Client-Centered Approach © 2014 Argosy University Page 2 of 5 Counseling Theory ©2014 Argosy University 2 Client-Centered Approach In this video of an individual psychotherapy session, the counselor uses a client-centered approach while the two explore concerns about her child. While watching the video, reflect upon the following questions: • How does the counselor illustrate the client-centered “way of being” in the session? • How does the counselor illustrate a client-centered “way of understanding” the problem? • What client-centered techniques does the counselor use in the session? Interviewee: I’m worried. This week my children’s school counselor called, she wants to meet with me in person, but I don’t have any time in my day to meet with her. I keep putting her off, I am afraid she is thinking I am a failure as a mother, I am starting to think I am too. Interviewer: You’re worried that you are failing your children because it’s difficult for you to meet with the school counselor. Interviewee: What if I am a failure; I just can’t be there for my children like I should be. If I am not on my full time job, I am at one of my classes or doing my schoolwork. What if my school is getting in the way of me being a good parent? Am I being selfish? Maybe I should drop out of school to have more time with my children; I just don’t know what to do. Interviewer: You have so many responsibilities, it is difficult to find the time you want to spend with your children. I mean, it must be challenging to find openings in your schedule for meetings or appointments, so challenging that you are wondering if it’s all worth it. Interviewee: I am, I never thought I’d get to this point of my studies anyway. I didn’t do very well in school as a child. In fact, I really didn’t like school until college. It was so hard to focus and reading was so hard for me in the beginning they put me in the slow reading group, which was so embarrassing. I thought I was never going to learn to read well. My teacher and parents thought I just wasn’t trying hard enough or that I wasn’t paying enough attention. They would get really frustrated with me because it would take me so long to get anything done. Eventually my school counselor convinced my parents to have me tested. The results indicated that I had a learning disability. Interviewer: School was tough for you in the beginning, so tough in fact that you never imagined that you would be in college someday, not to mention applying to graduate school and hoping to become a counselor. Interviewee: I still wonder sometimes if I’m cut out for this. Interviewer: Those early doubts about your potential creep back into your mind sometimes. Interviewee: They do, I see myself in my children, I don’t want them to go to what I went through. When I go into their school building it brings so much of it back, I begin to feel those awful feelings again like, I am a fai ...

1. Client-Centered Approach
© 2014 Argosy University
Page 2 of 5
Counseling Theory
©2014 Argosy University
2 Client-Centered Approach
In this video of an individual psychotherapy session, the
counselor uses a client-centered approach while
the two explore concerns about her child. While watching the
video, reflect upon the following questions:
• How does the counselor illustrate the client-centered “way of
being” in the session?
• How does the counselor illustrate a client-centered “way of
understanding” the problem?
• What client-centered techniques does the counselor use in the
session?

2. Interviewee: I’m worried. This week my children’s school
counselor called, she wants to meet with me in
person, but I don’t have any time in my day to meet with her. I
keep putting her off, I am afraid she is
thinking I am a failure as a mother, I am starting to think I am
too.
Interviewer: You’re worried that you are failing your children
because it’s difficult for you to meet with
the school counselor.
Interviewee: What if I am a failure; I just can’t be there for my
children like I should be. If I am not on my
full time job, I am at one of my classes or doing my
schoolwork. What if my school is getting in the way of
me being a good parent? Am I being selfish? Maybe I should
drop out of school to have more time with
my children; I just don’t know what to do.
Interviewer: You have so many responsibilities, it is difficult to
find the time you want to spend with your
children. I mean, it must be challenging to find openings in your
schedule for meetings or appointments,
so challenging that you are wondering if it’s all worth it.
Interviewee: I am, I never thought I’d get to this point of my
studies anyway. I didn’t do very well in
school as a child. In fact, I really didn’t like school until
college. It was so hard to focus and reading was so
hard for me in the beginning they put me in the slow reading
group, which was so embarrassing. I
thought I was never going to learn to read well. My teacher and
parents thought I just wasn’t trying hard
enough or that I wasn’t paying enough attention. They would
get really frustrated with me because it

3. would take me so long to get anything done. Eventually my
school counselor convinced my parents to
have me tested. The results indicated that I had a learning
disability.
Interviewer: School was tough for you in the beginning, so
tough in fact that you never imagined that
you would be in college someday, not to mention applying to
graduate school and hoping to become a
counselor.
Interviewee: I still wonder sometimes if I’m cut out for this.
Interviewer: Those early doubts about your potential creep back
into your mind sometimes.
Interviewee: They do, I see myself in my children, I don’t want
them to go to what I went through. When I
go into their school building it brings so much of it back, I
begin to feel those awful feelings again like, I
am a failure.
Interviewer: You have feared that you were failing at many
times in your life, which brings us back to
your fear that you are failing as a mother. What is that fear like
for you?
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Counseling Theory
©2014 Argosy University

