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Research in person-centred, experiential andhumanistic counselling and psychotherapy: Meetingnew challengesJohn McLeod aa Tayside Institute for Health Studies, University of Abertay Dundee , Dudhope Castle,Dundee, DD3 6HF, Scotland E-mail:Published online: 18 Aug 2006.

To cite this article: John McLeod (2002) Research in person-centred, experiential and humanistic counselling andpsychotherapy: Meeting new challenges, Counselling and Psychotherapy Research: Linking research with practice, 2:4,259-262, DOI: 10.1080/14733140212331384745

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In the 1940s and 1950s, Carl Rogers and his col-leagues at the University of Chicago establishedthe first co-ordinated programme of researchinto psychotherapy. Today, the substantialachievements of that group of researchers donot receive sufficient recognition. In many ways,they were far ahead of their time in developingreflexive, action-focused research, and in gener-ating an appreciation of the co-constructivenature of the therapy process (McLeod, 2002).Following the loss of Rogers (to California) in themid-1960s, the coherence and sparkle of theclient-centred research group faded and died.Across the humanistic psychology movement asa whole, the model of research-practice integra-tion pioneered by that group was replaced by atendency to cling to established ideas and arguefrom a basis of personal experience rather thanresearch evidence. Through the following threedecades the number of research studies intohumanistic and experiential therapies declined,and the influence of this approach within theacademic community diminished considerably,particularly in the USA.

An important centre of resistance to this trendwas the psychotherapy research group at YorkUniversity in Toronto, founded by Laura Rice, aformer student of Rogers. In the 1990s, the YorkUniversity group, centred around Les Greenberg,David Rennie and Shake Toukmanian, wereresponsible for a series of important studies intothe effectiveness of process-experiential therapy

(an integration of client-centred and Gestalt), theclient’s experience of therapy, and the ways inwhich clients processed information in therapy.Key examples of the products of this researchgroup can be found in Toukmanian and Rennie(1992) and Greenberg et al (1998). Another sig-nificant centre for humanistic research was atDuquesne University in the U.S.A. (Fischer et al,2001).

Now, in the first decade of the new century, andmore than 50 years after the establishment ofhumanistic psychology, there are signs of a renais-sance in research into person-centred, experientialand other therapies that can be regarded as‘humanistic’ in orientation. The extent of thisrevival can be observed in the publication of threemajor texts:

Humanistic Psychotherapies: Handbook ofResearch and PracticeCain DJ and Seeman J (eds) 2002Washington, DC: American PsychologicalAssociationISBN: 15579 87874

The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology:Leading Edges in Theory, Research andPracticeSchneider KJ, Bugental JFT and Pierson JF (eds)(2001)Thousand Oaks, CA: SageISBN: 07619 21214

Research in person-centred, experiential and humanisticcounselling and psychotherapy: meeting new challenges

John McLeod

Tayside Institute for Health Studies, University of Abertay Dundee, Dudhope Castle, Dundee DD3 6HF, ScotlandEmail: j.mcleod@tay.ac.uk

Counselling and Psychotherapy Research 2(4) (2002) 259-262ISSN: 1473 3145Published by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, 1 Regent Place, Rugby CV21 2PJ, UK

As a result of the programme of research into client-centred therapy led by Carl Rogers, the humanis-tic therapies could claim, in the 1950s, to possess a comprehensive evidence base. Over the followingdecades, however, there was a marked decline in the productivity and influence of research into person-centred and humanistic therapies. The present paper celebrates the publication of three books thatmark a resurgence in research into these approaches, and comments on emerging themes and trends.

Keywords: case studies, experiential, heuristic, humanistic, person-centred, phenomenology, process-experientialtherapy, qualitative methods, research

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Psychotherapy Relationships That Work:Therapist Contributions and Responsiveness toPatientsNorcross J (ed) (2002)New York: Oxford University PressISBN: 01951 4346 9

The contribution of each of these books will be dis-cussed in turn. In a concluding section, the natureof contemporary research into humanistic therapiesis discussed, and some trends are identified.

Humanistic Psychotherapies: Handbookof Research and PracticeThis book represents a major, 700-page, review ofthe current state of humanistic therapy. There arechapters on outcome and process research intohumanistic psychotherapy, and on client-centred,Gestalt, focusing, existential and process-experien-tial approaches. Further chapters cover a range oftherapeutic modalities (couples, families, groupsand play therapy), and specific issues such as theconcept of emotion in humanistic therapy, and theapplication of this perspective in psychotherapy forpeople with schizophrenia. Authors include manyleading figures in contemporary psychotherapytheory and research: Jerold Bozarth, Robert Elliott,Les Greenberg, Susan Johnson, Michael Lambert,Germain Lietaer, Gary Prouty, David Rennie and BillStiles.

