Carl Rogers Client Centered Therapy (Evol Conference Demonstration, 1985?)

Case: lady mid 30s, who lost her twins, unable to get pregnant. feelings of being a failure. ambiguous loss.


5mins: [note: Carl seems to echo client's deeper themes and emotions early into the session.. not just parroting...without asking an explicit question! This is an impt lesson for me to emulate.]

12mins: [still no explicit question! just reflecting emotional content]

12:50: thems of being a winner

13:43: Carl Rogers: "to yourself, you are a failure."

15:28: Carl: seems to you there is something WRONG w ME. [carl picked up on this them v well]

16:41 (reconnected something wrong w me w being a sense of failure)

17:36: Rogers: it really touches you that you just promise to do everything right.

18:15: Rogers: There is some griefing to what might have been...
tragedy looping... grief is stil there.

20:50: IMPT: after client said that Rogers made it easier for her to talk about this, client said, "I guess i've come to my own decision or conclusion tt i gotta kinda just sit and wait and let what happens, happen. but..."

Rogers echoed, "You realise I really can't control this,... as mush as i'm accustomed to controlling, as much as i'd like to be able to control it, I cannot control this."
(This touches on an emergent emotional truth, although it can remain only cognitive)

Carl: so in some sense i've failed
[Self-reflection: I would add a distinction between failing vs failure]

23:45: Ampliification of resilience, good thing emerged from the grief.

24:52: NO EXPLICIT QUESTION ASKED!

25:05: END

25:25: Post-session reflection

38mins: harsh comments from an audience, trying to sum it to the final truth.
[note: do not make a final judgement statement about a client e.g. " here is the real truth"]


SELF-REFLECTION:
-consider starting a session being inthe room, queit w the client.
- even though it might seem like a parroting, Carl Rogers managed to touch on a deeper felt emotion w the client by his influencing reflections about her yearnings (to be a mother), sense of loss (recurrent, ambigious loss), and themes (winning/losing, sense of being a failure, self-blame)
- being gentle and patient w client's emotional processing
- reminds me of Genglin work on Focusing.
- note 36:44 mins from the audience. Audience tried to lump too big a refleciton to client.

40:50: Peteranne: sometimes i speak w/o thinking what i say.[on the impt oftherapist closely refleciton back to client]
41:00: [impt] Carl: to be companion w the client.. so that the client can go forward.

42:00: Q on bodily experiencing self
43:00 [impt] carl's response on the gap between intellectual and experiencing self. causes psych problems.

44:37: **IMPT: Carl: Each person should develop their own mode of therapy.
- study your own therapy rec.
- not do what carl does.

48:00: addressing non-vocal clients
Carl: impt to be PRESENT.
most sessions will have only a very few themes.
an articulate client caaan also say v little
56: only voice your wonderings if it surface a few times, and not just once.



note to SELF:
-do not make a final judgement statement about a client e.g. " here is the real truth"

KEEP REFLECTIONS pointed and succinct.