Person-centred therapy

Domain III · Humanistic, existential & experiential · Carl Rogers · 1940 · Ohio State University

What it is

Person-centred (originally "non-directive", then "client-centred") therapy was developed by Carl Rogers. He began questioning expert diagnosis at the Rochester child guidance clinic, set out the approach at Ohio State (1940–45), and built it at the University of Chicago Counseling Center (from…

Format

• Person-centred therapy has no prescribed phases, session agendas or step sequence. Rogers presents the conditions as constants that do not vary by client type. Direction and pace belong to the client. The structure below is the practical frame that the competence framework and PCE-CfD place around…
• Format and length

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• PCE-CfD (time-limited NHS/IAPT version): 6–10 sessions over about 8–12 weeks for subthreshold or mild–moderate depression, and up to 20 sessions for severe or complex depression.
• PCE-CfD adherence is rated on the Person-Centred & Experiential Psychotherapy Scale (PCEPS). Items cover the relational stance and experiential processing. Training requires 80 supervised practice hours and audio recordings of sessions. Instrument items are not reproduced here.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• : rushing to explanation. Stay with the re-lived moment.
• : intellectualising. Bring the client back to how it feels now.
• : clients who feel watched or exposed. Use this sparingly early on.
• : this sliding into interpretation as a habit. Treat it as an exception.
• : your image taking over. Working: the client picks it up and develops it.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.