The majority of chapters are structured around abrief introduction to the key ideas of a humanisticapproach, followed by a detailed account of theresearch evidence relevant to that approach, andfinally a discussion of the implications of thisresearch for practice. The rationale for this structureis that it is intended to ‘raise consciousness amonguniversity faculty, including psychotherapyresearchers and practitioners, about the substantivecontributions of humanistic psychotherapies’ (p.xxi). The book is largely a product of the NorthAmerican counselling and psychotherapy establish-ment. Only 4 of the 33 authors are based outsideNorth America, despite the huge popularity ofhumanistic therapies in Europe, Australia and SouthAmerica.

The majority of chapters in the Handbook arebased on work that will be familiar, at least in gen-eral terms, to many readers. There are, however,three chapters that present material which is eithernew, or not readily accessible elsewhere. RobertElliott offers a review of research into the effective-ness of humanistic therapy, which draws upon stud-ies not included in previous reviews, andsummarises the available information in a helpfullyreader-friendly manner. His review demonstratesthat humanistic therapy is effective, at a level equiv-alent to other approaches such as cognitive-behav-ioural therapy. The review also suggests that

humanistic therapies, such as Gestalt, process-expe-riential and focusing, that encourage a more activedegree of ‘process intervention’ on the part of ther-apist, may be more effective than ‘traditional’client-centred therapy. Toward the end of his chap-ter, Elliott carefully discusses a number of criticismsthat could be levelled at his conclusions, and con-siders the implications of his findings for practice.

A chapter by David Rennie on ‘Experiential psy-chotherapy: grounded theory studies’ summarisessome unpublished research, and provides an inte-grative analysis of seven grounded theory studiesthat have been carried out, in addition to his ownprogramme of research. This is probably the largestbody of qualitative research yet accumulated into asingle approach to therapy, and it yields rich insightsinto the process of experiential therapy, particularlyfrom the point of view of the client. It is interestingto be able to follow, through Rennie’s chapter, theextent to which each separate study uncovers thesame themes (around client-self-awareness andagency), even while appearing to explore differentaspects of therapy.

The third distinctively novel chapter in theHandbook is provided by Rainer Sachse and RobertElliott. Although this chapter seeks to give anoverview of the totality of research into the linkagesbetween process factors (such as empathic reflec-tion) and therapeutic outcomes, the bulk of thechapter in fact comprises a fascinating account ofthe research carried out by Sachse himself. Much ofthis has previously been published only in Germanlanguage journals and therefore was not easilyavailable to English language readers. Sachse haslooked closely at what he calls ‘triples’: sequencesof client-therapist-client speaking turns. Hisresearch has tried to identify the types of therapiststatement that result in a deepening of the client’sexperiential processing. In a programme of researchstretching over 20 years, Sachse has been able todevelop a comprehensive understanding of thequalities of effective therapist responses. Amongthe striking findings from his research is evidencethat clients are unlikely to ‘deepen’ their processingin the absence of facilitative therapist responses,and that clients are highly susceptible to beinginfluenced by therapist ‘process-flattening’ state-ments (i.e. directed away from the discovery orexplication of deeper meanings).

Humanistic psychology and psychotherapy origi-nally developed in the 1950s as a reaction againstwhat was seen as a ‘dehumanising’ reductionisminherent in the mainstream psychologies of thatera: psychoanalysis and behaviourism. Humanisticpsychology was to be the new ‘third force’ thatwould respect the wholeness of the person and hisor her capacity for love, creativity and conviviality. Itcould be argued that not enough of this spirit isexpressed in Humanistic Psychotherapies:

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Handbook of Research and Practice. The radicaledge of Carl Rogers, who consistently challengedthe disciplines of institutional control, has beensignificantly blunted. The many humanistic practi-tioners who have explored the territory betweentherapy and various spiritualities, or the territoriesbetween humanistic and other therapies, arehardly represented in the Handbook. There is nopersonal writing. Although self-awareness andreflexivity are pointed up as core humanistic con-cepts and values, the Handbook is written in strictAPA (American Psychological Association) style.There is a curious paradox here. An approach tocounselling and psychotherapy that began its exis-tence as a philosophy, or even as an attitude to life,has become method and technique.

The Handbook of HumanisticPsychology: Leading Edges in Theory,Research and PracticeIf Cain and Seeman’s Humanistic Psychotherapiescan be regarded as focusing on a sober, evidence-based practice version of recent work in humanis-tic therapy, then the Handbook of HumanisticPsychology, edited by Schneider, Bugental andPierson, can be seen as presenting its creative,anarchic and radical spirit. In fact the book almoststruggles to contain within it a proliferation ofideas and perspectives. There are 49 chapters,which include much beyond therapy: women,ecology, peace, spirituality, technology, socialaction and the workplace. The book carries chap-ters by many of the major figures in humanisticpsychology: Bugental, Giorgi, Mahrer,Polkinghorne, Rowan, Szasz. There is a block ofseven chapters on research, concentrating mainlyon qualitative methodologies such as heuristicinquiry (Moustakas), phenomenology (Churchilland Wertz) and narrative research (Josselson andLieblich). This research section includes a superbchapter on single case research, by Robert Elliott.

