Deck 5: Person-Centered Therapy

Question 1

You are a person-centered therapist. Explain to me, a rookie therapist, what incongruence is, and what I need to do to become congruent so that I can be a person-centered therapist.

Answer 1

Incongruence in person-centered therapy refers to the discrepancy between a person's self-concept and their actual experiences or feelings. It occurs when a person's outward behavior or presentation does not match their internal thoughts and emotions. As a rookie therapist, it is important to understand that incongruence can hinder the therapeutic relationship and the client's ability to fully express themselves and grow.

To become congruent as a person-centered therapist, you need to work on being genuine, transparent, and authentic in your interactions with clients. This means being aware of your own thoughts, feelings, and reactions, and being willing to openly share them with your clients in a non-judgmental way. It also involves being honest and transparent about your own limitations and uncertainties, and being open to feedback and self-reflection.

In addition, developing congruence as a therapist also requires self-awareness and self-exploration. It is important to understand your own values, beliefs, and biases, and how these may impact your interactions with clients. Engaging in regular supervision, personal therapy, and ongoing professional development can also help you become more congruent as a person-centered therapist.

Overall, congruence is about being genuine, transparent, and authentic in your therapeutic relationships, and it is a key aspect of creating a safe and supportive environment for clients to explore and grow. By working on developing your own congruence, you can better support your clients in their own journey towards self-awareness and personal growth.

Question 2

What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of therapy, according to person- centered therapy? What does the research tell us about these conditions?

Answer 2

The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapy, according to person-centered therapy, are empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence. Empathy refers to the therapist's ability to understand and share the feelings of the client. Unconditional positive regard is the therapist's acceptance and support of the client without judgment or conditions. Congruence refers to the therapist's genuineness and authenticity in their interactions with the client.

Research on person-centered therapy has consistently shown that these conditions are essential for successful therapy outcomes. Studies have demonstrated that when clients perceive their therapist as empathetic, nonjudgmental, and genuine, they are more likely to experience positive changes and improvements in their well-being. Additionally, the presence of these conditions in therapy has been linked to greater client satisfaction and a strong therapeutic alliance between the client and therapist. Overall, the research supports the importance of empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence in person-centered therapy for promoting positive therapeutic outcomes.

Question 3

Describe person-centered therapy's views on the healthy person.

Answer 3

Person-centered therapy views the healthy person as someone who is in touch with their own thoughts and feelings, able to express themselves authentically, and have a strong sense of self-awareness. They are able to form healthy, intimate relationships and have a clear understanding of their own values and beliefs. In addition, a healthy person according to person-centered therapy is someone who is open to experiencing personal growth and has a positive outlook on life. They are able to adapt to change and are comfortable with their own vulnerabilities and imperfections. Overall, a healthy person in the eyes of person-centered therapy is someone who is genuine, self-aware, and open to personal growth and change.

Question 4

Discuss Rogers' views on assessment and diagnosis. Do you agree?

Question 5

What are the strengths and weaknesses of person-centered therapy in terms of working with clients from diverse backgrounds?

Question 6

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding Rogers' assertion that life is an active process?

A) Infants use the organismic valuing process to evaluate their experiences.
B) Children look for experiences of self that are congruent with their conditional self and deny experiences that are not congruent with their conditional self.
C) Adults seek out meaning in their lives through participation in social activities.
D) Children form a conditional self as a result of the positive and negative values that significant people place on different aspects of self.

Question 7

Rogers does not believe in using formal assessments or techniques because:

A) they limit the type of information that the person centered therapist can gather.
B) Person-centered therapists do not receive formal training in conducting and interpreting assessments.
C) Assessment and techniques are viewed as ways of objectifying a client and prevent the client from finding his or her own experience.
D) conducting formal assessments takes too much time.

Question 8

A counselor who most emphasizes the importance of the counseling relationship is an advocate of which approach?

