I'd like to hear opinions on the following propositions. They where composed by Carl Rogers, who, for those who dont know was an American psychologist. Carl Rogers developed Client Centred Therapy, a theory which is antithetical to the psychoanylitical schools. From some persons his work is highly praised from others greatly distained. He wrote these propositions (so i'm told) to prove himself to some of the critics of his approach to therapy. i'd be interseted to know where these ideas rest with others. 19 Propositions From, Client-Centered Therapy: its current practice, implications and theory. By Carl Rogers(1989) 1. Every individual exists in a continually changing world of experience of which he is the center. 2. The organism reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual field is, for the individual ‘reality’. 3. The organism reacts as an organized whole to this phenomenal field. 4. The organism has one basic tendency and striving: to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism. 5. behaviour is basically the goal-directed attempt of the organism to satisfy its needs as experienced , in the field as perceived 6. Emotion accompanies and in general, facilitates such goal directed behaviour, the kind of emotion being related to the seeking versus the consummatory aspects of the behavior for the maintenance and enhancement of the organism. 7. The best vantage point for understanding behaviour is from the individual himself. 8. A portion of the total perceptual field gradually becomes differentiated as the self. 9. As a result of interaction with the environment, and particularly as a result of evaluational interaction with others, the structure of self is formed – an organized, fluid but changing conceptual pattern of perceptions of characteristics and relationships of the ‘I’ or the ‘me’, together with values attached to these concepts. 10. The values attached to experience, and the values which are a part of the self structure, in some instances are values experienced directly by the organism, and in some instances are values introjected or taken over from others, but perceived in distorted fashion, as if they had been experienced directly. 11. As experiences occur in the life of the individual they become (a) symbolized, perceived, and organized into some relationship to the self, (b) ignored because there is no perceived relationship to the self-structure, (c) denied symbolization or given a distorted symbolization because the experience is inconsistent with the structure of the self. 12. Most of the ways of experiencing which are adopted by the organism are those which are consistent with the concept of the self. 13. Behavior may, in some instances, be brought about by organic experiences and needs which have not been symbolized, such behaviour is may be inconsistent with the structure of the self, but in such instances the behavior is not ‘owned’ by the individual. 14. Psychological maladjustment exists when the organism denies to awareness significant sensory and visceral experiences, which consequently are not symbolized and organized into the gestalt of the self structure. When this situation exists there is a basic or potential psychological tension. 15. Psychological adjustment exists when the concept of the self is such that all the sensory and visceral experiences of the organism are, or may be, assimilated on a symbolic level into a consistent relationship with the concept of self. 16. Any experience which is inconsistent with the organization or structure of self may be perceived as a threat, and the more of these perceptions there are the more rigidly the self structure is organized to maintain itself. 17. Under certain conditions, involving primarily complete absence of any threat to the self-structure, experiences which are inconsistent with it may be perceived, and examined, and the structure of self revised to assimilate and include such experiences. 18. When the individual perceives and accepts into one consistent and integrated system all his sensory and visceral experiences, then he is necessarily more understanding of others and more accepting of others as separate individuals. 19. As the individual perceives and accepts into his self-structure more or of his organic experiences, he finds that he is replacing his present value system – based so largely upon introjections which have been distortedly symbolized – with a continuing organismic valuing process.
Fascinating. Particularly for me prop 9, which may be taken as a definition of self. Perhaps it is intended more as an explanation, but consider the possibility that there may not be any self before the evaluation of interaction starts. We all build an image of ourselves and constantly revise it.
good point, i think you are right, and prop8 is saying something like this; at one point awareness was not aware, there was no self before awareness of self.
Putting it that way, that prop is clearly true - a child finds him or herself gradually. Are they constructing themselves, out of their interpretation of everything they perceive? I think they are.
again your right, he uses the term 'evaluational interaction', certain conditions create certain experiences, the type of condition determines the type of experience. we then give that experince an appropriate value. this is good/ that is bad. this is done for all experiences throughout our life though most conditioning is done as a child. and all later values will be ditorted by that early conditioning.
This has opened up several new areas of interest for me. A Google search on "Client-Centered Therapy" took me to an explanation of the CCT concept. It also suggested the idea that the very medium we are using is capable of carying the non-directive, person-to-person contact needed in empathy training. Thanks for raising this fascinating line of thought. I recommend this site I found: http://world.std.com/~mbr2/cct.html.
thanx HonestJohn i havent seen that before. i can recommend the following sites too, particulary the last two. http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dabrent/art/rogchap.html http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rogers.html http://personcentered.com/contents.htm http://sage1.home.mindspring.com
I gained a lot from those links. I notice that the 'sage' one contains lots of downloadable info, at http://www.sageofasheville.com/pub_downloads which I for one will be studying in detail. Thanks for that, and the other links. (Note that the second one should be 'htm' not 'html'.)
