Abstract
Person-centred theory and practice is firmly grounded in an experiential-phenomenological perspective, and an understanding of the principles and assumptions underlying this worldview provides person-centred practitioners with a valuable opportunity to deepen their engagement with their work. Through engaging with clients as experiencing subjectivities, and through examining the nature of this experiencing, person-centred trainees and therapists can come to extend their levels of empathy, unconditional positive regard and congruence, thus helping their clients to become more fully open to their own lived-being. This chapter discusses Rogers' emphasis on experiencing as the essence of human being; the phenomenological foundations of this experiential perspective; the nature of experiencing; the difficulties with, and limitations of, basing a therapeutic approach on experiential foundations; and strategies for translating an experiential perspective into therapeutic practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Handbook of Person- |
| Subtitle of host publication | Centred Psychotherapy and Counselling |
| Editors | Michael Cooper, P. F. Schmid, M. O'Hara, G. Wyatt |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| Pages | 102 - 117 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780230280496 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |