KoanCollector

One of psychology’s largest and most recent developments is that of its third force: humanistic psychology. While many different models have been part of this movement, there is perhaps no greater contributor to it than Carl Rogers (1951; 1957; 1980) and his client-centered therapy. This therapeutic modality, also known as person-centered therapy (PCT), is unique in its central focus on the client’s own self-actualizing tendency. Instead of being an expert, the therapist takes on the role of a guide, allowing the client to grow through the therapeutic relationship. The impact of such a movement has been profound, and its developing nature implores further exploration into how it may be interpreted and integrated with different aspects of human experience.

For those familiar with this person-centered approach, it is not impossible to imagine it having ideas that overlap with other understandings of human psychology. While the humanistic approach of PCT is certainly defined in a way that is unique, this overall view of the healing potential of relationships and individual journeys is not necessarily new. One path of understanding that shares many of the same core beliefs is that of Buddhism. Examining the central components of person-centered therapy and Buddhist concepts that parallel these components allows us to develop new understandings of both paths. The hope is to define a Buddhist-informed understanding of person-centered therapy so that they might augment each other somehow. Where person-centered approaches might leave it up to the individual therapist to figure out how to develop these qualities, Buddhism offers practices that have been traditionally understood to cultivate these wholesome views and understandings.

Person-Centered Therapy

As mentioned previously, client-centered therapy resulted from the efforts of many people, with the most notable and distinct leader being Carl Rogers. It would be a great disservice not to mention his role in developing the client-centered approach since many of his writings have now been centrally woven into the wealth of literature and clinical practice of client-centered therapy. Since his initial contribution, the person-centered approach has been further developed, with key components of its therapeutic mechanisms more clearly discussed and defined. While there are many different aspects of PCT, the most integral concepts in establishing a therapeutic relationship are that of unconditional positive regard, empathic listening, and presence. Without these components, a therapeutic modality cannot be said to be person-centered. As such, it is important to examine the meaning of each concept so that we might understand the whole a bit better.

Unconditional Positive Regard

The aspect of therapy known as unconditional positive regard (UPR) is fundamentally necessary but is a concept that proves challenging for many newcomers to the humanistic approach. What it is not is an unconditional “liking” of a client. As Hoffman & Mizock (2024) discuss, it is not the unconditional acceptance of the actions or beliefs of the client, but rather a belief in the self-actualizing process of growth and the inherent worth of the individual. One does not need to believe that the other is right or correct, but it is paramount for the therapist to believe that the client’s existence is valid. Without this, no client will feel safe enough to grow within the therapeutic environment. While many definitions of unconditional positive regard exist, the clearest definition provided by C. R. Rogers (1957) can be seen in this statement:

It means a caring for the client, but not in a possessive way or in such a way as simply to satisfy the therapist’s own needs. It means a caring for the client as a separate person, with permission to have his own feelings, his own experiences. (p. 98)

In this way, unconditional positive regard can be seen as a non-attached respect and well-wishing towards the client. As a student and collaborator with Rogers, Charles Truax saw these qualities within unconditional positive regard and preferred to use the term “non-possessive warmth” (Truax et al., 1966). While it is true that the term can be confusing for many, when it is understood and practiced, it can improve therapeutic outcomes (Farber et al., 2018) and is associated with increased reported levels of relational depth (Kim et al., 2020). Ultimately, it is evident that UPR is an integral part of the therapeutic environment that the therapist provides.

