Karl Ransom Rogers - psychologist, leader of the humanistic direction of psychology. The uniqueness of his methods was in versatility and a wide range of uses. Along with Abraham, Maslow developed the “I-concept” - this in psychology means the formation of personality in the process of human interaction with the social environment. The professor actively worked on the creation and development of personality-oriented psychotherapy. It is recognized as one of the first representatives of humanistic psychology.
Brief description of the method of work
A feature of the methodology developed by Rogers is its versatility. It can be used both for groups and for individual work, regardless of such factors as the type of human activity, religious beliefs. In addition to the focus of the impact, the method is distinguished by the fact that it can be used to resolve intrapersonal, interpersonal, and even intergroup conflicts. The third area of Rogers' unique therapy is working with a wide range of client problems. These may be problems of a professional nature, difficulties in love and relationships, other psychological difficulties. Carl Rogers paid particular attention to marriage and its alternatives.
The particular effectiveness of the Rogers system was manifested in the interaction with children through the game. Group therapy was also successful, the essence of which is to place a person in an artificially created group to monitor his behavior.
Biography
Rogers was born on January 8, 1902 in the state of Illinois, in the Chicago suburb, which was called Oak Park. Karl was the middle child, the fourth of six. He had four brothers and one sister. The Rogers family lived in abundance, my father worked as an engineer, was able to reach some heights and financially provided for his family. In the early years, Rogers needed nothing. When the boy was 12 years old, he went with his family to live on a western Chicago farm, where he spent his youth.
Carl Ransom Roger always noted that he grew up in a prosperous family where parents always loved children and were especially sensitive. However, the only problem was the uncompromising religious position of the parents. Despite the fact that children experienced mom and dad love and sincere emotions, with age, a dogmatic commitment to fundamentalist views began to acquire many questions and misunderstanding on the part of the offspring.
School years
Carl Roger did not have good friends, only brothers and sister. Therefore, the boy devoted a lot of time to reading, preferring to be alone with some adventure book. The love of reading and the thirst for knowledge made Rogers clutch at any kind of literature, be it a dictionary, an encyclopedia, or a regular reference. Despite the boring youth, the biography of Karl Rogers is quite bright and rich.
Karl noted that he had never participated in school activities outside the classroom. Over the entire period of study, he changed the order of three schools, in each of which he did not stay longer than two years. Because of life on the farm, the path to school was not close, so there was absolutely no time left to participate in extracurricular activities. In school, the boy lived in the so-called social isolation. But this did not stop the child from learning perfectly. Outstanding results Roger demonstrated in English and science.
Free time
The time spent on vacation was also not exciting and interesting: every summer the boy worked on the farm until the seventh sweat, so there was no talk of talking with friends. If you believe the biography of Karl Rogers, it was because of this that he had an unprecedented interest in the study of nature.
To combine business with pleasure, he, doing tasks of parents on the farm, wrote down his observations about plants and animals. This turned the work to exhaustion into a kind of game. The boy collected and raised a certain type of nocturnal butterflies and studied everything about them that could only be found at that time for a 14-year-old child.
University years
After leaving school, Karl was firmly convinced that he would connect his life with agriculture and become a farmer. In 1919, Rogers went to study at the University of Wisconsin, followed in the footsteps of his parents. In determining the profile, the choice fell on scientific agriculture.
From the second year, Rogers went headlong into religion, was a regular at conferences held under the motto: "Teach the world of our generation in the Christian faith." As a result, after some time, the guy firmly decided to prepare for the activities of the pastor.
World Student Conference
And only in 1922 did something happen that completely changed the course of Rogers' life. That year, the World Student Christian Federation Conference was held in Beijing. Rogers, along with nine other students, was selected to travel to the event.
Karl spent almost six months abroad, where he studied not only religious, but also cultural relations, which were actually the opposite of the established traditions in his own family. A long stay in the eastern part of the globe turned the world of Rogers upside down. His views became more loyal and liberal, and the information studied questioned the divinity of Jesus. We can say that this trip freed Karl from religious parental "networks."
Journey to the East has become a new round in the life of the future psychologist. He returned to Wisconsin and received a historical education in 1924. Rogers completed just one psychology course (in absentia).
