Client-Centred Therapy

Our thinking in this area has been influenced by the developments in therapeutic thinking in general, but particularly by the evolution of client-centered therapy. The client-centered orientation was, at first, characterized by a rather specific technique or method: the therapist consistently responded by “reflecting” the client’s feeling. This meant that the therapist avoided diagnosis and deductions about the client, or interpretations of hidden meanings the client did not intend. Instead, the therapist attempted always to state in his own words what he sensed to be the client’s intended message, the client’s perception of his feelings, situation, difficulties, and the like. In this effort the therapist tried to sense not merely what was on the surface but the deeply felt meaning which the client only haltingly approached in what he said. Such responding, when successful, meant that the client’s own presently felt message was more deeply understood and responded to than he would have thought possible.