Empathic Listening

Empathic listening, also known as active listening, is certainly downstream of unconditional positive regard but is important enough to warrant its own discussions and definitions. It has been integrated in part or whole into many different humanistic approaches, from motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2023) to even professional training (Bjornestad et al., 2021; Kriz et al., 2021). Active listening is a core part of the person-centered practice, as it allows the client to work out their own problems in an authentic way. Rogers & Farson (1957) outlined their idea of what active listening is:

It is called “active” because the listener has a very definite responsibility. He does not passively absorb the words spoken to him. He actively tries to grasp the facts and the feelings in what he hears, and he tries, by his listening, to help the speaker work out his own problems. (p. 1)

Because the listener, or therapist, can be completely present and attentive in their listening, the client is able to feel that they truly are being considered and respected. Empathy has been proposed as the ability to communicate positive regard (Hoffman & Mizock, 2024, p. 5), which means that empathic listening is the ability to communicate positive regard through present-moment awareness and consideration of the client. This can be done through the specific use of listening techniques. Empathic understanding, clarification, empathic responses, and various forms of communicated empathy are all such parts of the therapeutic listening process (Cain, 2014). This sort of listening allows the client to move from incongruence to congruence and progress towards the end of self-actualization. Active listening is, therefore, unobtrusive and aims to have the client lead their own experiences (Fitzgerald & Leudar, 2010). Conversely, it is important in the person-centered approach for the therapist to have a more supportive role rather than being the active agent of change. With all this in consideration, empathic listening plays a prominent role in the person-centered therapeutic process.

Presence

The concept of presence is perhaps the most nebulous of the ones presented to discuss. While presence’s role and importance were certainly discussed by Rogers (1980), much of the work that has contributed greatly to more consistently and clearly defining it and its effects was done outside of his specific context. Notably, Geller & Greenberg (2022) defined presence by saying:

Therapeutic presence involves being open and receptive to what is poignant in the moment, and this allows for an attunement to the other that is based on sensing the other’s as well as one’s own experience and the relationship between them. This is communicated nonverbally by such things as eye gaze, open body posture, and prosody or tone of voice and verbally by timing and pace. (p. 17)

As we can see, presence in this view is a summation of the other functional aspects of the person-centered approach. However, while empathic listening communicates positive regard through listening and mindful responses, presence includes both verbal and nonverbal communication. Of course, what is being communicated in this sense is unconditional positive regard. While it is good to have thoughts of unconditional positive regard, it is pragmatically useless without the ability to communicate it with the client. On the other hand, by having unconditional positive regard as a fundamental belief, the therapist will most likely end up communicating this regardless. Nonetheless, it is important to be mindful of how one’s presence is affecting the client-therapist relationship so that growth may be achieved.

The Humanistic-Buddhist Therapist: Integration

Fundamentally, Buddhism holds many existential and philosophical assertions that align with the humanistic psychologist’s attitudes and beliefs. Namely, the idea of buddha-nature and an ideological emphasis on cultivating the values of equanimity and compassion are very much complementary to unconditional positive regard. In this same sense, Buddhist practices that aim to manifest these internal qualities externally through behavior would find themselves parallel to the goals of practicing empathic listening and cultivating a therapeutic presence. As such, exploring these parallels can be useful in helping clinicians and therapists understand how they might go about developing these therapeutic skills beyond simply adopting theoretical views.

Unconditional Positive Regard: Respecting the Buddha-Nature in All

Within Mahayana Buddhism, the idea of buddha-nature, or tathāgatagarbha, lays the foundation for treating all sentient beings equally. Buddha nature can be defined as the true nature of each sentient being, the capacity to be an enlightened person. It is the capacity to wake up and see things how they are (Nhất Hạnh, 2015, p. 52). For Bodhidharma, the patriarch of Chan/Zen Buddhism, all beings are identical in their true nature, with our vexations and delusions covering this true nature like specks of dust on a mirror (Guo Gu, 2020, pp. 37–40). To respect the potential of every human being is to respect their future enlightenment. “In every person is the Buddha-nature which must be realized” (de Bary, 1972, p. 179). Similarly, much of the unconditional positive regard that a therapist must foster for a client can be built from a similar belief: Each person has the capacity to become fully and completely self-actualized, and within the right therapeutic environment, they will progress toward that end through only their own path. Holding the client with unconditional positive regard is, therefore, to respect their innate nature and their capacity for self-actualization. For the Buddhist-informed person-centered therapist, this means that unconditional positive regard is built from an inherent respect for the client’s buddha-nature.