New life
The study came to an end, and Rogers decided to marry. His bride was Hlen Eliot, a classmate in Wisconsin that Carl had known since childhood. After the betrothal, the newly made husband and wife went to New York to the liberal united theological seminary. Life in New York impressed Rogers to the depths of his soul, he spoke of her as an exciting and exciting soul. This move was a breath of fresh air: Karl made new friends, worked out ideas and fell in love with life, familiar things in a completely new way.
At seminary, he concluded that pastors and psychologists have a common goal, which is to help people in need. However, the charm of religion gradually dissolved, giving way to disappointment and skepticism. In his final year, Rogers transferred from Theological Seminary to Teachers College of Columbia University. There he received his education in the field of psychology, both clinical and pedagogical. Already in 1928, Rogers became a master, and in 1931 - a doctor of sciences. Clinical psychology has become an integral part of his life.
Work as a psychologist
After receiving his doctorate, Carl began working as a psychologist in New York, in a society for the prevention of cruelty to children. In fact, for the next 10 years, he worked with dysfunctional children, understanding their problems. This experience seriously influenced the further development of the biography of Carl Rogers. The professor became director of the Rochester Assistance Center, but was 100% sure that this position should belong to a psychiatrist, not a psychologist.
In 1939, the work of Roger was published, which was called "Clinical treatment of a problem child." After publication, Karl was immediately offered to go to work at Ohio University as a professor in the Department of Psychology.
Only a year passed, and in 1940, Rogers went to Columbia University to begin his career path with a new sheet. This decision contributed to the recognition of the merits of the scientist in the field of only developing clinical psychology. He successfully recruited talented employees, published works, shared his views on psychotherapy. Already in 1942, Rogers released the book Counseling and Psychotherapy, based on two years of experience. In addition, an “I-concept” was developed (this is in psychology a system of the individual's ideas about himself, a part of his personality that he is aware of, as mentioned above). This theory was developed with a person widely known in psychology - A. Maslow.
Professorship
In 1945, Rogers took up the position of professor of psychology and moved to the University of Chicago, where, in combination, he worked as director of the university consultation center. The high position at the university gave Rogers a chance to organize an advisory center for undergraduate and graduate students, where they had the opportunity to work on equal terms with professionals.
The most productive period in the life of a professor can be considered the stage from 1945 to 1957. At that time, he worked hard at the University of Chicago. The results of the research are relevant to this day. The logical conclusion to the turbulent period of work was the publication in 1951 by Carl Rogers of the book "Client-centered therapy: its modern practice, value and theory."
This period was difficult for the professor. Working with a difficult patient, Rogers went so deep into her problems that he was almost on the verge of collapse, so he went on a three-month vacation to recover. Upon returning home, Karl turned to his former student for therapy. Then he noted that the work of the advisory center was not useless, because the scientist had raised real professionals in his field on whom he could rely. This biography of Carl Rogers does not end there.
Return to work
The year 1957 was marked by the fact that Rogers returned to the University of Wisconsin to work in the departments of psychology and psychiatry. During this period, the professor actively delved into the study and treatment of patients with schizophrenia. Research and work was carried out at the State Psychiatric Hospital. But these studies did not receive recognition, since in the process Rogers faced a number of problems. Part of the team was categorically against his approach.
Already in 1964, Carl Rogers had to resign from the University of Wisconsin and go to the Western Institute of Behavioral Sciences, which was located in the vastness of California. It was a charitable organization whose goal was a humanistic study of interpersonal relationships. Four years later, Rogers moved to the Center for the Study of Man, where he worked until his death.
The professor died on February 4, 1987 at the age of 85 from a heart attack during surgery on a broken hip. The contribution made by Carl Rogers to psychology is invaluable, and the biography is truly impressive.
last years of life
Before his death, Rogers actively traveled around the world with lectures and seminars, which clearly demonstrated the principles of client-centered therapy. The professor was awarded many awards, and his contribution to science is invaluable. Karl Rogers quotes scattered around the world, but the following statement became the most popular:
I expressed an idea for which the time had come, as if a stone had been thrown into the water and raised ripples.
The main representatives of humanistic psychology should also include Charlotte Buhler, C. Goldstein, Abraham Maslow, Gordon Allport.