Which of the following statements is a characteristic of congruent therapists?

The person-centered counseling approach was established in the 1940’s by humanistic psychologist, Carl Rogers. The goal of a person-centered therapy is to create the necessary conditions for clients to engage in meaningful self-exploration of their feelings, beliefs, behavior, and worldview, and to assist clients in their growth process, enabling them to cope with current and future problems.

A major concept of this approach is that people are generally trustworthy, resourceful, capable of self-understanding and self-direction, able to make constructive changes, and able to live effective and productive lives. Another key concept is that the attitudes and characteristics of the therapist, and the quality of the client-therapist relationship are prime determinants of the outcome of the therapeutic process.

Rogers maintains that therapists must have three attributes to create a growth-promoting climate in which individuals can move forward and become capable of becoming their true self: (1) congruence (genuineness or realness), (2) unconditional positive regard (acceptance and caring), and (3) accurate empathic understanding (an ability to deeply grasp the subjective world of another person).

1. CONGRUENCE (GENUINENESS)
Congruence refers to the therapist being real, authentic, and genuine with their clients. It’s called congruence because their inner experience and outward expression match. In being authentic, the therapist shows they are trustworthy, which helps in building a good therapeutic relationship with the client. It also serves as a model for clients, encouraging them to be their true selves, expressing their thoughts and feelings, without any sort of false front.

2. UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD and ACCEPTANCE
Unconditional positive regard means the therapist genuinely cares for their clients and does not evaluate or judge their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors as good or bad. Each client is accepted and valued for who they are, as they are, without stipulation. Clients need not fear judgment or rejection from the therapist.

3. ACCURATE EMPATHIC UNDERSTANDING
Accurate empathic understanding means that the therapist understands their client’s experience and feelings in an accurate and compassionate way. The therapist recognizes that each client’s experience is subjective and therefore strives to see things from the client’s unique perspective. An important part of accurate empathic understanding is for the therapist to convey that they “get it” by reflecting the client’s experience back to them. This encourages clients to become more reflective with themselves, which allows for greater understanding of themselves.

If you’ve ever had an experience where you felt like someone just really got you…they completely understood where you were coming from, or could truly relate to the way you felt – that’s accurate empathic understanding.

Rogers asserts that empathy helps clients (1) pay attention and value their experiencing; (2) see earlier experiences in new ways; (3) modify their perceptions of themselves, others, and the world; and (4) increase their confidence in making choices and pursuing a course of action. Jeanne Watson (2002) states that 60 years of research has consistently demonstrated that empathy is the most powerful determinant of client progress in therapy. She puts it this way:

“Therapists need to be able to be responsively attuned to their clients and to understand them emotionally as well as cognitively. When empathy is operating on all three levels – interpersonal, cognitive, and affective – it is one of the most powerful tools therapists have at their disposal.”

References:
1. Watson, J. C. (2002). Re-visioning empathy. In D. J. Cain (Ed.), Humanistic psychotherapies: Handbook of research and practice (pp. 445-471). American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
2. Corey, Gerald. Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Belmont. Thomas Learning, Inc. 2005.

Question 10 out of 1 pointsWhich of the following statements is a characteristic of congruent therapists?

Question 21 out of 1 pointsAccording to Rogers, the two subsystems of the self are the

Question 31 out of 1 pointsAccording to Rogers, positive external evaluations

Question 41 out of 1 pointsThe Chicago Studies conducted by Carl Rogers and his colleagues to investigateboth the process and the outcomes of client-centered therapy relied on the

Question 51 out of 1 pointsThe misinterpretation of an experience in order to make it fit some aspect ofone’s self-concept represents Rogers’ concept of

Question 61 out of 1 pointsAccording to Rogers, the two most frequent defensive reactions are

Question 70 out of 1 pointsAccording to Rogers’ theory, self-actualization is

Answer:tendency.Question 81 out of 1 pointsAccording to Carl Rogers, which of the following stages of therapeutic change ischaracterized by a denial or distortion of experiences by the client where theclient talks of deep feelings but not ones presently felt?

Question 91 out of 1 pointsDuring the early phase of his professional career, Rogers was strongly influencedby the ideas of

Which of the following statements is a characteristic of congruent therapists quizlet?

Which of the following statements is a characteristic of congruent therapists? They are constantly exposed to new organismic experiences.

Is used to refer to Rogerian personality theory?

Later, his approach was variously termed “client-centered,” “person-centered,” “student-centered,” “group-centered,” and “person to person.” We use the label client-centered in reference to Rogers's therapy and the more inclusive term person-centered to refer to Rogerian personality theory.

What are the two subsystems of the self?

The self has two subsystems: self-concept and ideal self.

Is defined as the experience of prizing or valuing one's self?

Positive self regard is the experience of prizing or valuing one's self. -Rogers believed that receiving positive regard from others is necessary for positive self-regard, but once positive self-regard is established, it becomes independent, and no longer requires replenishing love and approval from others.