client-centered therapy

n. The therapy developed by Carl Rogers which assumes that each person lives in a reality of his or her own, has inherent drive to actualize his/her own unique potential, and will do so unless prevented by need for the positive regard of significant other people. Conditional regard from important other persons leads an individual to have and to act on false beliefs about himself or herself in a process which leads to anxiety and poor choices in life. This nondirective therapy consists of the therapist,s helping the client verbally explore the issues that the client selects by acknowledging that the therapist understands what the client is expressing and does not condemn the client for the experience. This leads the client to acknowledge the parts of himself/herself he or she has been ignoring or denying and thus gain better information with which to make choices in life as well as to a lessened tendency to ignore parts of his or her experience in the future.