The self, conditions of worth and congruence

• > Humanism argues that for a person to achieve personal growth there needs to be a focus on the self.

  > Rogers suggests the concept of the self and the ideal self.

  > Actual self - This refers to how we view ourselves in terms of what I am and what I can do, this self-concept comes from our own experiences of the world and through how other significant people (e.g. parents, peers) view us and how they treat us.

  > Ideal self - This refers to the person we feel that we should be or the person that we want to be.
• Congruence -

  > Congruence occurs when there is match/consistency between your perceived self and your ideal self .

  > If this occurs it enables a person to show personal growth and achieve their goals.

  > When there is a mismatch between the perceived and ideal self we are in a state of incongruence they are likely to have low self-worth and poorer psychological health.

  > Rogers would suggest a person should go through counselling to close the gap/discrepancy by developing a more healthy view of him/herself or a more realistic or achievable ideal self.
• Conditions of worth -

  > If a person has issues of low self-esteem and worthlessness in adulthood these may be a consequence of our early childhood due to conditions of worth.

  > In childhood, parents or significant others place limits on their love.

  > These conditions of worth influence the person in their development as they can believe they can only accept themselves or be happy when they reach these expectations that have been set by others, or in some cases themselves.

  > This can also lead to incongruence
• > Counselling can help them deal with these issues as the therapist creates an environment where the person can feel unconditional positive regard.

  > The therapist must accept the client's feelings and experiences and avoid making judgements about their value or validity.

  > This helps resolve the conditions of worth and help guide the client towards self-actualisation by helping them focus on their authentic (genuine) self, so you are true to who you really are.