Having had the privilege of counselling for many years, I have come across various therapeutic approaches that all offer their own individual benefits. But for those looking to make the most significant impact through change, improve their quality of life and nurture their mental health, person-centred therapy can work wonders.Person-centred therapy allows you, the client, to lead your therapy sessions instead of your therapist guiding the way. This method ensures that you are fully comfortable and confident in discussing your challenges at your own pace. But what exactly is this therapy type ideal for treating?

What can person-centred therapy help treat?

People who struggle with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety or stress are more likely to seek person-centred therapy for help. However, this type of counselling is also entirely effective when dealing with grief or other mental health conditions.Depression, for example, is a condition that has many different forms. You may suffer from clinical depression, postnatal depression or psychotic depression. But whatever the type, it is likely that person-centred therapy can help treat your symptoms.

Person-centred therapy can also boost self-esteem and self-reliance.

As well as working to treat mental health conditions, another strength of person-centred therapy is the potential boost to your self-esteem and self-reliance. For example, if you often feel negatively about yourself, you may experience a lower sense of self-value. Person-centred therapy aims to teach you how to challenge these negative thoughts, thus giving you a much-needed boost to your self-esteem.Self-reliance, on the other hand, is something you develop throughout your sessions - another advantage of person-centred therapy. Person-centred therapy intends to help you help yourself. Your learning during each session will empower you to take notice of your feelings and emotions and recognise that you have a right to follow your own path in life.

What methods do counsellors use in person-centred therapy?

Now that we've covered the benefits of person-centred therapy, it's time to discuss the values associated with the approach. The most common methods include the following:

Congruence.

Congruence is defined as “genuineness, honesty exhibited by the counsellor as an essential part of her person and her work; likewise, the genuineness of the client”. This allows both parties to get the most out of the person-centred therapy approach. For example, when I am genuine with a client, showing care and transparency, they feel much more comfortable opening up to me. On the other hand, if I wasn't as welcoming, it could harm the individual’s sense of self and deter them from ever accessing therapy again. As a therapist, I aim to be myself during each session so my clients can learn to trust me and relate with me upon entering the room. So, although I always stay professional, I do this with consideration and with my client's best interests at heart.

Empathy.

Therapists must empathise with their clients to entirely understand their issues. That's why the person-centred therapy approach is so effective because it allows the therapist to put one foot into the client’s world and understand it as if it is their own. During our sessions together, I aim to understand your experiences and feelings accurately in the here and now.As a result, I will learn how you think and feel while offering you my undivided attention and empathy. To empathise is to experience someone else's feelings as if they are your own. To sympathise, on the other hand, is to understand someone else's suffering from a position of on high. The former is what the person-centred approach focuses on throughout your therapy course, which alleviates any chance of power imbalance within the therapeutic relationship.

Self-concept.

As a person-centred therapist, it is my duty to help you re-examine and re-evaluate your self-concept through our sessions together. So, I will challenge this self-concept where appropriate to help you perceive your behaviours, abilities, and unique characteristics as valuable to you as an individual being with many endearing qualities. If you perceive yourself negatively due to the mental health condition that you're battling, your perception may not align with reality. Person-centred therapy can help you break down all of these perceptions and teach you to see them in a different light. By the end of your therapy course with me, you should know who you are, your strengths and why you matter.

Unconditional positive regard.

Regardless of what our clients say or do, a person-centred counsellor is always keen to remain non-judgemental. Judgement can often hinder the client's experience, tapping into long-held insecurities around self-worth while creating extra difficulties around communication. As Carl Rogers explains in his 1957 article published in the Journal of Consulting Psychology: "It means caring for the client, but not in a possessive way or in such a way as simply to satisfy the therapist's own needs,". Person-centred therapy aims to show you complete support and acceptance, no matter what we discuss. Therefore, it still remains one of the most effective forms of therapy to date.Person-centred therapy is a one-of-a-kind counselling approach that helps people to recover and re-evaluate how they have perceived themselves for so long. As a person-centred counsellor based in Warrington, Cheshire, I have a wealth of experience in helping all my clients find the right solutions for them. If you would like to learn more about how I work - or want to book a session - please visit my website, and let's get you on the road to recovery.