On Becoming a Person

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In 1964 he moved to La Jolla, California, for a position at the Western Behavioral Studies Institute, and remained in California until his death in 1987. But adjectives which seem more generally fitting are adjectives such as enriching, exciting, rewarding, challenging, meaningful. What Rogers realized in his years of treating patients was that the real problem with each and every one of them was always one and the same: they weren’t living in a way which expresses who they are. A person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate another's learning" (Rogers, 1951).

Review of On Becoming a Person. - APA PsycNet

His findings and theories appeared in Client-Centered Therapy (1951) and Psychotherapy and Personality Change (1954). This results in excitement, daring, adaptability, tolerance, spontaneity, and lack of rigidity, and suggests a foundation of trust. I believe,” concludes Rogers, “that this statement holds whether I am speaking of my relationship with a client, with a group of students or staff members, with my family or children. Optimal development, referred to below in proposition 14, results in a certain process rather than static state. I have been astonished to find how accurately the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, pictured the dilemma of the individual more than a century ago…He points out that the most common despair is to be in despair at not choosing, or willing, to be oneself; but that the deepest form of despair is to choose “to be another than himself.

He was strongly influenced by Martin Buber, the existential philosopher, and his notion of 'confirming the other’. the organized consistent conceptual gestalt composed of perceptions of the characteristics of 'I' or 'me' and the perceptions of the relationships of the 'I' or 'me' to others and to various aspects of life, together with the values attached to these perceptions. All individuals (organisms) exist in a continually changing world of experience (phenomenal field) of which they are the center. Perhaps this description makes clear that being empathic is a complex, demanding, and strong - yet subtle and gentle - way of being. I have come to feel that the only learning which significantly influences behavior is self-discovered, self-appropriated learning.

On Becoming A Person ( 1961) Carl Rogers - Archive.org On Becoming A Person ( 1961) Carl Rogers - Archive.org

One of Carl Rogers best-known books, On Becoming A Person is, arguably, one of the most important volumes on human psychology and psychotherapy ever written.On Becoming a Person is one of the ultimate psychology classics, and though written in a somewhat outdated style and a bit long (more than 400 pages) it’s certainly a must for everyone who wants to understand better human beings and psychotherapeutic practice. Tausch, Reinhard: (2013) On Becoming an Effective Teacher—Person-centered Teaching, Psychology, Philosophy, and Dialogues with Carl R. Rogers's last years were devoted to applying his theories in situations of political oppression and national social conflict, traveling worldwide to do so.