A) Behavior therapy
B) Cognitive therapy
C) Reality therapy
D) Person-centered therapy

Question 9

Rogers thought that the person-centered therapist needed to be aware of her own experience in the therapeutic moment. This quality is called

A) transference
B) incongruence
C) congruence
D) none of the above

Question 10

According to person-centered theory, the healthy individual is all of the following EXCEPT

A) creative
B) attends to internal processes
C) aware of all experience
D) accepting of societal norms and rules

Question 11

According to person-centered theory, the means by which experience is evaluated is

A) the organismic valuing process
B) self-introjects
C) congruence
D) the self-actualizing tendency

Question 12

In person-centered therapy, the role of the therapist is

A) expert
B) guru
C) fellow traveler
D) submissive

Question 13

James feels really uncomfortable when he gets anxious presenting to his theories class. According to person-centered theory, James is experiencing

A) moral anxiety
B) the effects of conditions of worth
C) congruence
D) b and c

Question 14

Joan finds that she gets very uncomfortable when others want to hug her. She gets anxious and stiff. According to the person-centered theory, Joan is experiencing

A) a conflict of inner impulses
B) incongruent communication
C) incongruence between self and experience
D) disorganization

Question 15

Tim comes to the counselor because he is afraid of life. He does not trust others and therefore has difficulty establishing satisfying relationships. His person-centered therapist, Carl, would hope that as result of counseling, Tim could

A) learn assertiveness skills
B) be more in touch with his experience
C) use fewer defense mechanisms
D) confront his parents about conditions of worth they instilled

Question 16

Patty the person-centered counselor tells her client Jose that she is feeling uncomfortable with the way he interacts with her. She is demonstrating

A) congruence
B) misjudgment
C) countertransference
D) anxiety

Question 17

The current view regarding attainment of "unconditional positive regard" (Cain, 2010) is that

A) it can be attained by most counselors
B) it is an ideal that will never be attained by any counselor
C) most counselors can attain it with appropriate supervision
D) it can be attained with all but the most challenging clients

Question 18

The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapy, according to person-centered theorists, include all EXCEPT

A) psychological contact between the client and counselor
B) unconditional acceptance of the client's behavior
C) empathetic understanding of the client's internal frame of reference
D) all of the above are necessary and sufficient conditions

Question 19

Achieving good health is a process, not a

A) destination
B) impossible outcome
C) fluke
D) dream

Question 20

In a person-centered model, growth of the individual depends upon

A) creating conditions of worth
B) accurate perceptions of others
C) accurate perceptions of experience
D) eliminating destructive tendencies

Question 21

Little Stella has a friend, Shelly, who tends to punch on Stella when they play together. Lately, Stella has been crying when she sees Shelly and tries to crawl away from her. Stella is demonstrating the operation of the

A) self-actualization tendency
B) core conditions
C) conditions of worth
D) organismic valuing process

Question 22

The most useful skill in the person-centered counselor's arsenal is

A) empathy
B) interpretation
C) insight
D) teaching

Question 23

When a person talks a lot about external events, expresses few feelings, and has certainty about themselves, the Person Centered therapist would conclude

A) they are probably not ready for therapy
B) change is not likely
C) he or she is in stage 1 of the therapy process
D) all of the above

Question 24

The MOST important element in person-centered therapy is:

A) thoughts
B) feelings
C) behavior
D) physiology

Question 25

When a client in person-centered counseling shows resistance, she is likely reacting to

A) the therapist's unconditional positive regard
B) her inner conflicts
C) the therapist's interpretations
D) none of these - person-centered therapy does not recognize resistance

Question 26

Defensiveness is the hallmark of a person traditionally described as

A) neurotic
B) psychotic
C) depressed
D) all of the above

Question 27

One of the findings in research comparing cognitive therapy to person-centered therapy was that

A) clients stayed longer in person-centered therapy than cognitive therapy
B) effects of the two approaches were the same two years after therapy
C) the effects of the two approaches were markedly different at immediate post-test
D) the therapeutic relationship was more positive in cognitive therapy than in person-centered therapy

Question 28

According to person-centered theory, human aggression is

A) a natural part of life
B) not a part of the human psyche
C) to be suppressed in counseling
D) part of the conditions of worth

Question 29

Strategies to help person-centered therapy work more effectively with traditional males (Gillon, 2008) include

A) educating males at the start of therapy
B) using language that is characteristic of masculine tendencies
C) empathasizing with any difficulties in expressing and experiencing
D) all of the above