Carl Rogers
The French existentialism movement during the early and mid twentieth century influenced many areas outside of the philosophical world. Among those effected was uprising humanistic psychology. Carl Rogers played a principal role in this new concentration. Rogers' psychological contributions consisted mainly of his practice of client-centered therapy and his idea of the self and self-actualization. Both of these theories have strong existentialist connections. Rollo May's The Origins and Significance of the Existential Movement in Psychology also presents interesting relationships between Rogers and prominent existentialists. Rogers, while not an existentialist philosopher, incorporated existentialist themes and ideas into his contributions to the humanistic psychology movement. To understand Carl Rogers' ideas, it is important to first briefly examine his life history. Rogers was born in 1902 in Chicago. His family life was that of a strict, religious household that held the family unit to the utmost importance. Rogers made few friends growing up and in college did not stray much from his religious foundations. Originally planning on a life as a minister, Rogers did not turn to psychological studies until he starte
R. May, E. Angle, and H.F. Ellenberg,eds., Existence: A New Dimension in Psychiatry and Psychology. New York: Simon and Schuster Evans, Richard I. Carl Rogers the Man and His Ideas. New York: E.P. Dunton, 1975. Thorne, Brian. Carl Rogers. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 1992. d working with abused children at the Rochestor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Here Rogers formed the basis of many his ideas regarding client-centered therapy and the self (Thorne 6). Rogers would continue studying these ideas throughout his career. May, Rollo. "The Origins of the Existential Movement in Psychology." from In Rollo May's The Origins and Significance of the Existential Movement in Psychology connections between Rogers' work and prominent existentialists present themselves. In one instance, May states, "The existential analysis movement is a protest against the tendency to see the patient in forms tailored to our own preconceptions or to make him over into the image of our own predilections" (8). Rogers' client-centered therapy directly relates to this statement. In his form of therapy, the therapist's main role is listening to the client and directing the client to find his own solutions for his anxiety. This role of the therapist removes the tendency for the therapist to mold the client into the therapist's ideal or predilection. May goes on to describe existentialism as an attitude of a constantly changing man and therefore a man who forever exists in a potential crisis. This idea also correlates to Rogers. His concept of the self is that of a combination of all aspects of man that invariably change in nature. The self-actualized man does not dwell on one aspect of existence but considers them all. The same crisis has potential to occur when man stops self-actualization and preoccupies himself with fixed circumstances of his existence. In his introduction, May quotes the German existentialist Nietzche in saying: "Follow not me, but you" (30). The role of the therapist in Rogers' client-centered therapy follows this advice by merely guiding the client to find his own instead of giving him direct answers. Another of Nietzche's ideas, the critical need for man to live
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Approximate Word count = 1495
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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