In today's world, full of stress and forcing factors, the psychological he alth of a person suffers greatly. Hereditary and acquired diseases are exacerbated. Psychologists and psychiatrists are developing new methods, concepts both for correcting a person's emotional state and for treating serious problems in this area. One of the most popular methods of influencing the patient is client-centered therapy. Let's look at its main principles.
Definition
Client-centered therapy is a special form of counseling and treatment in psychology, based on the concept that by seeking help from a specialist in this profile, the patient is able to find a solution to his problem.
That is, in this actively used technique, the person himself is a kind of consultant for himself, and the therapist only creates the necessary conditions for understanding the problem and its effective solution. This is exactly what the founder of client-centered therapy thinks. His theory infurther supported by many practicing psychologists.
History of Creation
Carl Rogers, a famous American scientist, is considered the founder of client-centered therapy. With his many years of work and work with patients, he managed to create an effective and popular system of psychotherapy, which, in terms of fame, can perhaps be second only to Freud's theory.
It was Rogers who, in 1940, came up with the theory that when counseling a psychologist, it is necessary to focus not only on the patient's problem, but also on his emotional state. He also suggested changing the painfully perceived definition of "patient" to a more loyal and correct "client". This is how Rogers' client-centered therapy was born.
Theory concept
This theory of therapeutic impact was built around the basic definition that each of us has in our minds all the necessary resources and strength to understand and solve our own problems. Also, a very important basis of this theory is that we all have some kind of positive essence that opens and functions if we create the necessary conditions for it. That is the job of a psychologist.
Operation principle
Client-centered therapy is aimed at a person's independent solution of his problems, through his own psycho-emotional resources and the feasible assistance of a specialist. However, do not countthat in this theory the psychologist plays a secondary role, on the contrary, he is a kind of guide, a pointer to the right direction.
So, for successful client-centered therapy, the "six conditions" formulated by Rogers must be met, which should be considered separately.
The client and the specialist must be in psychological contact
This means that two people involved in client-centered therapy are required to touch each other emotionally. This point is incredibly important, but it is intimidating, not only for the client, but also for the specialist.
This contact should always be in the present tense, even if it involves the past or the future.
The client tends to be incongruent
This means that the patient deliberately distorts or alters the idea of himself and his emotional experiences so as not to spoil the positive impression of his personality. Such behavior during sessions with a psychologist is a fairly common occurrence, because it is very difficult to open up to a stranger, even a specialist.
Therefore, client-centered therapy only takes place if the person himself admits his incongruity.
The specialist must be congruent
In the methods of client-centered therapy, this item plays a very important role. The psychologist must be clearly aware of his own emotional response to the patient's experiences and use it in a corrected form in the process.session.
And sincerity plays an important role in this. The specialist should not be hypocritical and demonstrative. You have to be yourself with the patient.
That is why it is so important to apply the client's experiences to yourself, because without your own understanding of the problem it is impossible to help someone else deal with it. In client-centered therapy, the therapist cannot move the patient beyond their own congruence.
The specialist has respect for the client
This point is the main condition for the existence of this therapy. A respectful attitude towards the client should be built on unconditional faith in his internal potential resources. The client feels confident and begins to release their positive essence, directing it to solve the problem.
This principle in client-centered therapy exists not as a position of unconditional approval, non-intervention, but as acceptance and understanding of the client's inner experiences and agreement that they take place and are generated by a certain source.
The specialist perceives the client's system of experiences
The key action of this condition is based on the empathic perception of all the client's inner emotions. Moreover, it should be of such strength and intensity, as if the therapist himself is this person.
At the same time, this empathy must go beyond the client's awareness, it must be on the border of perception of the sensual-unconscious. Therefore, this theory does not apply tohumanistic client-centered therapy, which is a kind of friendly interaction, it is a check functional position. It is this kind of therapy that can have an impact that pushes the client to introspection and self-understanding.
Client perceives therapist's unconditional understanding and positive attitude
Naturally, for a positive empathic influence to have any effect on a patient's dynamics, it must be accepted to a greater or lesser degree. Even a minimal sense of sensory experience and understanding can have an effect.
This is a precondition for this type of therapy, along with all of the above. Indeed, without the perception of the specialist's empathic data, which will be transmitted to the client through therapeutic contact, such sessions will not have the desired result.
Practical application
Existing client-centered therapy is based on the realization that the basis for personality change is a psychological attitude that leaves all other aspects of influence in the background. However, an incorrect interpretation of the principles of work according to this technique can lead to incompetence on the part of a specialist.
The work of a psychologist, although it should have empathic interaction and respect, still needs to remain constructive and result-oriented. The purpose of this type of work on the part of a specialist should be to realize, together with the client, the existencea denied problem, find its source and solve it using various methods.
The application of client-centered therapy in practice is not possible without special diagnostics and, of course, without special honed skills of the therapist.
Directions
In addition to the client-centered therapy founded by Rogers, which is fundamental, there are several other directions related to it, in which many modern specialists are successfully working.
Among them are the following practical areas:
- Experiential. The founder of client-centered therapy of this type is O. Gendlin. The essence of this direction lies in the fact that for an effective therapeutic effect, a special level of experience is needed in the client, which must be evoked.
- Focus-oriented. This direction is focused on a certain focusing of the client's attention on the fact that it is he who is able to independently overcome the existing difficulties.
- Procedural-Experiential. It is a specific method aimed at finding existing experiences and working through their problematic points.
- Goal-oriented. This direction is actively used in modern practice by many specialists. It is developed on the basis of client-centered therapy to work with a special kind of client suffering from psychosomatic disorders to a greater or lesser extent. This direction has shown good results in the treatment of cases that are almost not amenable toadjustment. The main difficulty in working with these clients who have unhe althy psychosomatics lies precisely in the unwillingness to interact with a specialist, in the weak ability of self-examination and self-understanding, in the lack of motivation for a cure.
Research
Of course, before this theory of client-centered therapy can be recognized as really effective, a huge amount of practical research was conducted.
So, this type of interaction between the patient and the therapist showed high positive results. For example, researchers have found that people who have completed client-centered therapy experienced a significant decrease in dependence on the values and expectations of others and a greater dependence on their own acquired experiences.
Also, patients noted that communication with other people ceased to bring discomfort, in the process of dialogue interaction there was more satisfaction than before the implementation of therapeutic intervention. Working with specialists has greatly increased the positive perception of oneself, the understanding of one's own actions and actions.
Also, a combination of many studies has shown that therapy works more successfully if the therapist approaches the patient's problem with sincere warmth and participation.
This approach of client-centered therapy is actively used in modern practice in various areas of the social life of society. For example, in the field of education, family and business relations, in resolvingracial and political conflicts. It is very popular at the moment and is unlikely to be competitive in the near future.
