This “Counsellor's Creed” is taken from the seminal work by Dave Mearns and Brian Thorne on the practice of person-centred(original british spelling preserved) therapy. It synthesises a set of convictions which, in the authors’ view, form an essential foundation for any authentic practice of this approach. I believe it manages, with remarkable conciseness, to convey something of the essence and distinctiveness of the Person-Centered Approach.
The person-centred counsellor believes :
- that every individual has the internal resources for growth ;
- that when a counsellor offers the core conditions of congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy, therapeutic movement will take place ;
- that human nature is essentially constructive ;
- that human nature is essentially social ;
- that self-regard is a basic human need ;
- that persons are motivated to seek the truth ;
- that perceptions determine experience and behaviour ;
- that the individual should be the primary reference point in any helping activity ;
- that individuals should be related to as whole persons who are in the process of becoming ;
- that persons should be treated as doing their best to grow and to preserve themselves given their current internal and external circumstances ;
- that it is important to reject the pursuit of authority or control over others and to seek to share power.