoorgrades(atleastfornow!).DenialforRogersdoesalsoincludewhat
Freudcalledrepression:Ifkeepingamemoryoranimpulseoutofyourawarenessrefuseto
perceiveityoumaybeabletoavoid(again,fornow!)athreateningsituation.
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Perceptualdistortionisamatterofreinterpretingthesituationsothatitappearslessthreatening.It
isverysimilartoFreud'srationalization.Astudentthatisthreatenedbytestsandgradesmay,for
example,blametheprofessorforpoorteaching,trickquestions,badattitude,orwhatever.Thefact
thatsometimesprofessorsarepoorteachers,writetrickquestions,andhavebadattitudesonlymakes
thedistortionworkbetter:Ifitcouldbetrue,thenmaybeitreallywastrue!Itcanalsobemuchmore
obviouslyperceptual,suchaswhenthepersonmisreadshisgradeasbetterthanitis.
Unfortunatelyforthepoorneurotic(and,infact,mostofus),everytimeheorsheusesadefense,they
putagreaterdistancebetweentherealandtheideal.Theybecomeevermoreincongruous,andfind
themselvesinmoreandmorethreateningsituations,developgreaterandgreaterlevelsofanxiety,and
usemoreandmoredefenses....Itbecomesaviciouscyclethatthepersoneventuallyisunabletoget
outof,atleastontheirown.
Rogersalsohasapartialexplanationforpsychosis:Psychosisoccurswhenaperson'sdefenseare
overwhelmed,andtheirsenseofselfbecomes"shattered"intolittledisconnectedpieces.His
behaviorlikewisehaslittleconsistencytoit.Weseehimashaving"psychoticbreaks"episodesof
bizarrebehavior.Hiswordsmaymakelittlesense.Hisemotionsmaybeinappropriate.Hemaylose
theabilitytodifferentiateselfandnonself,andbecomedisorientedandpassive.
Thefullyfunctioningperson
Rogers,likeMaslow,isjustasinterestedindescribingthehealthyperson.Histermis"fully
functioning,"andinvolvesthefollowingqualities:
1.Opennesstoexperience.Thisistheoppositeofdefensiveness.Itistheaccurateperceptionof
one'sexperiencesintheworld,includingone'sfeelings.Italsomeansbeingabletoacceptreality,
againincludingone'sfeelings.Feelingsaresuchanimportantpartofopennessbecausetheyconvey
organismicvaluing.Ifyoucannotbeopentoyourfeelings,youcannotbeopentoacualization.The
hardpart,ofcourse,isdistinguishingrealfeelingsfromtheanxietiesbroughtonbyconditionsof
worth.
2.Existentialliving.Thisislivinginthehereandnow.Rogers,asapartofgettingintouchwith
reality,insiststhatwenotliveinthepastorthefuturetheoneisgone,andtheotherisn'tanythingat
all,yet!Thepresentistheonlyrealitywehave.Mindyou,thatdoesn'tmeanweshouldn'tremember
andlearnfromourpast.Neitherdoesitmeanweshouldn'tplanorevendaydreamaboutthefuture.
Justrecognizethesethingsforwhattheyare:memoriesanddreams,whichweareexperiencinghere
inthepresent.
3.Organismictrusting.Weshouldallowourselvestobeguidedbytheorganismicvaluingprocess.
Weshouldtrustourselves,dowhatfeelsright,whatcomesnatural.This,asI'msureyourealize,has
becomeamajorstickingpointinRogers'theory.Peoplesay,sure,dowhatcomesnaturalifyouare
asadist,hurtpeopleifyouareamasochist,hurtyourselfifthedrugsoralcoholmakeyouhappy,go
foritifyouaredepressed,killyourself....Thiscertainlydoesn'tsoundlikegreatadvice.Infact,
manyoftheexcessesofthesixtiesandseventieswereblamedonthisattitude.Butkeepinmindthat
Rogersmeanttrustyourrealself,andyoucanonlyknowwhatyourrealselfhastosayifyouare
opentoexperienceandlivingexistentially!Inotherwords,organismictrustingassumesyouarein
contactwiththeacutalizingtendency.
4.Experientialfreedom.Rogersfeltthatitwasirrelevantwhetherornotpeoplereallyhadfree
will.Wefeelverymuchasifwedo.Thisisnottosay,ofcourse,thatwearefreetodoanythingat
all:Wearesurroundedbyadeterministicuniverse,sothat,flapmyarmsasmuchasIlike,Iwillnot
flylikeSuperman.Itmeansthatwefeelfreewhenchoicesareavailabletous.Rogerssaysthatthe
fullyfunctioningpersonacknowledgesthatfeelingoffreedom,andtakesresponsibilityforhis
choices.
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5.Creativity.Ifyoufeelfreeandresponsible,youwillactaccordingly,andparticipateintheworld.
Afullyfunctioningperson,intouchwithacualization,willfeelobligedbytheirnaturetocontribute
totheactualizationofothers,evenlifeitself.Thiscanbethroughcreativityintheartsorsciences,
throughsocialconcernandparentallove,orsimplybydoingone'sbestatone'sjob.Creativityas
RogersusesitisveryclosetoErikson'sgenerativity.
