The quiet revolution of Carl Rogers

Abstract This chapter provides an accessible overview of the life and works of Carl Rogers and the field of humanistic psychology. It describes how Rogers first introduced non-directive therapy but shortly afterward renamed it client-centered therapy, and then later expanded the application of his ideas beyond therapy into other contexts, such as education, leadership, and encounter groups, now referring to this as the person-centered approach. The more popular and traditional methods of psychology involve nudging, coaxing, and manipulating other people to behave in ways that are deemed to be more appropriate for them. In contrast, in Rogers’s approach, the therapist, educator, leader or facilitator creates the social environment in which others can find their own solutions. Throughout his life, Rogers remained committed to the initial idea of respect for a person’s self-determination and the non-directivity of the practitioner.