Person Centered Theory of Personality and Behavior
The CEU/OPD/CPD course can be found at https://allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/1006/c/ for clinicians in the US and at https://australia.allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/1006/c/ for clinicians in Australia.
Objectives
~ Define “person centered theory”
~ Explore how the PCT can help us understand differences in individuals responses to situations
~ Explore how PCT can be useful in developing effective treatment plans/interventions
Core Concepts in Person Centered Theory
~ According to Rogers, the self concept is an organized and consistent set of beliefs about oneself, and includes valuation of what the self is and can do.
~ All people are competent, trustworthy and forward moving
~ Individuals can move in a positive forward direction as defined by that person when provided with empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard
What is Personality & How Does It Develop
~ The way we behave and respond across situations
~ What makes a “good personality”
~ Empathy/self and other awareness
~ Respect for self and others
~ Stable sense of self
~ Ability to self-validate/self-love
~ Emotional stability
~ Responsibility
~ Motivation and a desire to grow
~ Generally content
~ Enjoy the company of others*
5 Characteristics of the Fully Functioning Person According to Rogers
~ Open to experiences –both positive and negative
~ In touch with everyday experiences without preconceptions (mindful)
~ Focused on the present, not always in the past or future
~ Aware of and attentive to facts, feelings and gut-reacPerson Centered Theory of Personality and Behavior
Objectives
~ Define “person centered theory”
~ Explore how the PCT can help us understand differences in individuals responses to situations
~ Explore how PCT can be useful in developing effective treatment plans/interventions
Core Concepts in Person Centered Theory
~ According to Rogers, the self concept is an organized and consistent set of beliefs about oneself, and includes valuation of what the self is and can do.
~ All people are competent, trustworthy and forward moving
~ Individuals can move in a positive forward direction as defined by that person when provided with empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard
What is Personality & How Does It Develop
~ The way we behave and respond across situations
~ What makes a “good personality”
~ Empathy/self and other awareness
~ Respect for self and others
~ Stable sense of self
~ Ability to self-validate/self-love
~ Emotional stability
~ Responsibility
~ Motivation and a desire to grow
~ Generally content
~ Enjoy the company of others*
5 Characteristics of the Fully Functioning Person According to Rogers
~ Open to experiences –both positive and negative
~ In touch with everyday experiences without preconceptions (mindful)
~ Focused on the present, not always in the past or future
~ Aware of and attentive to facts, feelings and gut-reactions
~ Willing to take risks and be creative
~ A sense of contentment with life and desire for new challenges and experiences (growth)
~ How do these impact personality and behavior?
Therapeutic Question
~ How can self concept (I am) impact personality and behavior
~ I am a soldier
~ I am a Christian
~ I am a woman
~ I am a geek/nerd
~ I am a bully
~ I am a failure/screw up
~ I will always be a disappointment
~ I am unlovable/everybody leaves me
~ I am a victim
~ I am a (schizophrenic, addict)
Basic Principles of Behavior
~ When faced with a choice people do things that are most rewarding
~ Short Term (in the moment)
~ Long Term (to their true selves/identity)
~ People will continue to do behaviors that are rewarded and cease behaviors that are punished
~ Even intermittent reinforcement can maintain a behavior
~ FR/VR
~ FI/VI
Core Concepts in Person Centered Theory
~ Treat people with dignity and respect, and support personal perspectives
~ Provide autonomy and choice
~ Build on individual Strengths, Needs, Abilities and Preferences (SNAP)
~ Develop understanding relationships in the natural environment
~ Provide support and services that are responsive to individual needs
https://valuingpeople.org.au/the-resource/what-is-person-centred-care
Person Centered Techniques Emphasize
~ Congruence/Genuineness
~ Egalitarianism
~ Unconditional Positive Regard
~ Empathic Understanding
~ Promotion of recovery vs minimizing illness
~ Emphasizing the use of natural community settings
Core Concepts in Person Centered Theory
~ The confidence and validation expressed by the clinician helps clients:
~ Develop a more accurate self-concept
~ You believe you are a failure.
~ Tell me what lead you to that conclusion?
~ What would it mean to be a success?
~ What is the difference between failing at something and being a failure as a person?
~ Tell me about some things in your life that you are proud of or that are important to you.
Core Concepts in Person Centered Theory
~ The confidence and validation expressed by the clinician helps clients:
• Develop a more accurate self-concept
~ You believe you are a failure.
~ How would 4 people you know well describe you?
~ Success/Failure Worksheet: Family, Friends, Job, Health, Goals, Things
~ What about each of those things makes a person a success or a failure
~ Who are 3 people you admire? What have they succeeded and failed at?
~ Tell me about your child/best friend. What has he/she succeeded/failed at?
~ Embrace dialectics. You failed at _____ AND ____
Core Concepts in Person Centered Theory
~ Clinician’s confidence and validation helps clients:
• Become more aware of their true selves
~ What people, things are important for a rich and meaningful life?
~ Practice mindfulness: Head, heart and gut honesty
~ Do the real self vs. ideal self exercise
~ Check for egocentric or polarized thinking or minimization.
~ I hear you believe that you are a failure. Did someone in your past tell you that or make you feel that way? OR How did you come to that conclusion?
~ “My brother was the valedictorian and captain of the football team. I was never good at sports and got average grades in school.”
~ You believe that you are unlovable
~ “My mother left when I was 3”
~ Differentiate the person from the behaviors
Core Concepts in Person Centered Theory
~ The confidence and validation expressed by the clinician helps clients:
• Choose to act in ways that are congruent with self-actualization
~ You are…
~ You want to be…
~ What do you need to do to become the person you want to be and have a rich and meaningful life?
~ What things are holding you back and how can you address them?
~ ACT
Common Mistakes
~ Not involving the client in the treatment process
~ Assuming you know what is best for the client
~ Not sharing assessment results
~ Dismissing client preferences
~ Fostering dependency rather than self-reliance and recovery
12 Tips
~ Remember that the client is first and foremost a PERSON and a survivor not a disorder or a victim
~ Set clear boundaries
~ The client knows best/create a shared vision
~ Conceptualize the treatment plan as a living document
~ Act as a sounding board
~ Don’t be judgmental
~ Don’t make decisions for them
~ Identify and address obstacles to goal attainment instead of viewing them as pathological or “resistance.”
~ Focus on the overt and covert messages to understand what the client is really trying to communicate
10 Tips
~ Be genuine
~ Accept negative emotions
~ Client toward self
~ Client toward therapist (transference)
~ Therapist toward client
~ Know yourself and your limitations
https://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html
Summary
~ Personality and behavior are shaped by the conditional and unconditional positive regard (reinforcement) from each individual’s micro and mesosystem
~ What constitutes a personality “disorder” is largely culturally prescribed
~ By creating an environment free of judgment we can encourage individuals to explore their true selves and start choosing behaviors that are congruent with their true selves.
~ Person centered approaches validate the perspectives and feelings of the individual while challenging them to explore the facts and the big picture
tions
~ Willing to take risks and be creative
~ A sense of contentment with life and desire for new challenges and experiences (growth)
~ How do these impact personality and behavior?