The person-centered approach, which has gained worldwide prominence in many different fields of application such as psychotherapy, counseling, medicine, social work, or in learning situations, can be traced back to Carl R. Rogers (1902 – 1987) and his associates.
The underlying conception of the person consists, among other things, in the assumption that the person is in a permanent process of change and that he/she has the ability to develop constructively and to make decisions on his/her own responsibility.
In this process of psychological growth, which takes place in and through relationships with one’s outside world, the person develops abilities that enable him or her to gain more trust in him or herself, to make assessments in a self-responsible manner, to become increasingly open to experience and change, and to shape his or her relationships in a satisfying way. The self-critical examination of one’s own attitudes and feelings enables flexible views of oneself and others that are appropriate to experience.
The high effectiveness of person-centered psychotherapy has been confirmed in numerous scientific studies.