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Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories324
these three experiences. First, there canbeabreakdown between feelings andaware -
ness. Aperson maybefeeling angry, andtheanger maybeobvious toothers; butthe
angry person isunaware ofthefeeling. “I’mnotangry. How dareyousayI’mangry!” 
Thesecond source ofincongruence isadiscrepancy between awareness ofanexperi -
enceandtheability orwillingness toexpress ittoanother. “Iknow I’mfeeling bored 
bywhat isbeing said,butIdon’t dareverbalize mydisinterest because myclient will
think thatIamnotagood therapist.” Rogers (1961) stated thattherapists willbe
more effective iftheycommunicate genuine feelings, evenwhen those feelings are
negative orthreatening. Todootherwise would bedishonest, andclients willdetect—
though notnecessarily consciously—any significant indicators ofincongruence.
Although congruence isanecessary ingredient insuccessful therapy, Rogers 
(1980) didnotbelieve thatitisnecessary foratherapist tobecongruent inallrelation -
ships outside thetherapeutic process. Onecanbelessthanperfect andyetbecome 
aneffective psychotherapist. Also, atherapist need notbeabsolutely congruent in
order tofacilitate some growth within aclient. Aswithunconditional positive regard 
andempathic listening, different degrees ofcongruence exist. Themore theclient 
perceives eachofthese qualities ascharacterizing thetherapist, themore successful 
willbethetherapeutic process.
Unconditional Positive Regard
Positive regard istheneed tobeliked, prized, oraccepted byanother person. When 
thisneed exists without anyconditions orqualifications, unconditional positive regard 
occurs (Rogers, 1980). Therapists haveunconditional positive regard when they
are“experiencing awarm, positive andaccepting attitude toward what istheclient” 
(Rogers, 1961, p.62).Theattitude iswithout possessiveness, without evaluations, 
andwithout reservations.
Atherapist withunconditional positive regard toward aclient willshow anon-
possessive warmth andacceptance, notaneffusive, effervescent persona. Tohave
nonpossessive warmth means tocareabout another without smothering orowning 
thatperson. Itincludes theattitude “Because Icareabout you,Icanpermit youtobe
autonomous andindependent ofmyevaluations andrestrictions. Youareaseparate 
person withyourownfeelings andopinions regarding what isrightorwrong. The
factthatIcareforyoudoesnotmean thatImust guide youinmaking choices, but
thatIcanallow youtobeyourself andtodecide what isbestforyou.” Thiskindof
permissive attitude earned forRogers theundeserved reputation ofbeing passive or
nondirective intherapy, butaclient-centered therapist must beactively involved ina
relationship withtheclient.
Unconditional positive regard means thattherapists accept andprize their
clients without anyrestrictions orreservations andwithout regard totheclients’ 
behavior. Although therapists mayvalue some client behaviors more thanothers, 
theirpositive regard remains constant andunwavering. Unconditional positive regard 
alsomeans thattherapists donotevaluate clients, nordotheyaccept oneaction 
andreject another. External evaluation, whether positive ornegative, leads toclients’ 
defensiveness andprevents psychological growth.
Although unconditional positive regard isasomewhat awkward term, allthree 
words areimportant. “Regard” means thatthere isaclose relationship andthattheFinal PDF to printer