final draft.docx - Running head PERSON-CENTERED AND...

Running head: PERSON-CENTERED AND CLASSICAL ROGERIAN 1
Person-Centered and Classical Rogerian Approaches to Therapy:
Development, Evolution, and Modern Methods
Kaitlyn O’Connor
University of Holy Cross

PERSON-CENTERED AND CLASSICAL ROGERIAN 2
Abstract
The focus of this paper is to explore the development and evolution of person-centered therapy
(PCT) and the Rogerian approach in the mental health profession. Thirteen articles and two
books on Carl Rogers and PCT have varying perspectives on the correct therapeutic method.
Quinn (2015) argues the classical person-centered approach (PCA) having the six necessary and
sufficient conditions is the most successful, while research has shown that there is no evidence to
prove the effectiveness of person-centered therapy (Corey, 2013). The nondirective approach
hypothesized by Rogers is accepted for the conditions of congruence, empathy, and
unconditional positive regard, but debates are ongoing about if that is enough to facilitate change
(Quinn, 2015). Pluralistic approaches within the person-centered field have recently been
adopted; yet there are limitations to both pluralistic (PCT-plus) and classical Rogerian
approaches. Classical Rogerian approach allows the client to guide his own therapeutic process,
while the pluralistic approach is more dependent upon the techniques of the counselor
(Kirschenbaum, 2012). The classical approach works for empowering clients, but methods of
testing results should be identified in order for the traditional person-centered approach to
continue.

PERSON-CENTERED AND CLASSICAL ROGERIAN 3
Person-Centered and Classical Rogerian Approaches to Therapy:
Development, Evolution, and Modern Methods
Person-centered therapy (PCT) was established by Carl Rogers after almost forty years of
research. The approach began as a nondirective, client-centered therapy in opposition to
analytical theories. However, Rogers’s approach based on empathy, congruence, and
unconditional positive regard was eventually dismissed due to lack of evidence and technique.
With increased interest in the person-centered approach more therapists have accepted Rogers’s
core conditions as necessary if not also sufficient for change. Therefore, while Rogers’s original
hypothesis stated no technique was necessary, many person-centered practitioners have
implemented techniques and methods into the therapeutic process. Numerous articles have
stressed the importance of the core conditions of empathy, congruence, and unconditional
positive regard as being the only factors needed to facilitate change within the therapeutic
process. Yet pluralistic methods have been used with counselors claiming that not all clients will
respond to the original intended method of person-centered therapy.