A Bit More About Person-Centred Counselling and the Johari Window

One of the most difficult things for people in pain to do is to accept themselves, especially those parts of themselves causing the pain.  It's very easy to make the jump from feeling bad to thinking 'I am bad'.  Angry people, for example, are not 'bad' people.  They've usually got something to be angry about!

A key element of an effective Person-Centred Counselling relationship is Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR).  UPR creates a sense of external acceptance that gradually affects the unconscious of the client - 'well if they can accept me as I am then I guess I can'.  But it's more than a verbal sentence - it's an overall sensory experience.

UPR assumes all people are basically good and a Counsellor must hold their client in high regard if they hope to support them properly.  This doesn't mean every Person-Centred Counsellor can do this with every client.   During my Person-Centred Counsellor training we were asked to consider what kinds of clients we would not be able to offer UPR to.

I, and quite a few of the other trainees, immediately responded we could not work with people who had sexually abused children - we found the area far too emotive for us to guarantee UPR for a client of that nature.  However one trainee explained he found the way child abusers developed fascinating and was currently counselling an abuser and did not feel disturbed by the client at all.

I would have no problem working, for example, with gay or transsexual clients.

If your counsellor, for whatever reason, is unable to treat you with Unconditional Positive Regard they should refer you to another Person-Centred Counsellor who can.

We definitely see evidence of UPR as Carl Rogers continues to work with Gloria in the videos below - we also see another important principle at work - Client Autonomy.  Despite the fact Gloria keeps asking for 'advice' she eventually develops her own solutions.  This approach helps the client better understand the acceptance process while learning they can actually cope with and develop strategies of their own to manage it so improving their confidence levels.

CARL ROGERS AND GLORIA COUNSELLING - PT 3

CARL ROGERS AND GLORIA - COUNSELLING - PT 4

CARL ROGERS AND GLORIA - COUNSELLING - PT 5

Finally I thought I'd finish off by giving you a bonus video about the 'Johari Window'.  It's a useful model and something helpful to be aware of - there are always things about ourselves we do not know or have become blind to.  There's a link below the video to get more detailed information and some free downloads.

Johari Window @ Yahoo! Video

If you're interested in getting further free information on the Johari Window (including a pdf or word diagram) please click here: businessballs .

Regards - Carl