Person-centred expressive arts (N. Rogers)

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Natalie Rogers · 1993 · San Francisco Bay Area

What it is

Natalie Rogers (1928–2015; one cited source gives 1927 as her birth year) was Carl Rogers's daughter. She extended his person-centred approach beyond talk into movement, visual art, sound, writing and guided imagery. Person-centred expressive arts is an approach and a training tradition, not a…

Format

• Rogers published no numbered phase model for individual therapy. The structures below come from her descriptions. Session counts and transition criteria are not given in the sources.
• A. The Creative Connection sequence (the basic unit of a session).

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Format. Rogers worked with individuals and groups, in workshops and residential trainings (e.g. the ten-day modules in Norway). In groups, several people can work on their own material at the same time.
• Natalie Rogers (1928–2015; one cited source gives 1927 as her birth year) was Carl Rogers's daughter. She extended his person-centred approach beyond talk into movement, visual art, sound, writing and guided imagery. Person-centred expressive arts is an approach and a training tradition, not a manualised protocol. Its "procedures" are a set of arts invitations, plus a way of being with the client while they create.
• IEATA credentials. The International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA) grants the REAT® (Registered Expressive Arts Therapist) and the REACE® (Registered Expressive Arts Consultant/Educator).

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 involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• 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

• Projection. The client is the judge of accuracy.
• Hesitancy that looks like compliance. Check in privately.
• Turning the journal into homework to be graded. Keep it voluntary.
• Enactment can flood clients. Do not improvise it without training.
• Embarrassment. Try sounding together in a group, or facing away from others.

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.