On Becoming a Person

On Becoming a Person is a joy, a gem of a book, not because it challenges old concepts and ideas, although it does; not because it departs from Freud, although it does; not because it seems new to a world of psychotherapy inculcated with the mundane, the absolutes of religion or morality, although it is; but because whatever its place in the scheme of psychological learning, it offers fresh and honest ideas in terms which stand on their own validity.

Carl Rogers is valuable as a psychologist because what he says in this collection of articles written over a period of approximately thirty years is so patently sensible in terms which are not arrogant, as they are in Perls, or proselytizing, as they are in Anderson, but rather are reasoned and clearly well thought out. He achieves what so much else of post-Freudian psychology can only aspire to, which is to bridge the gap between the psychological jargon or neo-jargon, into the realm of philosophy. And he is able to make a connection with everyday life. For the first time, when reading Rogers, as opposed to Perls or Anderson, one does not feel the lack of the influences provided by process philosophers or existentialists, despite the fact that the influences themselves are clearly present. The important thing is that Rogers' writing provides its own justification.

How does this come about? The first and most obvi

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Client: . . . That means I'd have to deal with the whole world as if I were guardian of the most cherished and most wanted possession, that this I was between this precious me that I wanted to take care of and the whole world . . . It's almost as if I loved myself--you know--that's strange--but it's true. Therapist: It seems such a strange concept to realize. Why it would mean "I would face the world as though a part of my primary responsibility was taking care of this precious individual who is me--whom I love" (Rogers, 1961, p. 146). Unlike Perls (1969), who again and again demands that one "be" or "live" one's dream, unlike Perls who again and again imposes his flamboyant energy and personality (for better or worse) onto the patient's situation and must maintain a pose of sorts which will not be helpful or kind but deliberately frustrating (p. 40), Rogers simply listens and lets the patient talk and deal with and discover himself. This simple technique in itself illustrates the value of placing the client at the center of his cure and making himself responsible. Rogers does not only make the client self-reliant but also, as a therapist, accepts responsibility for entering into a human relationship identified as a th
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Approximate Word count = 2283
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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