Carl Rogers, Control Freak
About this ebook
• How To Use the Rogerian Method
• How To Save the Work of Carl Rogers
• How To Save Counseling’s Greatest Technique
• How To Use Roger’s Technique
The Work of Carl Rogers
• This book is about the work of Carl Rogers, not the life of Carl Rogers.
• The personal problems Carl Rogers had with alcohol and his marriage have nothing to do with his counseling method.
• This short book focuses on the method of counseling that Rogers invented.
• The messenger is not the message.
• The distinction means that if Carl Rogers’s method is to be evaluated, then it should be evaluated separately from his life.
• Was Rogers a wounded healer? Perhaps so.
Methods Are Not Theories
• Method and technique are not to be confused with counseling theory.
• A counseling theory is a set of guiding principles that structure the course of counseling.
• A method or technique is a strategy for eliciting a response from a client.
• Counseling theories, therefore, provide general directions for achieving specific goals, while methods or techniques are particular strategies for promoting a change or curative response from a client.
Greatest Counseling Method
• Carl Rogers gave the counseling world its most effective, efficient, and advanced method.
• Unfortunately, Rogers feared to face the true nature of his method and buried it under false philosophy and theory that diametrically opposed it.
• Rogers’ betrayal of his method has led to a corruption of his method, causing it to be diluted, at best, and in many cases, lost.
• We must separate the theory of Carl Rogers from the method of Carl Rogers to resurrect and preserve his superior method.
Save the Rogerian Method
• Rogers was a unique genius who provided the counseling world with its best method, and both he and his theory are rightly honored and valued.
• His theory is simply humanism and self-actualization applied to counseling; something others have done both before and after Rogers.
• Rogers was an idealist, and most of his expounded ideals are noble and helpful.
• For instance, Rogers wanted teachers to be facilitators and resource persons for the discovery process, rather than merely a series of audio recordings.
Reexamine the Method
• Both the method of Rogers and the theory of Rogers are valuable in their own right.
• Please re-experience the Rogerian Method in light of this book and leave the rest to dust.
• If we could present the method as our own or something new, we would, but that would be a lie.
• Save counseling’s greatest method for future generations.
• Let us increase the odds that more than just the lucky few can find a counselor proficient in the Rogerian Method.
Practice the Method As Rogers Did
• If you wish to debate Rogers’ theories, then you are missing the point: The Rogerian Method works wonders and needs to be salvaged and seen for what it is, separate from all theory and philosophy.
• Those who continue to banter about philosophies after reading this book are those incapable of performing the method.
• You can have any theoretical orientation you like and still use the Rogerian Method effectively, as long as you understand the method for what it is.
• Putting the method into a new context, a new theory of understanding—frees it for future exploration.
• Once the method is free and alive again, then you can make up any philosophies or theories about it that you want or need.
• The method will have been saved.
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About the author
Be it as a person's counselor or as a founding member of facilities for the homeless, Kevin Everett FitzMaurice, M.S., NCC, CCMHC, LPC, seeks to make others' lives better by helping others improve how they function. As a volunteer, he supports community services to improve others' living conditions. As a counselor, he "counsels" in the traditional sense: advising, directing, and nudging--or pushing--others into facing and resolving their issues.
Mr. FitzMaurice has a variety of formal and advanced training in counseling, which includes Addictions Counseling, Family Therapy, advanced Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Transactional Analysis (TA), and over 1300 hours of diverse training for continuing education units (CEUs). To make the best use of that extensive training, he takes an integrative approach, grounding himself in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and using the other theories to build upon that one core theory, rather than focusing on multiple theories and mastering none of them.
After more than twenty years in counseling, Mr. FitzMaurice has worked four years in the substance abuse field, directed two community mental health programs, and spent fourteen years counseling in private practice. In that time, he has refined many principles for and methods of counseling. He now puts those principles and methods into book form to share them with a wider audience, so more people can benefit than he can reach in person. Currently, he has more than twenty books written, most of which are available worldwide as e-books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Google, Kobo, and Apple.
The philosophical odyssey of Mr. FitzMaurice began in the late '60s. It has remained a mostly self-taught pursuit, with little formal training or education in philosophy. The odyssey started with Western philosophy and a study of pragmatism and atheism. For example, he read every work of Nietzsche that had been translated into English at that time. From there, he moved to the study of Zen, Buddhism, Hinduism, and a misguided experimentation with psychedelics to achieve states of superconsciousness. He continued into Eastern philosophy, pursuing Taoism and J. Krishnamurti. Next came a study of Christianity that started with seven readings of the Old Testament and nine readings of the New Testament from cover to cover, followed by a formal study of Western psychology. The ongoing influences for FitzMaurice's thinking continue to be Christianity, General Semantics, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and an Eastern combination of J. Krishnamurti, Taoism, and Zen.
Academic Credentials: Master of Science (M.S.) in guidance and counseling, with a specialization in agency counseling, from the University of Nebraska. Associate of applied science in human services - chemical dependency counseling (with honors), from Metropolitan Community College.
National Certifications: National Certified Counselor (NCC); Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC); Family Certification in REBT; Primary Certification in REBT; and Advanced Certification in REBT.
State Licensure: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Oregon; Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Iowa; Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner (LIMHP) in Nebraska.
Community Service: One of the original founders of the Francis House, Siena House, and Stephen Center homeless facilities still in operation in Nebraska. Supporter of the following charities: OxFam America, Amnesty International USA, Habitat for Humanity, and Green Peace.
