When he was 12, his family moved from the suburbs to a rural farm area.
He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in 1919 as an agriculture major.
However, after attending a 1922 Christian conference in China, Rogers began questioning his career choice.
Didius / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-2.5
He later changed his major to History with plans to become a minister.
He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1924 with a bachelor’s degree in History.
He decided to enroll in theclinical psychologyprogram at Columbia and completed his doctorate in 1931.
In 1946, Rogers was elected President of the American Psychological Association.
Rogers wrote 19 books and numerous articles outlining his humanistic theory.
In 1987, Rogers was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
He continued his work with client-centered therapy until his death in 1987.
Self-Actualization
Rogers believed that all people possess an inherent need to grow and achieve their potential.
This need to achieveself-actualization, he believed, was one of the primary motives driving behavior.
Rogers suggested thatself-conceptbegins to develop during childhood and is heavily influenced by parenting.
Parents who offer their children unconditional love and regard are more likely to foster a healthy self-concept.
Congruence
Rogers also suggested that people tend to have a concept of their “ideal self.”
When our self-image does not line up with our ideal self, we are in a state of incongruence.
Afully-functioning personis one who is completely congruent and living in the moment.
More therapists cite Rogers as their primary influence than any other psychologist.
In His Own Words
“Experience is, for me, the highest authority.
The touchstone of validity is my own experience.
No other person’s ideas and none of my own ideas are as authoritative as my experience.
New York: Routledge; 2016.
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