Briefly Explain the Concept of Congruence and Unconditional Positive Regard

I think congruence is about having no façade between the counsellor and client, and being genuine in your reactions when listening. This is difficult when your reactions are in danger of appearing judgmental to the client. I think the key is to have self-awareness, coupled with a sensitivity which gauges how your level of congruence might affect your client. Congruence is important for the therapeutic relationship to grow authentically.

'Unconditional Positive Regard' means that you have a firm, unchanging view of them in a positive way. By seeing them fundamentally as a worthy human being, no matter what the client tells you, enables them to find worthiness in themselves which is crucial for true autonomy. This is obviously challenging to uphold as counsellors because we have numerous prejudices and attitudes concerning behaviour in others that we view as negative. For example, in the case study, I had issues with the fathers in the story. Being a devoted father myself, I hold strong principles about the moral obligations a father has, which I feel were not met by the men in Tina's life. This had an emotional impact on me and, should I ever meet them in person, or see them as clients, I know that I would find it challenging to waive that impact aside and really value them as good people.

The critical point to remember is that a person's actions do not alter their essential nature. It is part of the humanistic philosophy that people are essentially or basically good. Even if I found all the choices they made to be repulsive and totally against my strongest beliefs, then I would still believe in their potential to become what Rogers called a 'fully functioning person' (1961). Ultimately, a person's choices and actions are not a reflection of all that they can be, but are limited by circumstances both past and present.