Unconditional positive regard - Definition and Overview

Carl Rogers, the founder of Person Centred Counselling, said that three conditions were necessary for therapeutic change: empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard.

The theory goes that quite often mental unease is caused by the absence of love or by a defective kind of love that the patient received when they were a child. By showing the client unconditional positive regard and acceptance, which is the type of love a child needs when growing up, the clinician is providing the best possible conditions for personal growth to the client.

To practice unconditional positive regard, whilst maintaining congruence at all times, means that the therapist’s feedback has to be specific because it is no use the clinician merely saying that they care about the patient. They have to show and demonstrate the care with their actions. If a clinician finds it hard to unconditionally regard their patient in a positive light they need to keep in mind Rogers’ belief that all people have the internal resources required for personal growth and that it is the environment that can make the difference as to whether growth occurs. A patient’s past environment may have been such that patterns of behaviour were developed in order to survive in that environment. These patterns can become entrenched so that the patient continues to operate in the world with them even if they are no longer appropriate. It is usually an inappropriate pattern that makes it hard for the clinician to regard their clients positively. The clinician needs to feel for the person under those patterns and for the person who was damaged and then survived by adapting by developing the patterns that are no longer appropriate.

See also Self-actualization