Presenting the non-directive and related points of view in counselling and therapy, Rogers gives a clear exposition of procedures by which individuals who are being counselled may be assisted in achieving for themselves new and more effective personality adjustments.

Integrating common factors research and practice, Person-Centered Approaches for Counselors by H. D. Cornelius-White highlights the deep social justice roots of the approaches and shows counselors in training and experienced therapists how to integrate person-centered process and outcome measures to improve therapy outcomes. For each of the person-centered approaches covered (including classical, focusing, emotion-focused, intersubjective, and interdisciplinary orientations) this accessible book covers historical development, theory, process, evaluation, and application. Person-Centered Approaches for Counselors is part of the SAGE Theories for Counselors Series that includes Psychoanalytic Approaches for Counselors by Frederick Redekop and Cognitive Behavioral Approaches for Counselors by Diane Shea.

From the Foreword `It is an honour to be asked to write a foreword for this new book by Michael McMillan. I have been excited about this book ever since I read early drafts of its first two chapters some time ago at the birth of the project. At different times thereafter I have read other parts and my consistent impression has been that this is an author who has both a sophisticated academic understanding of the material and a great skill in communicating that widely. Those two qualities do not often go together! The book is about change. After a first chapter in which the author introduces us to the person-centred concept of the person, chapter two is devoted to the change process within the client, including a very accessible description of Rogers' process model. Chapter three goes on to explore why and how change occurs in the human being, while chapter four introduces the most up-to-date person-centred theory in relation to the nature of the self concept and its changing process. Chapters five and six explore why change occurs in therapy and the conditions that facilitate that change, while chapter seven looks beyond the core conditions to focus on the particular quality of presence, begging the question as to whether this is a transpersonal/transcendental quality or an intense experiencing of the core conditions themselves. This is an intensely modern book particularly in its postmodern emphasis. Rogers is sometimes characterised as coming from modernist times but he can also be seen as one of the early post modernists in his emphasis on process more than outcome and relationship more than personal striving. The modern nature of the book is also emphasised by a superb analysis of the relationship between focussing and person-centred therapy in Chapter five, linking also with Polanyi's notion of indwelling in this and other chapters. In suggesting that in both focussing and person-centred therapy the therapist is inviting the client to 'indwell' himself or herself, the author provides a framework for considering many modern perceptions of the approach including notions such as 'presence' and ' relational depth'. Also, the link with focussing is modern in the sense that the present World Association for the approach covers a fairly broad family including traditional person-centred therapists, experiential therapists, focussing-oriented therapists and process-guiding therapists. Important in this development is the kind of dialogue encouraged by the present book' - Dave Mearns, Strathclyde University The belief that change occurs during the therapeutic process is central to all counselling and psychotherapy. The Person-Centred Approach to Therapeutic Change examines how change can be facilitated by the counsellor offering empathy, unconditional positive regard and congruence. The Person-Centred Approach to Therapeutic Change outlines the main theoretical cornerstones of the person-centred approach and then, applying these, describes why change occurs as a result of a person-centred therapeutic encounter. The author explores the counselling relationship as an environment in which clients can open themselves up to experiences they have previously found difficult to acknowledge and to move forward. Integral to the person-centred approach is Carl Rogers' radical view that change should be seen as an ongoing process rather than an alteration from one fixed state to another. In Rogers' view psychological health is best achieved by the person who is able to remain in a state of continual change. Such a person is open to all experiences and is therefore able to assimilate and adapt to new experiences, whether 'good' or 'bad'. By focusing explicitly on how change is theorized and facilitated in counselling, this book goes to the heart of person-centred theory and practice, making it essential reading for trainees and practitioners alike.

This book examines the scientific contribution and increasing relevance of the Person-Centered Approach (PCA) in psychotherapy. The direction taken in the book is to provide readers with a multidisciplinary and multi-perspective view as well as practical applications. Beyond the more conventional psychotherapy applications (client-centered, experimental, emotion-focused, child-centered, motivational interviewing, existential, filial, etc.) others have evolved including peace and conflict resolution work, encounter and T-groups, nonviolent communication, parent effectiveness training, person-centered planning for people with disabilities, relationship enhancement methods, learner-centered education, technology-enhanced learning environments, human relations leadership training, etc. Simultaneously, scientific disciplines were influenced by this perspective in less obvious ways. Hence, the major contribution of this book is to identify and characterize the key bridges-so far only partly recognized- between the PCA and several other disciplines. Based on the results of the bridge-building endeavor, the editors will propose an initial formulation of the PCA as a meta-theory. It is intended as a generic framework to solve complex, social problems and to stimulate further research and development concerning the human species in relationship to its environment.

