Person Centered Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Person Centered Counseling - Essay Example His professional struggle against orthodox psychiatry has reminded a scholar of Martin Luther’s stand against the catholic church. Roger’s person centered approach (to psychotherapy; to education; to small encounter groups; and to larger groups assembled for the purpose of improving transitional understanding, exploring intergroup conflicts, and learning the nature of culture and its formation) has been committed to such contortions. For example, there is a proposal to wed the person-centered approach with Taoism’s technique of the â€Å"microcosmic orbit†, and no less serious, coupling the person-centered approach with a French Physician’s philosophy of human development based on the architecture of the human inner ear. Another past time is to construct elaborate arguments to show Rogers was in the Existentialist line of dissension and then scold him for not admitting his debt to his forbearers. The fact is what are called existential attitudes and behaviours in his approach developed independently of any contact with the philosophy of extentialism. It was while he was director of the counseling center at the University of Chicago and Roger’s major work on psychotherapy was well established that his intellectual trajectory intersected with the Extentionalists. His intention as a psychotherapist and his research methods concentrated on the phenomenon of effective therapy. Thus, one may find many examples of phenomenology in his work.. The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, while writing on the "collective unconscious", is said to have coined the term translated "transpersonal". Like most of psychology, transpersonal psychology intends to help individuals realize deeper self-understanding, improve the health of their minds and bodies and lead more effective lives. In working with individual clients, transpersonal psychologists are said to be dealing with more than just the mere persona. Thus, they focus their attention on the whole person: "Spirit, mind and body". Though this may be the goal of other psychotherapies, it is the means that transpersonal psychologists may differ from their colleagues. To accomplish their objectives, they may analyze dreams, explore "peak experiences", or delve into paranormal phenomena, such as revelations from "past lives". Other methods may involve provoking altered states of consciousness through the use of drugs, hypnosis, guided fantasies, breathing exercises, meditation, and other "spiritual" practices. It is unlikely that Rogers would have approved of some of these activities, particularly where the therapists exerts authoritarian control over the client. Certainly he could not be considered to be a transpersonal psychologist in an unqualified sense. Roger's world view and his practice of psychotherapy should be understood as a integrated approach that he cultivated over his entire life. His (person-centered) approach evolved over time out of a specific stance or way of being, which can be described as consisting not only of certain beliefs and attitudes, but also abilities that improved with