What is “person-centered”? A posthumous conversation with Carl Rogers on the development of the person-centered approach

Abstract

One night, many years after his death, Carl Rogers appeared to Howard Kirschenbaum – in a dream? There ensued a conversation about the development of the person-centered approach before and after Rogers's death. Has Rogers followed the developments in the approach since 1987? How does he feel about them? What does he think about the variations on the person-centered approach – child-centered play therapy, person-centered expressive therapy, focusing-oriented psychotherapy, process-experiential/emotion-focused therapy, etc.? Are these all “person-centered psychotherapies,” or is the original client-centered approach the only one worthy of that name? How does Rogers define the “person-centered approach”? How does he view the development of person-centered associations, especially the Association for the Development of the Person-Centered Approach? In one possibly last interview, Rogers's biographer irreverently pushes his old friend to define his terms and take a stand on some of the ongoing controversies in the person-centered movement.

Keywords:

• Carl Rogers
• person-centered
• client-centered