fei75766_ch10_309-344.indd 322  02/06/20 12:29 PM
Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories322
self-concept. Anexample ofthefirstcaseisapreviously prudish andproper woman 
whosuddenly begins touselanguage explicitly sexual andscatological. Thesecond 
casecanbeillustrated byamanwho, because hisself-concept isnolonger agestalt 
orunified whole, begins tobehave inaconfused, inconsistent, andtotally unpredict -
ablemanner. Inbothcases, behavior isstillconsistent withtheself-concept, butthe
self-concept hasbeen broken andthusthebehavior appears bizarre andconfusing.
Although Rogers wasevenmore tentative thanusual when hefirstputforth 
hisviews ofdisorganized behavior in1959, hemade noimportant revisions inthis
portion ofhistheory. Henever wavered inhisdisdain forusing diagnostic labels 
todescribe people. Traditional classifications suchasthose found intheDiagnostic 
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth  Edition (DSM-5) (American Psychi -
atricAssociation, 2013) havenever been partofthevocabulary ofperson-centered 
theory. Infact,Rogers always remained uncomfortable withtheterms “neurotic” and
“psychotic,” preferring instead tospeak of“defensive” and“disorganized” behaviors, 
terms thatmore accurately convey theideathatpsychological maladjustment ison
acontinuum from theslightest discrepancy between selfandexperience tothemost 
incongruent.
Psychotherapy
Client-centered therapy isdeceptively simple instatement butdecidedly difficult in
practice. Briefly, theclient-centered approach holds thatinorder forvulnerable or
anxious people togrow psychologically, theymust come intocontact withatherapist 
whoiscongruent andwhom theyperceive asproviding anatmosphere ofuncondi -
tional acceptance andaccurate empathy. Buttherein liesthedifficulty. Thequalities 
ofcongruence, unconditional positive regard, andempathic understanding arenot
easyforacounselor toattain.
Likeperson-centered theory, theclient-centered counseling approach canbe
stated inanif-then fashion. Iftheconditions oftherapist congruence, unconditional 
positive regard, andempathic listening arepresent inaclient–counselor relationship, 
thentheprocess oftherapy willtranspire. Iftheprocess oftherapy takes place, then
certain outcomes canbepredicted. Rogerian therapy, therefore, canbeviewed in
terms ofconditions, process, andoutcomes.
Conditions
Rogers (1959) postulated thatinorder fortherapeutic growth totakeplace, the
following conditions arenecessary andsufficient. First, ananxious orvulnerable 
client must come intocontact withacongruent therapist whoalsopossesses empathy 
andunconditional positive regard forthatclient. Next, theclient must perceive these 
characteristics inthetherapist. Finally, thecontact between client andtherapist must 
beofsome duration.
Thesignificance oftheRogerian hypothesis isrevolutionary. With nearly 
anypsychotherapy, thefirstandthird conditions arepresent; thatis,theclient, 
orpatient, ismotivated bysome sortoftension toseekhelp, andtherelationship 
between theclient andthetherapist willlastforsome period oftime. Client- centered 
therapy isunique initsinsistence thattheconditions ofcounselor congruence, Final PDF to printer