Carl Rogers
Also known as Carl Ransom Rogers
American psychologist who founded person-centred therapy.
At a glance
Roles
Humanistic psychology (One of its founding figures) and Person-centered therapy
See all 2Main ideas
Unconditional positive regard, Conditions of worth, Congruence …
See all 5Books to start with
Counseling and Psychotherapy, Client-Centered Therapy, On Becoming a Person …
See all 4Connections
A Way of Being, Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications, and Theory and 3 others
See all 5
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Carl Rogers was an American psychologist and a co-founder of humanistic psychology.
- He developed person-centred therapy, built on empathy, acceptance and genuineness.
- He held that people grow when they feel accepted without conditions.
- A 1982 survey named him the most influential psychotherapist in history.
Why it matters
- His core conditions are the listening skills nearly every modern therapy, from EFT to AEDP, assumes you already have.
Key facts
- Born
- 8 Jan 1902, Oak Park, Illinois1
- Died
- 4 Feb 1987, San Diego, California1
- Known for
- Person-centred therapy; unconditional positive regard; congruence1
- Education
- PhD, Teachers College, Columbia University, 19311
- Roles
- President of the American Psychological Association, 1947; professor at Ohio State, Chicago and Wisconsin1
- Standing
- Ranked 6th most eminent psychologist of the 20th century (Haggbloom et al., 2002)1
Roles
Main ideas
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Unconditional positive regard1
Accepting a person without judging their basic worth.
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Conditions of worth1
Standards others impose that make people feel worthy only when they meet them.
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Congruence1
The match, or gap, between the real self and the ideal self.
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The fully functioning person1
A lifelong process of openness to experience, self-trust and growth, rather than a fixed end state.
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Beyond therapy1
He applied the approach to teaching, organisations and cross-cultural work; the Rogerian argument restates the other side before replying.
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
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An early book on his approach to counselling.
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The book that brought his approach to a wide audience.
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A collection on his view of personal growth and the fully functioning person.
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One of his later books on the person-centred approach.
Connections
Writes
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
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The line under a date fills as time passes: empty when new, then one equal share each for a day, a week, a month and a year. For episodes and other items it is full at 2 years; for "last checked", at a year. A striped line means the date is known only to the month or year.