There are different explanations on how thoughts, feelings and behaviors of people affect a high or low self esteem using the Rogerian perspective in psychology. In the Rogerian perspective, the concept of self esteem is an important psychological element (of the self) that needs to be looked into. “Roger’s ideas about the self implied that people possess a relatively stable sense of self-worth, or self-esteem. ” (Cervone et. al.
, p. 206)In analyzing the occurrence of low self esteem, the Rogerian perspective will point out the probability of an individual having a self-experience discrepancy which creates such feeling. It results in a rigid and intensive maintenance of the self against experiences that threaten the wholeness of the self and frustrate the need for positive self regard. ” (Cervone et. al.
, p. 195) Another factor that can also be considered as a catalyst for low self-esteem is the inadequate handling defensive behaviors among individuals.“For Rogers, however, the important aspect of these behaviors is their handling of an incongruence between self and experience by denial in unawareness or distortion of perception. (Cervone et. al.
, p. 195) Lastly, the misunderstanding and confusion between ideal and actual self can also lead to low self esteem among different individuals. People and individuals sometimes take into reality their ideal self and compromising their capability to handle efficiently losses and failures that occur.This often leads to a relatively low self-esteem.
It is thus important to make a borderline and defining the parameters of ideal and actual self so that misconceptions and low self-esteem can be prevented. Thus, the distinction between the ideal and ought self is important because it helps separate two kinds of self relevant emotions. ” (Cervone et. al. , p.
197) For individuals to experience a high self esteem they must be able to create a harmony between personal experiences and the self.“They are open to experiences rather than interpreting events in a defensive manner. ” (Cervone et. al. , p. 195) With this theoretical orientation, several measures have been elaborated by Carl Rogers on how to address the problem brought about by low self-esteem.
His most enduring contribution to understanding change was work in which he outlined necessary conditions of therapy. ” (Cervone et. al. , p. 198) First, the therapy to be conducted must be conducive so that it can be a catalyst for changes within the person. With this Carl Rogers developed a mechanism in which he created several important mechanisms of therapy.
It was called client-centered therapy.“In this client-centered therapy, the therapist not only uses the technique of reflection, but plays more active role in understanding the experiences of the client. ” (Cervone et. l.
, p. 198) In addition, the therapists must be able to satisfy the three conditions to fully facilitate changes. “If therapists can provide three conditions in their relationships with their client, that in a way is phenomenologically meaningful to clients, then therapeutic change will occur. ”(Cervone et. al. , p.
195) These three are communication, unconditional regard, and emphatic understanding. “Rogers identification of conditions that foster success in psychotherapy still stands as one of his most enduring contributions to psychology. ” (Cervone et. al. , p.
199)To conclude, low self-esteem is only one of the psychological behaviors that have been looked into by Carl Rogers to address the issue of phenomenological theory. Though the Rogerian perspective can seek to explain these conditions, their origins can deeply be rooted to their experiences and how each one interprets it. In the end, to alleviate such conditions, the Rogerian school advocates the use of therapy as an important component in getting over the problems brought about by low self-esteem. By carefully creating client-centered relationships, problems can be efficiently addressed and looked into.
