Case Approach to Person-Centered Therapy

Case Approach to Person-Centered Therapy

Basic Assumptions
Some basic assumptions of person-centered therapy are that the client is trustworthy and that the role of the therapist is to be available and able to listen with acceptance and without judging. The therapist is to be empathetic and understanding of the client’s subjective point of view and is to help the client to become more self-aware. Three attributes of a person-centered therapist are congruence, unconditional positive regard, and accurate empathetic understanding. In this role, the therapist engages in nondirective counseling, but helps the client to become more aware of his or her assets and to strive toward realization, personal fulfillment, and autonomy. He or she does not diagnose the client nor create a so-called “treatment plan” for the client in this type of therapy. Instead, through active listening, he or she encourages the client to find resolution through acceptance and self-awareness.

Assessment Methods
In my case, a person-centered therapist would gain insight into my life through my narrative and not necessarily through a psychological assessment. The therapist would listen carefully to my thoughts and feelings about my self-doubt and relationships with others, just to name of couple of issues. In listening carefully, he or she would exhibit congruence, or a genuineness that I could feel in just talking with him or her. He or she would also exhibit unconditional positive regard, whereby I would feel accepted and cared for, and not judged. Through accurate empathetic understanding, the therapist would theoretically be able to listen, understand, and grasp fully the feelings that I share. One example in my case is that he or she would empathize with my feelings about whether or not I will be “good” at what I hope to do as a future school psychologist, as well as my thoughts and feelings of being lonely, particularly since moving to a new place less than a year ago. He or she would also be able to empathize with my sadness about losing my friend to suicide and nearly losing my grandfather to it, and may further question my own thoughts about death. This process may lead me to feel sadness, pain, and/or resentment, but the therapist would help me to understand that ultimately, by increasing my awareness of these feelings, I will find resolve in the end. It would be important that he or she create a relationship based on what Corey refers to as “non-possessive warmth,” whereby I feel accepted and cared about, but in a therapeutic relationship different from others.

While the person-centered therapist may recognize both my previous and current experiences with depression and anxiety, he or she would not aim to diagnose and treat them, but rather would help me to become more aware of the things that are leading to those feelings and experiences. For example, I may spend time talking about the need for perfection that drives me to feel anxious and worried about being successful in the future, and perhaps discuss some things to help me to better understand or become aware of where that need comes from. Also, in talking about relationships, I may better understand or become aware of the qualities that I have to offer others, as well as what others can offer me, allowing me to experience more healthy relations with others. For example, if I were to become more aware that I am a loyal, funny, and compassionate person, then maybe I could better focus on implementing those characteristics in my relationships with others instead of the more negative or undesired characteristics, such as jealousy. Ultimately, assessment in this type of therapy would be an ongoing process as the therapist learns new things about me during each session.

Goals
Immediate goals in my case would involve helping me to feel loved and cared for unconditionally and accepted unconditionally, which would in turn lead to more hopeful thoughts on my part. Other goals might be to become more aware of my assets and positive qualities, as well as to create a healthy relationship with the therapist based on care and trust. I may also learn through talk therapy that I am good at some other things, so this may help me to better accept my decision to quit playing softball. While becoming self-aware is a process, called actualizing tendency, it takes time, and recognizing one thing at a time can be a short-term goal. Ultimately, it would be my responsibility to lead the discussions, and through this self-direction, discussion and bringing my thoughts to a more conscious level would demonstrate what my priorities and goals are.

Intervention Techniques
According to Corey, person-centered therapy is “especially applicable in crisis intervention.” This involves ensuring my safety, which, according to Corey, may involve the therapist suggesting hospitalization. After ensuring my safety, we could move on to more expressive techniques in helping me to feel accepted and loved by myself, as well as others. Through talk therapy, becoming more aware of my thoughts and feelings is an intervention in and of itself. Other interventions include expressive arts therapy, in which I could spend time drawing, painting, writing, etc., to express myself thoughts and feelings. In doing so, this will bring about awareness of thoughts and feelings and will help me to better understand myself. Corey says that this type of therapy is “transformative and healing.”