Structure for counseling sessions that relied on the therapeutic relationship as the means to encourage greater self-acceptance
In the case of Vanita, a woman experiencing failed relationship after failed relationship, using the person-centered theory allows her to understand how and why she continues to put herself in the same situations.
When developing this theory, Rogers developed a structure for counseling sessions that relied on the therapeutic relationship as the means to encourage greater self-acceptance (Mon, 2019).
His theory was that the counselor’s job as a therapist is to facilitate change by creating an environment that makes it possible, not to teach anything worth learning. As a result, this environment emphasizes the fundamentals of trust, caring, and empathy.
| CL: | I just keep looking for love in all the wrong places, but I don’t know why! | 1 |
| CO: | I can see that you’re frustrated from looking for love in all the wrong places. | Parroting |
| CL: | How would I get through life alone? I keep getting into relationships and they all end in the same way. | |
| CO: | I hear you. I can completely understand why you feel this way. However, you never know where you’ll find love until you put yourself out there. As a result, you take a chance at experiencing a feeling of failure due to this event. | Empathizing |
| CL: | Should I stop looking? I wouldn’t want to get hurt again after being in another yet failed relationship. | |
| CO | You shouldn’t give up on love. Not every relationship is the same. There is a possibility that you could be drawn towards certain characteristics that may leave you feeling unhappy. Take things slower then normal. | Active listening/ Reflection |
| CL: | Maybe you’re right. It’s probably best if I let love find me next time. Or perhaps I would go through it differently, more cautiously. | |
| CO: | You’re right. I think you should take a break from looking for love and let it come to you. During this time, you could take time to step back and find the traits that leave you unhappy. This allows you to truly see the issues beforehand and gives you time to reflect to make the change you wanted. | Paraphrasing/ Summarizing |
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