Fostering Self-Actualization: Exploring Person-Centered Therapy and its Impact on Counseling Practice

Introduction

The effectiveness of treatment primarily depends on the clinician’s attitude and understanding towards how the patient receives the treatment; this points towards whether the patient is endowed with the will and self-awareness to manage his or her own future (Cloninger & Cloninger, 2011). Person- centered therapy, which is also known as client- centered therapy, or person- centered counselling, among other names, refers to a form of psychotherapy first developed in the 1940s by Carl Rogers, who was a psychologist (Rogers, 1942). PCT seeks to facilitate the patient’s self-actualizing tendency; which may refer to an inbuilt proclivity aimed at fulfillment and growth. There are three main elements commonly associated with PCT; acceptance, congruence from the therapist and empathic understanding. Help aimed at helping an individual in the reflection of his/ her personality enables the processing of a mirror image of the individual’s weaknesses and strengths relating to life’s various challenges. The use of humanistic dialogue and interpersonal alliance in the orchestration of treatment procedures and lifestyle change that aim to promote health, prevent disease or treat illnesses is what client-centered therapy is all about (Cloninger & Cloninger, 2011).

This study encapsulates three main outcomes: First, the study endorses research and analyzes how research is important in the development of counselling practice; in this context the study shows the purpose and importance of research in practice. Second, the study critically analyzes and reviews the methods involved in counselling research and identifies one method that may prove to be valid and reliable in as far as the topic identified is concerned. Third, this identified research method is explored and expanded further hypothetically and integrated within the research.

Aims and Objectives

This research foundationally aims at analyzing the effectiveness of person- centered therapy in the management of depression. In order to achieve this main aim, specific objectives include:

I. To evaluate data from a qualitative cohort study in regards to the effectiveness of person centered therapy in depression management

II. To critically review the methods used in counselling research and establish the importance of research in the development of counselling practice

III. To analyze the efficacy of forms of available treatment methods and compare these methods with person-centered therapy

IV. To establish the importance of person centered therapy as a counselling practice method; with a particular interest in the management of depression

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Background

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) establishing itself as the most disabling and prevalent form of depression in Europe. MDD affects more than 30 million people in Europe every year (Wittchen et al 2011). The problem necessitates an analysis of the current data on the diagnosis, epidemiology and treatment of depression; as a result, it is crucial to look at the role of somatic treatments, pharmacotherapies and ultimately psychotherapies in the treatment and management of this kind of mental illness. Depressive disorders are mainly characterized by low moods and lack of interest in activities. One of the most common mental illness is the Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Decreased expression of several neurotrophic factors, such as the factor that emerges from the brain, reduces cellular resilience which is a common cellular abnormality in the many forms of depressive disorders (Mann & Currier, 2006).

Various reports and studies have suggested that MDD is quite common, exhibiting a 16.6% lifetime prevalence and occurring at a higher frequency in women compared to men (Soleimani et al, 2011). In addition, it is aggregated in families; compared to the general population, it is likely to affect individuals with biologic relatives affected with MDD. The point prevalence reported by Soleimani et al (2011) are 15-20% in nursing care settings, 10% in