PS280 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Fritz Perls, Unconditional Positive Regard, Existential Therapy
Humanistic and Existential Paradigms
● More focused on intervention than etiology
● Insight-focused → therapist points out interpretation, if you provide proper therapy
conditions then client will gain insight
● Emphasize personal growth → help clients reach their full potential
● Freedom of choice → choice is important but can relate to anxiety
● Carl Rogers: client centered therapy
○ Client takes the lead
○ Belief that client is expert on his/her experience and thus should lead therapy
○ Job of therapist not to provide advice but to allow space for client to speak about
distress
○ Focus → empathy
○ Goal is self-actualization (helping client reach potential)
○ Core qualities of a therapist:
■ Unconditional positive regard - accepting client as who they are, non
judgemental
■ Genuine
■ Empathy - understand and accept what client is communicating and then
communicate it back
○ Qualities are important across all therapeutic orientations
● Existential therapy
○ Choice → anxiety
○ Therapy goals
■ Confront anxiety
■ Examine what is meaningful (values/what is important to them in life)
○ Again, the focus is on style/attitude of the therapist rather than technique
● Gestalt therapy
○ Fritz Perls
○ Humanistic and existential features
○ Focus on the here and now
○ Emphasis on techniques:
■ I language → focuses on ppl taking responsibility for their own lives
■ Empty chair → talk to chair as though person from their life is sitting in the
chair
■ Use of metaphor → eg feed the tiger (avoiding anxiety producing
situations)
■ Non verbal cues → posture, tone, silences ,etc… clues to clients
needs/anxieties
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Insight-focused therapist points out interpretation, if you provide proper therapy conditions then client will gain insight. Emphasize personal growth help clients reach their full potential. Freedom of choice choice is important but can relate to anxiety. Belief that client is expert on his/her experience and thus should lead therapy. Job of therapist not to provide advice but to allow space for client to speak about distress. Goal is self-actualization (helping client reach potential) Unconditional positive regard - accepting client as who they are, non judgemental. Empathy - understand and accept what client is communicating and then communicate it back. Qualities are important across all therapeutic orientations. Examine what is meaningful (values/what is important to them in life) Again, the focus is on style/attitude of the therapist rather than technique. Emphasis on techniques: (cid:3247)i(cid:3248) language focuses on ppl taking responsibility for their own lives. Empty chair talk to chair as though person from their life is sitting in the chair.
