A Therapist's View of Personal Goals

By Carl R. Rogers

This pamphlet, by Carl Rogers who developed what he called client-centered therapy, briefly lays out a pathway of life that values self-awareness and acceptance, being the self one truly is, an authenticity that can be the basis of creativity. He observes that this is the life-goal that people find as they participate in therapy that frees up their choices. While this may by now be familiar to many, it is a concise and clear statement that could be helpful to others. Our culture still imposes rigid expectations and judgments on us. This is not explicitly about a spiritual life, but it is a nice introduction to Carl Rogers' enduring insights.—Print ed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barakaldo Books
• Release date: Jun 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781839745645

Carl R. Rogers

CARL ROGERS was born in 1902. He received his academic and professional training at the University of Wisconsin and Teachers College, Columbia University where he received his doctoral degree. He did his clinical internship at the Institute for Child Guidance, New York City. For many years he was involved in clinical work with children, adolescents, and adults. First in Rochester, New York where he became director of the Rochester Guidance Center and then later at the University of Chicago where he established the Counseling Center of the University of Chicago. His major academic positions have been at Ohio State, University of Chicago, and now the University of Wisconsin where he is professor in both the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry. He has been active in professional societies, having served as president of the American Association for Applied Psychology, president of the American Psychological Association, president of the American Academy of Psychotherapists, and vice-president of the American Orthopsychiatric Association. His major interest for many years has been in the field of counseling and psychotherapy, working on a practical level to develop an effective mode of helping individuals; on a research level to investigate objectively many aspects of the process of personality change and the conditions which facilitate it; and on the theoretical level to formulate a theory of therapy personality, and interpersonal relationships which seems to fit the observed facts. In addition to many articles in professional and scientific journals he has written the following books: Measuring Personality Adjustment in Children, 1931 (out of print); The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child, 1939; Counseling and Psycho-therapy, 1942; Counseling with the Returned Serviceman, (with John Wallen) 1945 (out of print); Client-Centered Therapy, 1951; Psychotherapy and Personality Change, (with Rosalind Dymond), 1954; On Becoming a Person, 1961.

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Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

A THERAPIST’S VIEW OF PERSONAL GOALS

BY

CARL R. ROGERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

The Questions 5

Some Answers 6

Another View 8

DIRECTIONS TAKEN BY CLIENTS 9

Away From Façades 10

Away From Oughts 11

Away From Meeting Expectations 12

Away From Pleasing Others 13

Toward Being Process 14

Toward Being Complexity 15

Toward Openness to Experience 16

Toward Acceptance of Others 18

Toward Trust of Self 19

The General Direction 20

SOME MISAPPREHENSIONS 21

Does it Imply Fixity? 22

Does it Imply Being Evil? 23

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS 24

SUMMARY 26

REFERENCES 27

About the Author 28

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 29

The Questions

What is my goal in life? What am I striving for? What is my purpose? These are questions which every individual asks himself at one time or another, sometimes calmly and meditatively, sometimes in agonizing uncertainty or despair. They are old, old questions which have been asked and answered in every century of history. Yet they are also questions which every individual must ask and answer for himself, in his own way. They are questions which I, as a counselor, hear expressed in many differing ways as men and women in personal distress try to learn, or understand, or choose, the directions which their lives are taking.

Reviews for A Therapist's View of Personal Goals

[borzou Rojin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Concise and deep, each page worth hours of thinking through