Reviews - On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy

103 reviews for:

On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy

I'm surprised that this isn't more popular, especially among rationalists, circlers, and meditators. He seems (In his descriptions of the upper stages of the process of pyschotherapy) to be describing the same thing of what some meditators think of as enlightenment, but how to create this in a therapeutic relationship, rather than a relationship with yourself. Some of the similarities are experiencing emotions as they come in the moment, trust in the the process of letting their feelings pass through them, loss of time-bound structure, personal constructs being held loosely, etc. He goes back and forth between very personal descriptions of his experiences and client experiences, and objective analysis of studies, and is capable of questioning whether this this which feels good holds up in a randomized control trial. Also interesting to read the essays by other people describing him and his process and its effects on people.

I feel like if anyone wants to understand me better, they should read this book, as I find Carl Rogers to be one of the most admirable people I've read about, and expresses many things I already believe from a stronger and more experienced point of view, both subjectively and objectively. I appreciate the description someone else gave him of "whim of steel".

I somewhat wonder if this book isn't as popular because a lot of it might go over people's heads if they have not done a lot of circling or something similar enough to understand what he is talking about. I'd be interested in criticisms of his method, or whether his more objective studies hold up.

jane_hobs's review against another edition

5.0

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Amazing book for people interested in going to therapy or being a therapist but honestly a good book for everyone to read! Very informative and insightful this book gave me a lot of motivation to study psychology in college

madeleine_with_tea's review against another edition

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Rogers gives a detailed insight into the therapeutic process of both the client and the therapist. His long-researched view on the process of therapy is instilled with hope and a deep conviction on the potential of human growth. There are concepts that pertain not only to a professional but any human who wants to help themselves or somebody else. I particularly enjoyed his idea of unconditional positive regard. It is awe-inspiring to learn about the healing process a person automatically goes through when given unconditional acceptance for everything that they are.
There were several parts of this book that were repetitive. However this makes sense because it is a collection of papers published by Rogers. One can see his ideas develop over time.

kinokonoyama's review against another edition

4.0

informative inspiring slow-paced

hannahmajury's review against another edition

3.0

slow-paced

I absolutely adore Carl Rogers but I felt like this collection gets repetitive at times. He gets his point across after two of the essays. Maybe if I hadn’t already been very familiar with his ideas, it would not have felt this way, idk!