Person-centered approach and nondirectivity
A conceptual review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15065618Keywords:
Person-centered approach, non-directivity, conceptual review, human development, Carl RogersAbstract
Non-directivity as an attitude in the Person-Centered Approach (PCA) has enormous relevance to critically distinguish the impact of Carl Rogers' thought. Generating a more detailed description of his understanding of non-directivity helps to contextualize the transformation of his ideas and his philosophy on human development. This article seeks to describe the first outlines of the concept of non-directivity in the PCA, in addition to developing an understanding of non-directivity in a historical manner, which has the purpose of giving the notion of development regarding the central concepts of the PCA and its approach. On the other hand, it seeks to know contemporary developments in areas of interest in which non-directivity took on a relevant role. Both aspects will be elaborated through a conceptual review in the form of an essay. This article concludes that there is a remarkable coherence in the development of non-directivity in the PCA by Rogers and contemporary authors of this same approach, This coherence is linked to the functionality in therapeutic spaces and the philosophy regarding human development that critically supports it.
References
Bozarth, J. (2012). “Nondirectivity” in the theory of Carl R. Rogers: An unprecedented premise. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 11(4), 262–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2012.740317
Bozarth, J. D. (1998). The Basic Encounter Group. In Person-centered therapy: A revolutionary paradigm (pp. 143-148). Ross-on-Wye, UK: PCCS Books. (Saénz, D., Trad.)
Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2011). Person-centered therapy: A pluralistic perspective. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 10(3), 210–223. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mick-Cooper-2/publication/233045737
Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2012). From either/or to both/and: Developing a pluralistic approach to counselling and psychotherapy. European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 14(1), 5–17. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mick-Cooper-2/publication/233034777
Kinget, M. (1962). Aclaraciones previas. En Rogers, C. & Kinget, M. (1962). Psicoterapia y Relaciones Humanas (pp. 45-64). Juan Pablos Editor.
Rogers, C. (1942). Orientación psicológica y psicoterapia. Editorial Narcea, S.A.
Rogers, C. (1951). Psicoterapia Centrada en el Cliente. Editorial Paidós.
Rogers, C. (1959). Terapia, personalidad y relaciones interpersonales. Editorial Nueva Visión.
Rogers, C. (1961). El proceso de convertirse en persona. Editorial Paidós.
Rogers, C. (1970). Grupos de encuentro. Editorial Amorrortu.
Rogers, C. (1978). Carl Rogers on personal power: Inner strength and its revolutionary impact. Trans-atlantic Publications.
Rogers, C. (1980). El Camino del Ser. Editorial Kairós.
Rogers, C., & Freiberg, H. (1969). Libertad y creatividad en la educación. Editorial Paidós.
Rogers, C., & Kinget, M. (1962). Psicoterapia y Relaciones Humanas. Editorial Alfaguara.
Schmid, P. (2005). Facilitative responsiveness: Non-directiveness from anthropological, epistemological and ethical perspectives. Embracing non-directivity: Reassessing person-centred theory and practice in the 21st century, 74–94. https://pfs-online.at/1/papers2/paper-nd.pdf
Schmid, P. (2020). La psicoterapia es política o no es psicoterapia: el enfoque centrado en la persona como una aventura esencialmente política. Revista Espacio ECP, 1(1), 35–48. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1494032
Wilkins, P. (2009). Person-centred therapy: 100 key points. Routledge.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Williams Muñoz Andrade (Autor/a)Copyright and Access
Authors retain the copyright to their works published in the journal. By submitting and having an article accepted for publication, authors authorize the journal to disseminate it under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, adapt, and reuse the content for non-commercial purposes only, provided that appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and to the journal as the original source, a link to the license is included, and any changes made are indicated.
The journal promotes open access: no processing or publication fees are charged to authors, and all content is freely available to readers.
Authors may deposit and share their articles in repositories, institutional platforms, or other non-commercial media, provided that full reference to the original publication in this journal is maintained and the CC BY-NC 4.0 license is respected.
