Abstract

In assisting the maladjusted the client-centered therapy depends upon the constructive forces which reside in the individual. The client himself takes the leading role in the therapy, while the therapist refrains from intervening in any way that might influence the free reorganization of the self. But by his comprehensive and « acceptive » attitude he catalyzes this process. This enables the client to express himself freely, and he then can acquire new insights into his own attitudes and behavior, and consequently arrives at constructive projects and activities. There is an interaction between clinical practice and Rogers' theory of personality. The theory has developed gradually out of the practice, and in turn has influenced this practice by the totality of its working hypotheses. The two principal themes of the personality theory are : the positive core of the personality and the central function of the self-concept. With these Rogers has undoubtedly highlighted two points which are very important for a conception of personality, and which were not always sufficiently considered by other psychologists. But Rogers' theory also implies some philosophical positions for which he had, up to now, given no sufficient justification. According to Rogers the individual must draw his values out of his own experience. Rogers seems to ignore the existence of any absolute values, and he does not justify this philosophical relativism. Furthermore, he seems to reduce the totality of human experience to, what he calls, basic sensory and visceral experience, thus giving the impression that he sees the development of the individual from an « organicistic » and « sensoristic » perspective. These philosophical positions necessarily have their consequences on therapeutic practice, for the non-directive counselor will leave off therapy at a level of the psychological integration of his client, which to many may seem insufficient. Nevertheless, the great merit of Rogers is that he has always endeavored to clarify more and more his theoretical insights by continual research. The results of this research concern especially the self-concept, and show how it can evolve. They teach us less about the hypothesis of the fundamental constructive forces of the human personality, and certainly they cannot prove that these positive forces prevail in all therapeutic cases. The client-centered therapist consistently holds in his practice this hypothesis ; hence, the therapy is applicable in only those cases for wich the hypothesis is valid. It is likely that not all therapeutic cases are such