Paper Summary:

This paper describes the theory behind person-centered therapy, developed by 20th century psychologist Carl Rogers. The author begins with an explanation of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs from which Rogers' person-centered theory is primarily derived. The remainder of the essay focuses is on illustrating many central ideas behind person-centered therapy such as Rogers' actualizing tendency, positive psychology, the issue of trust within the client-therapist relationship, and the idea that therapeutic personality changes can come from something as simple as being understood.

From the Paper:

"It lists five different needs and would have the opinion that individuals are somewhere on that hierarchy. In other words, there are needs that each individual has and where they are in that list of needs depends on what motivates them and how hard they are willing to work to get to the next level. Most individuals agree with this but there are some that have a hard time understanding it. Many do not feel that they travel their lives in the specific levels that Maslow has discussed and sometimes things at the top levels are much more important to certain individuals then things at the bottom levels (Carpenito-Moyet, 2003).
"Maslow believed that everything went in order from the needs at the bottom that were the most basic to each individual to needs at the top that were hardest to obtain. However, many individuals believe that this is not the case and they point out that where one is on the hierarchy and which direction one might go depends on each individual person, what motivates them, and what they need in their own lives."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adox, David. (2000). Happy Days.(positive psychology movement). Psychology Today.
• Barrett-Lennard, G.T. (1998). Carl Rogers' Helping System: Journey and Substance. London: Sage.
• Carpenito-Moyet, L.J. (2003). Maslow's hierarchy of needs--revisited. Nursing forum.
• Friedman, N. (1982). Experiential therapy and focusing . New York: Half Court Press.
• Hendricks, M.N (1986). Experiencing level as a therapeutic variable, Person-Centered Review, 1, 142161.

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