Of course, one can still respect someone’s capacity for self-actualization and still not hold the other with positive regard. The non-possessive warmth for their existence must also be present. In his memoir a way of being, Rogers (1980) described the merits of appreciating others in the same way that we appreciate sunsets:

In fact, perhaps the reason we can truly appreciate a sunset is that we cannot control it. When I look at a sunset as I did the other evening, I don’t find myself saying, “soften the orange a little on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple along the base, and put a bit more pink in the cloud color.” I don’t do that. I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds. (pp. 22-23)

In the moment of appreciation that he is describing, an attitude of non-possessive warmth is adopted. To be able to see the client as a sunset, as the awe-inspiring unfolding process, is to truly hold them in positive regard unconditionally. In a similar way, Buddhist ideas of non-attachment and loving-kindness (mettā) promote parallel states of non-possessive warmth and appreciation in relationships. Buddhist monk and professor of Asian religions Haemin Sunim (2018) portrays this message in poetic verse:

Rather than trying to improve someone,
just be a mirror, reflecting them without judgment.
If you want them to improve,
you stop seeing them as they are.
Instead, you see only their shortcomings,
measured against your own subjective standards. (p. 89)

This poem’s humanistic values of non-judgment and unobtrusive therapy find themselves mirroring similar Buddhist attitudes. Being able to see the client clearly, allowing them to improve on their own terms, is a profound capability. If we want to support others on their journeys of growth, we must be able to clear our minds and be truly present with them. We must treat them with the same awe and appreciation that we would watch a sunset. While this can certainly be challenging in cases where clients are particularly hard to regard positively, the therapeutic potential of meeting that challenge is vast.

Mindfulness, Listening, and Presence

As mentioned before, the ability to communicate unconditional positive regard effectively is largely separated into the techniques of active listening and presence. Active listening aids in helping the client feel safe to grow through empathic, nonjudgemental responses and listening, whereas presence encompasses all verbal and non-verbal communication. While parallels could be drawn from the historical practices of Buddhism, perhaps the best modern commentary on mindful listening comes from Vietnamese Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh (2013):

Mindfulness of compassion means you listen with only one intention – to help the other person suffer less. Your intention may be sincere, but if you haven’t first practiced listening to yourself, and you don’t practice mindfulness of compassion, you may rather quickly lose your ability to listen. (p. 43)

As we can see, much of the basis for Buddhist mindful listening is based on compassion or loving-kindness. Being able to see the suffering of others and mindfully listen with the intention of helping the client ease their own suffering is the Buddhist understanding of active listening. Additionally, a practice of mindfully listening and responding per the moral practice of Right Speech shows potential for cultivating positive mental health outcomes for the therapist (Guilbert-Neal, 2024b). While certain aspects of Right Speech define specific guidelines for responses, compassion must be at the center of the integration of a Buddhist, humanistic, and person-centered approach. The therapist must be able to have a level of self-awareness to be able to hold such compassion and to avoid harm to clients (Amari, 2021, p. 3). Buddhist integration, therefore, finds a role in supporting the growth and well-being of the psychologist in such matters. The practice of mettā meditation has been shown to improve self-compassion, which is correlated with improved interpersonal relationships, coping strategies, and overall mental well-being (Ran, 2024).

This same cultivation of compassion and mindfulness then assists with presence as well. This integration of mindfulness into the development of a person-centered presence is not new. Mindfulness allows the therapist to hold a space of non-judgmental awareness and appreciation of the innate nature within all people, similar to how Rogers, pp. (1980, pp. 22–23) described the sunset. Even the interpretations of unconditional positive regard as non-judgmental warmth (Truax et al., 1966) and presence as present moment awareness and attunement (Geller & Greenberg, 2022) indicate that the person-centered therapist’s presence lies at the intersection of mindful awareness, equanimity, and compassion. Buddhist theories of cognition assert that there is an innate link between internal cultivation of the mind and behavior (Guilbert-Neal, 2024a).  Therefore, for the humanistic Buddhist therapist, the establishment and continuation of a Buddhist practice is fundamentally important for maintaining a stance of unconditional positive regard and holding a therapeutic presence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the integration of Buddhist principles and practices into the person-centered approach offers an avenue for enhancing therapeutic practice. By cultivating mindfulness, compassion, and a non-judgmental appreciation for self-actualizing potential, therapists can deepen their understanding of the human experience and foster the development of a more supportive and transformative relationship. An integration between the humanistic values of person-centered therapy and Buddhism provides a powerful framework for developing new interpretations and practices of unconditional positive regard, active listening, and therapeutic presence. As therapists continue to explore this integration, they may unlock new possibilities for healing, personal growth, and new forms of cultivating the therapeutic client-therapist relationship.

