A Way Of Being

A Way of Being (Carl Rogers) ---Report

In the book by Carl Rogers, A Way of Being, Rogers describes his life in the way he sees it as an older gentleman in his seventies. In the book Rogers discusses the changes he sees that he has made throughout the duration of his life. The book written by Rogers, as he describes it is not a set down written book in the likes of an autobiography, but is rather a series of papers which he has written and has linked together. Rogers breaks his book into four parts.

In Part I, of A Way of Being, Rogers discussed his own personal experiences and perspectives, on life to include relationships, philosophies, and what it means to look back at the way things were and what has become of them now. Rogers also in section one discusses reality and the ideas of whether or not we need "a" reality, and what exactly that reality is and how it develops in our respective views.

In the second part of the book Rogers speaks of his ideas of his theory of the person-centered approach to therapy. This is the part of the book that I felt really spoke to me. Person-centered theory is a lot of what I would like to do. I enjoy the ideas and concepts that Rogers presents in his theory. I think that it is extremely important to be able to take into consideration not only the diagnosis of the patient/client with whom you are working, but that it is more important to be able to take the time to sit back and to listen to them. I have realized in the year that I have been working in the psychiatric hospital how important it is for the patient/client to just sit back and listen to what it is they're saying to you. This however does not mean I am only hearing their words, but that I am listening at a much deeper level and actually helping to allow the person to break down their own barriers because I am willing to accept them just as they are without regard to the things of their past. I particularly like in part two that Rogers discusses the idea of empathy. I have learned that empathy is not just a valuable quality to possess, but that in some ways it is the quality which will make or break your relationship with your client. Empathy to me shows me that you actually "get" what it is that the person is trying to relay to you, it does not mean that you are feeling sorry for them or that you want to know exactly what it is that they are going through, but instead you are willing to look at experiences through their eyes and to see the world as they see it in order to understand their perspective and point of view. Part II also discusses some of the challenges to the helping profession as it was known to him at the publication of this book. Rogers in particular discusses his desire that future psychologist will be born not so much with a standard university idea of what is to be expected in a uniform ideal way, but that they will possess the ability to think on their own and with their own ideas they will be able to

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