The process involves change in the manner of experiencing... ...a person becomes a unity of flow." — Carl Rogers. Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Psychology (1956, APA); Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychology as a Professional Practice (1972, APA); 1964 Humanist of the Year ( American Humanist Association) The Seven Stages are only a formulation to provide structure to a concept of a change 'processing' which is inherently intangible and fluid which is understood through abstract inferences from Roger’s naturalist observational approach. As previously stated, Rogers himself formulised the stages this way to lend the hypotheses to falsifiability.

Rogers looks at this realistically, based on his experience and the case writings of others; from a basic reading of the stage model there appears to be an assumption that a client is beginning from zero or a “maximum of incongruence” (ibid. p.157), yet Rogers attests that clients can begin their therapeutic change from stages 2 to 4 depending on their recognition of their rigidities towards their feelings and self-concepts (e.g. self-criticism, defences or experiential openness). What this model serves is a way to illustrate that the clients quality of experiencing is most important as the process continues (Rogers 1961 p.139). We cannot change, we cannot move away from what we are, until we thoroughly accept what we are. Then change seems to come about almost unnoticed. Carl Rogers

Stage 3

Feltham and Dryden (1993: 181) refer to the seven stages of process as one model of stages of change: Kirschenbaum, Howard (1979). On Becoming Carl Rogers. Delacorte Press. pp.92–93. ISBN 978-0-440-06707-8. Congruence and UPR are by no means the only conditions for facilitating change but their salience in this chapter emphasises their importance for the therapeutic relationship and how when combined, openness to one’s own experience affords an acceptance and preparedness for the challenging expressions of clients (Rogers, 1961 p.51; Sanders, 2006. p55). On Becoming a Person by author Carl Rogers is a seminal text that most students of psychotherapy will be made familar with… and in some cases endoctrinated to worship as gospel. Now this worship is not necessarily unwarranted! For its time it was a paradigm shifting work as it laid the foundation of Therapeutic Change, the fundamentals of which are largely presvered today by practicing psychotherapists and educators of psychotherapy. However, these tenets of Person Centered Therapy that Rogers has enumerated in this book have grown larger than the book itself to the extent that they have become principles in which Humanistic Therapists (and humanists in general) are recommended to live by, not just to adopt as part of a daily job skill. This essay offers an critical examination of some chapters, fundamentals of humanistic therapy and the ground these fundamentals are predicated upon.

A growing openness to experience: they move away from defensiveness and have no need for subception (a perceptual defense that involves unconsciously applying strategies to prevent a troubling stimulus from entering consciousness). Most of the ways of behaving that the organism adopts are those that are consistent with the concept of self. This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one's potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life. (Rogers 1961) [26] It's also important to learn to let go of grudges and residual anger from each day. Don't wake up holding a grudge from the night before if you can help it. Focus on forgiveness, even if it means you don't let someone who wronged you continue to have an important role in your life. When you stay in the present moment as much as possible, this becomes easier. Rogers continued teaching at the University of Wisconsin until 1963, when he became a resident at the new Western Behavioral Sciences Institute (WBSI) in La Jolla, California. Rogers left the WBSI to help found the Center for Studies of the Person in 1968. His later books include Carl Rogers on Personal Power (1977) and Freedom to Learn for the '80s (1983). He remained a La Jolla resident for the rest of his life, doing therapy, giving speeches and writing.

Stage 6

it is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried. It began to occur to me that unless I had a need to demonstrate my own cleverness and learning, I would do better to rely upon the client for the direction of movement in the process.” evaluation by others is not a guide for me. The judgments of others, while they are to be listened to, and taken into account for what they are, can never be a guide for me. This has been a hard thing to learn.” another way of learning for me is to state my own uncertainties, to try to clarify my puzzlements, and thus get closer to the meaning that my experience actually seems to have.” We all want to be our best, but many people wonder if it's actually possible to become a better person once you're an adult. The answer is a resounding yes. There are always ways to improve yourself. This answer leads to more questions, however.