Therapy
CarlRogersisbestknownforhiscontributionstotherapy.Histherapyhasgonethroughacoupleof
namechangesalongtheway:Heoriginallycalleditnondirective,becausehefeltthatthetherapist
shouldnotleadtheclient,butratherbetherefortheclientwhiletheclientdirectstheprogressofthe
therapy.Ashebecamemoreexperienced,herealizedthat,as"nondirective"ashewas,hestill
influencedhisclientbyhisvery"nondirectiveness!"Inotherwords,clientslooktotherapistsfor
guidance,andwillfinditevenwhenthetherapististryingnottoguide.
Sohechangedthenametoclientcentered.Hestillfeltthattheclientwastheonewhoshouldsay
whatiswrong,findwaysofimproving,anddeterminetheconclusionoftherapyhistherapywas
stillvery"clientcentered"evenwhileheacknowledgedtheimpactofthetherapist.Unfortunately,
othertherapistsfeltthatthisnameforhistherapywasabitofaslapinthefaceforthem:Aren'tmost
therapies"clientcentered?"
Nowadays,thoughthetermsnondirectiveandclientcenteredarestillused,mostpeoplejustcallit
Rogeriantherapy.OneofthephrasesthatRogersusedtodescribehistherapyis"supportive,not
reconstructive,"andheusestheanalogyoflearningtorideabicycletoexplain:Whenyouhelpa
childtolearntorideabike,youcan'tjusttellthemhow.Theyhavetotryitforthemselves.Andyou
can'tholdthemupthewholetimeeither.Therecomesapointwhenyouhavetoletthemgo.Ifthey
fall,theyfall,butifyouhangon,theyneverlearn.
It'sthesameintherapy.Ifindependence(autonomy,freedomwithresponsibility)iswhatyouare
helpingaclienttoachieve,thentheywillnotachieveitiftheyremaindependentonyou,the
therapist.Theyneedtotrytheirinsightsontheirown,inreallifebeyondthetherapist'soffice!An
authoritarianapproachtotherapymayseemtoworkmarvelouslyatfirst,butultimatelyitonlycreates
adependentperson.
ThereisonlyonetechniquethatRogeriansareknownfor:reflection.Reflectionisthemirroringof
emotionalcommunication:Iftheclientsays"Ifeellikeshit!"thetherapistmayreflectthisbacktothe
clientbysayingsomethinglike"So,life'sgettingyoudown,hey?"Bydoingthis,thetherapistis
communicatingtotheclientthatheisindeedlisteningandcaresenoughtounderstand.
Thetherapistisalsolettingtheclientknowwhatitistheclientiscommunicating.Often,peoplein
distresssaythingsthattheydon'tmeanbecauseitfeelsgoodtosaythem.Forexample,awoman
oncecametomeandsaid"Ihatemen!"Ireflectedbysaying"Youhateallmen?"Well,shesaid,
maybenotallshedidn'thateherfatherorherbrotheror,forthatmatter,me.Evenwiththosemen
she"hated,"shediscoveredthatthegreatmajorityofthemshedidn'tfeelasstronglyasthewordhate
implies.Infact,ultimately,sherealizedthatshedidn'ttrustmanymen,andthatshewasafraidof
beinghurtbythemthewayshehadbeenbyoneparticularman.
Reflectionmustbeusedcarefully,however.Manybeginningtherapistsuseitwithoutthinking(or
feeling),andjustrepeateveryotherphrasethatcomesoutoftheclient'smouth.Theysoundlike
parrotswithpsychologydegrees!Thentheythinkthattheclientdoesn'tnotice,wheninfactithas
becomeastereotypeofRogeriantherapythesamewayassexandmomhavebecomestereotypesof
Freudiantherapy.Reflectionmustcomefromtheheartitmustbegenuine,congruent.
WhichbringsustoRogers'famousrequirementsofthetherapist.Rogersfeltthatatherapist,inorder
tobeeffective,musthavethreeveryspecialqualities:
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1.Congruencegenuineness,honestywiththeclient.
2.Empathytheabilitytofeelwhattheclientfeels.
3.Respectacceptance,unconditionalpositiveregardtowardstheclient.
Hesaysthesequalitiesare"necessaryandsufficient:"Ifthetherapistshowsthesethreequalities,the
clientwillimprove,evenifnootherspecial"techniques"areused.Ifthetherapistdoesnotshow
thesethreequalities,theclient'simprovementwillbeminimal,nomatterhowmany"techniques"are
used.Nowthisisalottoaskofatherapist!They'rejusthuman,andoftenenoughabitmore
"human"(let'ssayunusual)thanmost.Rogersdoesgiveinalittle,andheaddsthatthetherapistmust
showthesethingsinthetherapyrelationship.Inotherwords,whenthetherapistleavestheoffice,he
canbeas"human"asanybody.
IhappentoagreewithRogers,eventhoughthesequalitiesarequitedemanding.Someoftheresearch
doessuggestthattechniquesdon'tmatternearlyasmuchasthetherapist'spersonality,andthat,to
someextentatleast,therapistsare"born"not"made."
References
Rogerswasagreatwriter,arealpleasuretoread.Themostcompletestatementofhistheoryisin
ClientcenteredTherapy(1951).Twocollectionsofessaysareveryinteresting:OnBecominga
Person(1961)andAWayofBeing(1980).Finally,there'sanicecollectionofhisworkinTheCarl
RogersReader,editedbyKirschenbaumandHenderson(1989).
Copyright1998,2006byC.GeorgeBoeree

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