Chapter 41: Person-Centered Counseling:

Carl Rogers developed person-centered counseling in the United States roughly between the years of 1940-1990 (Raskin, Rogers, & Witty, 2008). The dominant theories of psychotherapy of that time emphasized interpretation of the client by the therapist (i.e., psychoanalysis) or the molding of behavioral patterns (i.e., operant conditioning). In contrast, Rogers viewed directive and interpretive models of therapy as potentially disavowing the phenomenal and essentially human experience of the client (Rogers, 1968). Rogers deeply believed that only the client truly knows him or herself. Rogers’ believed that all people are essentially trustworthy and good, and this positive view of human nature shaped the development of person-centered counseling tremendously.