From the Book: "it is hypothesized that the therapist wants to understand for no other reason but to understand. If the therapist is motivated to understand solely to be a change agent for the client, then the facilitative mechanisms may not be sufficient because a tendency toward unconditional acceptance will not effectively emerge." "the published literature in the 1970s suggests that person-centered therapy (PCT) researchers, rather than pursuing novel avenues of empirical inquiry, devoted substantial time in defending PCT against - what now appear to be - unfounded claims made by a group of social scientists who held significant professional interest in seeing through the dismantling of the person-centered approach." Book Summary: This book is about a person-centered approach to counseling and psychotherapy as developed by the psychologist Carl Rogers (1902-1987) and his colleagues. In addition, this book is also intended to be a handbook on the person-centered approach and the Rogerian tradition for use in academic and non-academic settings alike. Each chapter is briefly summarized below. Chapter 1 ("A Person-Centered Approach and the Structure of Scientific Revolutions") examines the trend of scientific inquiry in psychotherapy research, specifically focusing on events and changes that took place beginning in the 1970s and are argued to have substantially influenced the direction of psychotherapy research in the following decades. In particular, these changes are suggested to have been guided by the choices made by a small but influential group of behavior and psychoanalytic-oriented researchers, which arguably led to changes in the scientific methods used to investigate the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatments; and, as will be shown in this chapter, led to the decline and disappearance of Carl Rogers's person-centered approach. This chapter suggests that through a method of allegiance-guided scientific inquiry, the Rogerian tradition was systematically dismantled by a group of social scientists that held considerable professional interests to do so. Chapter 2 ("A Person-Centered Approach to Multicultural Counseling Competence") examines current and historical trends in psychotherapy research and practice with racial/ethnic minority populations. Using psychotherapy evidence from both the latter half of the 20th century and the initial decades of the 21st century, cultural adaptations to previously hypothesized person-centered therapy mechanisms of change are proposed. Chapter 3 ("A Person-Centered Approach to the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder") addresses psychotherapy with a person described as possessing a borderline personality disorder (BPD). In particular, a selection of mainstream approaches is reviewed to examine unique and universal aspects of current thinking about this treatment population. Following this review, an expanded analysis of person-centered therapy is offered, examining current research evidence and the mechanisms of change hypothesized to occur in the person-centered treatment of BPD. Chapter 4 ("A Person-Centered Approach to the Treatment of Combat Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder") examines posttraumatic stress disorder through the lens of military combat trauma that results in a breakdown of a combat veteran's sense of self and the world. In the effective treatment of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder, a therapist must help the veteran reorganize the self-structure that has become incongruent with his or her precombat-trauma self following his or her return home from war. For the therapist to facilitate a veteran's becoming whole, he or she must be genuinely congruent in the relationship.

From the Business Community... "Person-Centered Leadership builds on that foundation of caring for every individual in the organization and takes it to the next level. It features engaging ′people first/team result′ anecdotes from a variety of American companies and straightforward ′how-tos′ for becoming the kind of leader (not just business) that people love to work for and be associated with. We′ll use it as a discussion for one of our upcoming staff get-togethers." --Michael A. Fisher, Premier Manufacturing Support Services "Dr. Plas′s book provides insights into aspects of human behavior that enhance effective management skills. She affirms that respecting employees as individuals with unique talents and needs within the workplace creates a productive atmosphere that results in happier people and higher profits. This book is now required reading for everyone in our firm who manages people. I totally agree with Dr. Plas′s conclusions about competent leadership and its positive impact on all aspects of the individual and the company." --Bill W. Shoptaw, Shoptaw-James, Inc. From the Academic Community.. "I found particularly interesting the insightful comment that past teamwork and TQM efforts are flawed because they have not rewarded individuals. This suggests a new form of team with individual recognition and elaborated roles for members. The key ideas of related individualism, authenticity, and acceptance of strength and weakness provide guidelines for transforming organizations. There are three chapter-long case studies and a number of shorter examples that add much interest to the book. I would recommend the reader to look at the ′person-centered principles′ that accompany the three chapter-long cases in the second part of the book and the ′actions, hints, and cautions′ sections in the boxes in Chapter 13. I found the ideas to be well presented and insightful and the case studies to be rich and interesting. I think the practical suggestions in the final chapter will be helpful to managers who try to apply the book′s recommendations for change." --Joseph Seltzer, Department of Management, La Salle University Why hasn′t TQM (total quality management) worked as well in the U.S. as it has elsewhere? In the United States, employees seem to prefer recognition of individual achievement over recognition of the work team. Could the American cultural emphasis on the individual be a crucial factor? This engagingly written textbook demonstrates that the recent participatory management failures are the result of a lack of appreciation for the cultural role of rugged individualism. Offering an alternative, person-centered leadership, which puts the individual at the very center of the management approach, author Jeanne M. Plas demonstrates effective, psychology-based, person-centered management techniques using contemporary examples--many of them drawn from her research and consulting work with successful U.S. businesses and CEOs. Topics include: A historical overview of the relationship of the individual to the corporation. The response of new leaders to the problem of rapid technological and social change that outpaces the development of cultural attitudes. Illustrations of a variety of person-centered leadership approaches that fit different companies and different managerial styles. Specific strategies that leaders and managers can use to bring out the best in themselves, their associates, and their organizations.

Person-Centred Therapy in Focus provides a much-needed exploration of the criticisms levelled against one of the most widespread forms of therapeutic practice. Characterized by its critics as theoretically `light′, culturally biased and limited in application, until now the person-centred approach has had comparatively little written in its defence. Paul Wilkins provides a rigorous and systematic response to the critics, drawing not only on the work of Carl Rogers, but also of those central to more recent developments in theory and practice (including Goff Barrett-Lennard, Dave Mearns, Jerold Bozarth, Germain Leitauer and Brian Thorne). It traces the epistemological foundations of person-centred therapy and places the approach in its social and political context. Examining the central tenets of the approach, each chapter sets out concisely the criticisms and then counters these with arguments from the person-centred perspective. Chapters cover debates in relation to: - the model of the person - self-actualization - the core conditions - non-directivity - resistance to psychopathology - reflection, and - boundary issues. Person-Centred Therapy in Focus fulfills two important purposes: firstly to answer the criticisms of those who have attacked the person-centred approach and secondly to cultivate a greater critical awareness and understanding within the approach itself. As such it makes a significant contribution to the person-centred literature and provides an excellent resource for use in training.