On a Way of Being a Psychotherapist: An Encounter Process of Taoism and the Person-Centered Approach

• Main Authors: Shu-Ho Lin, 林書禾
• Other Authors: Chun-Chuan Wang
• Format: Others
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/p469p4

碩士 === 國立東華大學 === 諮商與臨床心理學系 === 101 === This study reviewed and contrasted scriptures of person-centered approach(PCA) with Taoism, mainly the writings of Rogers in PCA and “Tao Te Ching” of Taoism, in order to reach the following understandings. One is to elucidate the views of human nature of both thoughts, and the other is to propose a way of being a psychotherapists. For the first part, this study found that both PCA and Taoism believe in the autonomous growth of human beings, and regard it as the natural tendency of mankind. Therefore, the role of psychotherapist should be to provide “the action of the whole being” and “non-instruction,” which are non-interventional. This idea also coincidentally conforms to the spread of person-centered approach in Japan. Based on the above, this study probed into the human nature view and pathological view of Taoism and person-centered approach, and found that the hardship and suffering of human beings originate from the constraints they impose on themselves. Such constraints are what humans respond to the external values and thus lead to self-demands or self-desires. This study found that the thoughts of these two philosophies are not conflicting with each other. They both focus on the care for human beings and the idea of expressing the true self. As for the way of being a psychotherapist based on the above understanding, this study presumed that the practice of the three attitudes of PCA is actually the inspection of inner world and external attitudes of a psychotherapist per se. This study suggests that psychotherapists with self-awareness could possibly develop the attitudes, interact with clients without any obstacles and are not afraid of entering the worlds of clients. Clients could also be freely who they are in such a context. Such PCA attitudes are consistent with the idea of Taoism, which suggests that the cultivation of “true person,” “reaching emptiness and adhering to silence” and “the action of the whole being” can promote the autonomous growth of all things on earth. Suggestion of being a psychotherapist were made in this study especially for beginners and experienced practitioners in the counseling field.