Carl Rogers stands out as the psychotherapist and theory-builder who emphasized the significance of feelings and emotion in therapy.
To place Rogers in historical perspective, we need only realize that he felt disturbed by the psychoanalytic and behavioral approaches to therapy in his day. These, he believed, minimized the importance of human feelings and overstated the role of the therapist as an authority figure who knew more about a person's problems than the person.
The many films that feature Carl Rogers in counseling reveal his transparency and sensitivity. Clients who worked with him often reported feeling deeply accepted and understood.
Rogers was raised on a farm with rural folk who prized sincerity above all else. He acknowledged that this upbringing influenced his formulation of therapist warmth, congruence, and unconditional positive regard as crucial to successful therapy. Indeed, he argued that these very qualities in the therapist would facilitate client healing, self-trust, and self-direction.
During Roger's prime, I collaborated with my psychological mentor and film-maker Everett Shostrom to produce the famous "Kathy" films, in which Carl Rogers, Arnold Lazarus, and Shostrom each spent an hour counseling the same woman. She later described Carl Rogers as the most friendly and supportive of the three, but stated she hadn't learned much from him.
In the years that followed, however, a number of studies indicated that Client-Centered or Rogerian Therapy was too non-directive for many clients. It seemed to work best for educated and self-motivated clients who could benefit by the therapist reflecting their feelings, apart from any other techniques or directives.
By contrast, in formulating the principles of Compass Therapy, I came to emphasize that therapists need to come across as experts in the field of therapeutic psychology. This does not mean acting in an authoritarian style, but rather taking charge of the course of therapy by stimulating a client's healing and personality development through action techniques. This might include relevant teaching about lifespan psychology, human sexuality, healthy versus dysfunctional ways to handle emotions, the challenging of irrational ideas, or role-playing problematic situations or behavioral solutions.
I had the opportunity to discuss these ideas with Dr. Rogers. Here is the heart of that conversation.
Dan: "I have long admired the warmth and support you offer clients, how you are with-and-for them no matter what they share."
Carl: "Thank you for saying so. I believe clinical science has shown that this is an essential ingredient to successful therapy. What is your perspective?"
Dan: "I agree on the whole, but wonder whether in light of your lifetime work you still believe that reflection of emotions is the key element of therapy. And specifically, I wonder if there might be a place for a therapist to use diplomatic confrontation, such as teaching a person about personality patterns that are hurting them, or role-playing methods of coping that can carry over into daily life."
Carl: "This is a sensitive subject, because I've always been cautious about a therapist interfering with a client's inner-direction. But I have to say that if I had it all to do again, this time I would grant a place for more active engagement and methods on the therapist's part, while continuing to express empathy and emotional rapport."
Dan: "I like how you put that, and in the model I'm developing this would amount to the therapist using caring and empathy to maintain client rapport, and action techniques to teach new behaviors and stimulate creative coping."
Carl: "I'm a little suspicious of techniques, unless they are well integrated with the therapist's spontaneity and authenticity. I do like the concept, and wish you well in putting together reflection and action in your methodology."
Compass Therapy continues to integrate action methods with rapport-building principles, so that clients remain emotionally secure, as well as occasionally challenged by the therapist to take needed growth-stretches that actualize their goals.