4. 3 Client-Centered Approach
Interviewee: Terrible, it consumes me sometimes, it’s just
awful.
Interviewer: Can you describe it some more?
Interviewee: Well, I start to think about failing as a mother, my
heart feels heavy and I feel like I can’t
breathe. My throat feels like it’s closing up. After the teacher
called yesterday I had to sit down and tell
myself to breathe. I just kept thinking that my children are
alone at this, I am not there for them as I
should be. I just kept hearing my teachers and parents, and
parents’ voice was saying I wasn’t paying
attention enough.
Interviewer: And this is how you feel when you go into the
school?
Interviewee: Usually, yes. Honestly, I avoid my children’s
school, it just brings back too many bad
memories of my days in elementary school. I think that might be
part of my avoidance of the school
counselor too, maybe it’s not just my fault, schedule keeping
me from meeting with her. On top of it all, I
don’t want to hear what she might have to say. What if she
wants to tell me that my children are failing?
That they aren’t trying hard enough? That they just need to
focus better? What if she wants them tested
for learning disabilities? What if they’ve got learning
disabilities from me and how am I going to pay for
those tests? Honestly, what scares me most is that she wants to
tell me that I’m neglecting my children.
Interviewer: You seem to be feeling overwhelmed with anxiety

5. right now. There is so much you don’t
know yet about the situation. It seems like a lot of fear flood
you when you think about the possibilities.
Interviewee: Yes, like I am drowning.
Interviewer: Like you need someone to throw you a life
preserver?
Interviewee: I could use some help. It would be so nice to feel
less alone with all of this. Now, that I think
about it, I remember feeling so relieved when they told me I had
a learning disability. I finally knew the
reason why I struggled so much. My teacher and parents finally
understood that I was trying hard enough,
but that I just needed to learn in a different way with some
added support. It was like being thrown a life
preserver at the time.
Interviewer: So you grabbed it when it was thrown to you?
Interviewee: I got a tutor who understood my learning style, he
was like my interpreter. After my
tutoring session I remember feeling like he really spoke my
language. My teacher really started to speak
my language too, she pushed me in a new way and I began to
read. It felt like a whole new world open up
to me, it was such a relief.
Interviewer: You were not a failure after all.
Interviewee: I didn’t fail, that’s right. I began to do much better
in school and eventually got good enough
grades to get into college. I always had to work harder than my
friends did, but it was worth it when I
would succeed. I think the whole experience made me even

6. more hardworking and persistent. I just never
gave up because I began to believe in myself. I didn’t blame
myself anymore, I understood that what I
needed to do and I just did it.
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Counseling Theory
©2014 Argosy University
4 Client-Centered Approach
Interviewer: You never gave up, and now you’re in college and
pursuing your career, you believe you
love. You told me when we first met that you dreamed of
becoming a counselor for a long time.
Interviewee: I have, it is happening, it really is.
Interviewer: Your determination and hard work has helped you
reach your full potential and pursue your
dream, but you are torn between pursuing your dream and
wanting more time with your children.
Interviewee: It would be such a mistake to quit now, I just can’t
do that. This training means too much to
me and it means a lot to my family. It will mean that I can
provide better financially for my children and I’d
be happier, my mom’s happy, everyone’s happy, right?
Interviewer: When you mentioned how much your dream means
to you, what feelings did you notice?

7. Interviewee: Excitement, hope.
Interviewer: Are you feeling excited and hopeful at this
moment?
Interviewee: Yes, I feel a mix of both along with the same
worry I mentioned earlier.
Interviewer: When you focused on the worry, you described
feeling like your heart was heavy, your
breathing was more difficult and your throat was closing up.
How does that compare to when you were
feeling excited and hopeful?
Interviewee: I don’t know.
Interviewer: That’s all right. Let’s just sit for a moment while
you bring up the thoughts you were having
about pursuing your dream of becoming a counselor.
Interviewee: Okay.
Interviewer: Now, try to picture that happening. Imagine being
in that place where you have reached
your goal, you are more financially stable and you’re fulfilled
in your career. What are you experiencing as
you imagine that state of things?
Interviewee: Lighter, calmer, and I don’t know, maybe at peace.
Interviewer: Tell me more about those sensations.
Interviewee: There have been moments when I’ve had those
feelings in the past when things were not as
overwhelming, like when my children were each born or when I

8. graduated from high school, the burdens
were lifted so I felt lighter, my breathing was easy and I felt
kind of peaceful. It’s hard to describe.
Interviewer: You described it wonderfully. What would it be
like to think about your children’s situation
when you are in that place, that lighter easier more peaceful
sensation.
Interviewee: I never tried it. I feel those sensations now and
thinking about the situation at the same time
feels less overwhelming. I don’t feel less fearful about talking
with the school counselor. Going into the
Page 5 of 5
Counseling Theory
©2014 Argosy University
5 Client-Centered Approach
school brings fear and shame back to me. I wonder if she’d be
willing to meet with me somewhere else;
somewhere I feel more comfortable.
Interviewer: You’re beginning to explore options so that you
can talk with her and help your children.
Interviewee: I never thought about options like that before. I
just thought about the school setting and
feeling judged and I wanted to avoid it.
Interviewer: What other options come to mind?

9. Interviewee: I could talk to her on the phone instead of meeting
with her in person, that would be easy
for me to, maybe she could talk at a time when I’m not at work
or school.
Interviewer: You’ve now been focusing on your son situation
again. So how are you feeling now?
Interviewee: Relieved, I feel more hope, maybe less panic.