Creative Counselling Cambridge

Being supported to develop confidence in one's own "inner compass"​

Humanist psychologist Dr Carl Rogers (1902-1987), developed Person Centred Therapy which forms the basis of my approach and practice. Rogers believed that every person can achieve their goals, wishes, and desires in life given the right conditions. It is a non-directive therapy which allows clients to deal with what they consider important, at their own pace, while being supported by the therapist in a spirit of non-judgemental, unconditional positive regard. Using non-directive techniques, the person-centred method involves removing obstacles in order to free the client to grow and develop. Rogers believed that the experience of being understood and valued unconditionally and positively gives us the freedom to grow and helps us establish confidence in our own inner voice or ‘inner compass’.

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How we see ourselves and our self-esteem are fundamental

 At a simple level, we might perceive ourselves as a good or bad person, beautiful or ugly. Both our self-image and our sense of self worth directly affect our psychological health and how we think, feel, and behave in the world. In order to develop positively in these areas we need to feel we are accepted unconditionally. Rogers believed that we need to be regarded positively by others, feel valued, respected, be treated with affection and loved. Positive regard is to do with how other people evaluate and judge us in social interaction. If one experiences genuine unconditional positive regard within a therapeutic process,  you can develop confidence in your own decisions, thoughts and feelings, trust in the inner voice or compass and grow. 

 

Conditional vs Unconditional Regard

Difficulty and painful experiences generally arise when, instead of trusting the inner voice, one can focus instead on striving to earn the approval and positive regard of others. This can become a need when one hasn't felt trusted or positively regarded. Rogers made a distinction, however, between conditional positive regard, which is to be regarded positively only when certain conditions have been fulfilled, and unconditional positive regard, which is to be accepted and respected regardless. Unconditional positive regard is where parents, significant others and, in this case, the therapist, accept and embrace the person unconditionally for who they are and refrain from any judgment or criticism. Crucially, that positive regard is not affected or withdrawn if the person does something "wrong" or makes a mistake. So having a therapist who treats you with unconditional positive regard means you are more likely to feel relaxed and free to try things out and attempt making changes in your life without fearing judgement, even though it might risk making mistakes along the way.

 

Developing a trusting therapeutic relationship as the basis of personal growth

In my practice, I create an environment of genuineness, acceptance and empathy where you can feel relaxed and safe to talk about whatever you want without feeling you are being judged. This is unconditional positive regard and is the experience of being listened to and understood. My person centred approach of unconditional positive regard, maintaining complete acceptance of you as the client, helps to establish and develop a positive and trusting client/counsellor relationship, enabling you to share openly and honestly as the first step towards change.

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