The client-centered approach represented a major shift away from which earlier dominant model?

The client-centered approach represented a major shift away from which earlier dominant model?

• A. Psychoanalytic approach
• B. Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• C. Reality therapy
• D. Gestalt therapy

Answer: (A)

Moving away from the psychoanalytic tradition, the client-centered approach treats therapy as a collaborative, non-directive process in which the therapist offers unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding, and congruence. The emphasis is on the client’s own experience, self-acceptance, and growth, rather than the therapist probing unconscious conflicts, dream interpretation, or early childhood causation. This represents a shift from the expert interpretation model of psychoanalysis to a facilitative climate that empowers the client to discover solutions within themselves. The other modalities—CBT, reality therapy, and Gestalt—represent different directions in therapy, but the historical shift described is away from psychoanalytic theory.

Moving away from the psychoanalytic tradition, the client-centered approach treats therapy as a collaborative, non-directive process in which the therapist offers unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding, and congruence. The emphasis is on the client’s own experience, self-acceptance, and growth, rather than the therapist probing unconscious conflicts, dream interpretation, or early childhood causation. This represents a shift from the expert interpretation model of psychoanalysis to a facilitative climate that empowers the client to discover solutions within themselves. The other modalities—CBT, reality therapy, and Gestalt—represent different directions in therapy, but the historical shift described is away from psychoanalytic theory.