This is the Chapter 6 of the book The Individual (de Bruin, E., 1st Edition). Which is content for the exam of the Theory component of Module 4 (The Individual) of the University of Twente, in the Netherlands.

Chapter 6:

Person-centred/ humanistic and experimental approaches:

Philosophical/ cultural underpinning humanistic therapies:

• Client-centred therapy:

• Humans cannot be reduced to components
• Humans exist in a uniquely human context
• Humans are conscious (includes awareness oneself in context of others)
• Humans intentions/ goals/ aware they can cause future events

• Experimental therapy: working here-and-now experiencing of client/ therapist

• Person-centred approach: emphasis actual momentary lived experiencing of person
• Phenomenological: valid knowledge/ understanding gained exploring/ describing way things are experienced

• Phenomenological inquiry: investigate assumptions held about specific phenomenon --> describe it as comprehensive/ sensitive as possible

Evolution person-centred approach:

• Non-directive approach: client finding their own solutions to their problems as result of change in self-concept
• Core conditions model: empathy/ congruence/ acceptance

Theoretical framework person-centred approach:

• Person-centred approached:  = therapeutic nation, which comprised of numerous tribes

• Relationship with clients: high degree respect/ equality/ authenticity
• Here-and-now experiencing: enable clients become aware moment-by-moment patterns of thought/ feeling associated with difficulties everyday life

• Phenomenal field: flow of experiencing

• Process oriented work (actualization): engaged process of personal growth --> fulfil 2 primary needs: self-actualization/ be loved-valued others
• Organismic valuing: inner embodied sense right/ wrong
• State of incongruence: disjunction feelings & capacity accurate awareness/ symbolisation of these feelings
• Conditions of worth: way self-concept of child shaped by parental influence
• Locus evaluation: explains how self-concept created/ how it changes
• Rogers: when making judgments/ evaluations about issues, people can be guided externally defined sets of beliefs/ attitudes (over-reliance on this means continued exposure of conditions of wort) OR own internal feelings on the issue (organismic valuing process)’

• Full functioning person:

• openness to experience
• engage process of being and becoming
• ability live in the moment
• use feelings to guide actions
• being autonomous

• Therapist empathy: leads client greater capacity explore/ accept previously denied aspects of self

• Empathy cycle model:

1. Empathic set by therapist: therapist actively attending/ receptive
2. Empathic resonation: resonates to clients experiencing
3. Expressed empathy: expresses/ communicates felt awareness of client’s experiencing
4. Received empathy: client perceives therapist’s immediate understanding
5. Empathy cycle continues --> quality therapeutic relationship

• Congruence: feelings therapist available in their awareness, and able communicate them if appropriate (willingness to know)
• Presence: moments of congruence  in a process of mutual flow that involves being fully present to each other at the same time
• Therapeutic process: gradual process of greater openness to experience

• Direction of therapeutic growth: awareness denied experience/ see things differentiated manner/ greater reliance on personal experience as source o values and standards
• Depth of experiencing: able process info about self nd expressing at greater levels of depth/ intensity

• Focusing process: meanings events/ relationships contained in “felt sense” (internal/ physical sense of situation) experienced by person.

• Inner referent: = felt sense
• Experiential process: therapeutic movements/ shifts brought about by interpretation/ behavioural methods

Further development person-centred theory/ practice:

• Agency: human capacity for intentionality and purpose
• Self-multiplicity:

• Self-split: growthful/ not-for growth part --> dialogue between them constitutes growth

• Configurations: individual/ active/ changing nature process in relation to these elements of self

• Inner critic: criticise onw thoughts/ actions/ feelings --> client become aware this patter as specific part of self
• Bill Stiles: self as a community of voices

• Relational depth: profound engagement/ contact  in which each person fully real with other and enduring sense of contact/ connectedness

• Working alliance model: 3 dimensions of relationship: bond/ goals/ task

• Mutuality: effective therapy relied on sense of togetherness/ shared experience  --> shared reality, transcends individual perception

• Thou-I relationship: “I realise myself though my effort and struggle to understand and be with you”)

• Strategies of disconnection: practical ways of thinking about how conditions mutuality/ relational depth may be maximised
• Difficult process: types of experiential processing characteristic of people with different types of problem

• Process: activity involving paying attention to/ regulation intensity of different facets of, experiencing
• Fragile process: difficulty maintaining flow processing of experiential material
• Dissociated process: abruptly shift form one area of experiencing to another --> protecting themselves against potentially painful emotions/ memories

Other humanistic therapies built on person-centred approach:

• Expressive therapy: therapeutic space where client can express “core conditions” though creativity --> significance in relation to having satisfying/ fulfilling life

• Creative connection: engage creative activity --> access authentic aspect of self

• Pre-therapy or contact work model: clients which basic contact with others hugely problematic --> restore client’s capacity psychological contact --> enable them to enter to conventional therapy/ or other types or therapeutic activity and social care
• Emotion-focused therapy (EFT): emphasis significant event within therapy by facilitate emotional processing --> create highly meaningful moments of change

• Problematic incidents: incidents client’s life when they felt as though their reaction as puzzling or inappropriate

• Evocative unfolding: cognitive-affective reprocessing of single troubling episode that leads widening serios of self-discoveries:

1. Exploration: labelling incident as problematic
2. Parallel tasks:
   1. Examine different faces of feelings experienced during incident
   2. Find aspects incident hold most intense meaning/ significance
3. Exploration new options

• Two-chair work: dialogue critical part of self or significant individual

• Secondary emotions: socially accepted statements --> primary emotions: gradually expressed, previously suppressed

• Emotional pain: comprising shame-based, loneliness-based, and fear-based experiences