Talk about Rogers view of the human condition – Self-concept, self-actualisation Talk about Rogers view that humans have the innate desire and ability to grow and self actualise, that they are not born to ‘evil’ but born to good: Rogers was himself unhappy with suggestions that he might be following in anyone else's footsteps too closely but he did agree that his thinking was closer to that of Rousseau than that of Calvin (2) .
Calvin, and others, viewed man as basically inherently evil and destructive whereas Rogers believed the individual to be trustworthy and good with a desire for development, differentiation and co-operative relationships.. And that Sometimes it is helpful for the person to have a helper (counsellor) to offer the conditions needed for the individual to grow – Unconditional Positive Regard, Empathy, Congruence etc. that create an environment that the client can themselves grow in, much like if a potato is kept in a dark cellar for a length of time despite the dark the potato will reach out with shoots towards the light. Much as a person no matter how dark their current and past environment they will always strive to grow towards self-actualisationTalk about the client centred approach and how Rogers didn’t see it as a method, but rather as an attitude the counsellor holds towards the client (that they are self directing) and towards themselves as a therapist (that they are not the ‘expert’ on the client and are there to provide the environment that promotes clients to self realise their own issues and helps them self actualise what they want/desire) Talk about the shift this marked within the Psychotherapy community Talk about a therapist’s tendency despite good intentions to seek to ‘diagnose’ and ‘guide’ the client, talk about supervision and the role it serves.
