Carl Ransom Rogers
"The father of client-centered therapy"
Birth and Death
Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1902. His father was Walter A. Rogers and his mother was Julia M. Crushing. Walter was a civil engineer and Julia was a homemaker. His mother and father were devout Pentecostal Christians. Carl was the fourth of six children.
Rogers' last years were devoted to applying his theories in situations of political oppression and national social conflict, and traveling worldwide to do so. In 1987 he died of a heart attack in San Diego, California.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/one-among-many/201001/michelangelo-meets-carl-rogers
Contributuions to Psychology
- "Self Actualization"
Rogers rejected the deterministic nature of both psycholanalisys and behaviorism and maintained that we behave as we do because of the way we perceive our situation.
- "Person Centered Therapy"
- PCT is a form of talk-psychotherapy to provide clients with an opportunity to develop a sense that they can realize how their attitudes, feelings and behavior are being negatively affected.
Interesting Facts
- Towards the end of his life Carl Rogers was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with national intergroup conflict in South Africa and Northern Ireland.
- He had two books published.
Modern Day Thoery
Carl Ransom Rogers was the most influential psychotherapist in American history. He pioneered a major new approach to psychotherapy, known successively as the "nondirective," "client-centered," and "person-centered" approach. He was the first person in history to record and publish complete cases of psychotherapy. More than any individual, he was responsible for the spread of professional counseling and psychotherapy beyond psychiatry and psychoanalysis to all the helping professions.