t that was conducive to growth.
One of the most familiar of these qualities is what Rogers termed "unconditional positive regard." This means that the therapist accepts the client where he or she is at and does not require the client to change in order to gain love and approval.
This is not the only quality that Rogers (1951, 1961) deemed important to the therapeutic environment, however. He thought that the therapist must be empathic, open, honest, congruent, and caring, while capable of listening carefully and in depth to the client. His philosophy was almost more akin to ministry than psychotherapy with his emphasis on the necessity, and quality, of presence. His focus was on being, rather than on doing. This meant two things: (1) the essential for the therapist was to be a certain kind of person, rather than to use specific techniques; and, (2) the emphasis was on the client's being, rather than on the client achieving a specific goal or behavio
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