References

Amari, N. (2021). On becoming a counselling psychologist: Making sense of presence. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167821995371

Bjornestad, A., Olson, S., & Weidauer, L. (2021). Improving officer-soldier communication through active listening skills training with Army ROTC cadets. Military Psychology, 33(3), 205–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2021.1902179

Cain, D. J. (2014). Person-centered therapy process. In G. R. VandenBos, E. Meidenbauer, & J. Frank-McNeil (Eds.), Psychotherapy theories and techniques: a reader (pp. 261–269). American Psychological Association.

de Bary, W. T. (1972). The Buddhist tradition in India, China and Japan (Vintage Books). Random House.

Farber, B. A., Suzuki, J. Y., & Lynch, D. A. (2018). Positive regard and psychotherapy outcome: A meta-analytic review. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 411–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000171

Fitzgerald, P., & Leudar, I. (2010). On active listening in person-centred, solution-focused psychotherapy. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(12), 3188–3198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.07.007

Geller, S. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (2022). Therapeutic presence: A theory of relationship. In Therapeutic presence: A mindful approach to effective therapeutic relationships (2nd ed.). (pp. 15–38). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000315-002

Guilbert-Neal, L. (2024a). Humanistic Buddhism: Cognitive theory and psychotherapy. KoanCollector. https://koancollector.com/2024/05/16/humanistic-buddhism-cognitive-theory-and-psychotherapy/

Guilbert-Neal, L. (2024b). Understanding Buddhist Right Speech through social psychology. KoanCollector. https://koancollector.com/2024/09/28/understanding-buddhist-right-speech-through-social-psychology/

Guo Gu. (2020). The essence of Chan: A guide to life and practice according to the teachings of Bodhidharma. Shambhala.

Haemin Sunim. (2018). Love for imperfect things: How to accept yourself in a world striving for perfection (D. Smith & Haemin Sunim, Trans.). Penguin Books.

Hoffman, T. M., & Mizock, L. (2024). Do you have to like your clients? A primer on unconditional positive regard for training and practice. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2024.2407148

Kim, J., Joseph, S., & Price, S. (2020). The positive psychology of relational depth and its association with unconditional positive self-regard and authenticity. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 19(1), 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2020.1717983

Kriz, T. D., Jolly, P. M., & Shoss, M. K. (2021). Coping With Organizational Layoffs: Managers’ Increased Active Listening Reduces Job Insecurity via Perceived Situational Control. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(5), 448–458. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000295

Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2023). Motivational interviewing (Fourth Edition). The Guilford Press.

Nhất Hạnh, T. (2013). The art of communicating. HarperOne.

Nhất Hạnh, T. (2015). The heart of the Buddha’s teaching. Harmony Books.

Ran, R. (2024). Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World: Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditations for Psychological Well-Being. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 31(1), 36–38. https://doi.org/10.1037/cps0000184

Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-centered therapy. Robinson.

Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045357

Rogers, C. R. (1980). A way of being. Houghton Mifflin.

Rogers, C. R., & Farson, R. (1957). Active listening. Martino Publishing.

Truax, C. B., Wargo, D. G., Frank, J. D., Imber, S. D., Battle, C. C., Hoehn-Saric, R., Nash, E. H., & Stone, A. R. (1966). Therapist empathy, genuineness, and warmth and patient therapeutic outcome. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 30(5), 395–401. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0023827