The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology is aninvaluable resource, and a fascinating read foranyone who has been trained, or has been a client,within ‘mainstream’ humanistic therapies such asperson-centred and Gestalt. There is clearly animportant thread within contemporary humanisticpsychology, represented in this book by MaureenO’Hara, Will Wadlington and others, that hasmoved beyond a preoccupation with individualselves and their actualisation, toward a concern forwider social and cultural dimensions of existence.

Psychotherapy Relationships That Work:Therapist Contributions andResponsiveness to PatientsOne of the fundamental challenges that has facedall therapy practitioners and researchers over thelast decade has been the advancement, in North

America and Europe, of ‘evidence-based practice’policies (Rowland and Goss, 2000). Healthproviders in all advanced industrial states haveresponded to the growing demand for psycholog-ical therapy, and spiralling costs, by supportingonly those approaches to therapy that have beenempirically supported in large-scale controlledstudies. The Humanistic Psychotherapies collectionrepresents one response to this challenge: ‘We cansupply the kind of evidence you are looking for’.The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology repre-sents a rather different type of response: ‘We aremoving beyond this debate into new ways ofunderstanding what is “therapeutic”’.

The edited volume on PsychotherapyRelationships that Work represents a third way.This book, edited by the well-known integrativetheorist, John Norcross, brings together chaptersfrom writers drawn from a wide variety of schoolsof therapy. The common theme across all of theircontributions is that it is not the theoretical modelof therapy that makes a difference, in being asso-ciated with greater or lesser levels of effectiveness,but instead it is the quality of the therapeutic rela-tionship that is important. Among the many topicscovered in the book, there are chapters on human-istic concepts such as empathy, congruence, posi-tive regard and self-disclosure by leadinghumanistic researchers such as Art Bohart, RobertElliott, Les Greenberg, Barry Farber and Clara Hill.This is a research-based book, and every chapterprovides an authoritative review of the linksbetween a key relationship factor (such as empa-thy) and eventual therapy outcome. At the presenttime, this book offers the best single source ofinformation that is currently available on methodsand findings concerning research into the thera-peutic relationship.

ConclusionsThese three books provide strong evidence of thecontinuing strength of research and scholarship inhumanistic approaches to counselling and psy-chotherapy. They are big, expensive, hardback vol-umes, which provide a rich resource for anyoneinterested in recent trends in humanistic psy-chotherapy, and will be an essential purchase forthe library of any college or university running aprogramme in counselling and psychotherapy.

A strong theme running through these texts isthe degree to which methodological pluralism hasbeen embraced by humanistic researchers. Thereare examples of controlled trials, and open-endedexploratory qualitative studies, side-by-side andenjoying equal respect and status.

One of the curious omissions from these booksis that there is very little coverage of issues associ-ated with training in the humanistic therapies. InEurope, training in person-centred therapy (and

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other humanistic approaches, such as Gestalt) hastypically been highly experiential, and personallychallenging (Mearns, 1997), as was client-centredtherapy training in Chicago in the 1950s. Has thistradition been lost in North America, which hassupplied the majority of authors of chapters in thebooks discussed here?

It is noticeable that the same humanisticresearchers (such as Les Greenberg and RobertElliott) appear, or are cited, many times in thesebooks. At the present time, the progress beingmade in research into the humanistic therapies canbe viewed as reflecting the achievements of a rela-tively small group of humanistic researchers inNorth America. This situation may be changing.Over the last couple of years, an international net-work of practitioners and researchers, the WorldAssociation for Person-centred and ExperientialPsychotherapy and Counseling (www.pce-world.org) has been involved in planning a newresearch journal, which is published by PCCS books(www.pccs-books.co.uk) for the first time this year.This journal, Person-centred and ExperientialPsychotherapies is co-edited by Robert Elliott (USA),Dave Mearns (Scotland) and Peter Schmid (Austria),with the aim of promoting research into thehumanistic family of approaches to therapy.

The existence of the books discussed in thisreview should make it more possible for humanisticpractitioners effectively to argue their corner in sit-uations where decisions are being made aboutpolicy and funding. These are books which will alsoassist practitioners in reflecting on their work withclients, and offer researchers a solid platform fromwhich to extend research in further directions.

ReferencesCain DJ and Seeman J (eds) (2002) HumanisticPsychotherapies: Handbook of Research and Practice.Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Fischer CT, Eckenrod J, Embree M and Jarzynka JF (2001)Empirical phenomenological research in psychotherapy:Duquesne dissertations. In Frommer J and Rennie DL (eds)Qualitative Psychotherapy Research: Methods andMethodology. Lengerich: Pabst.

Greenberg LS, Watson J and Lietaer G (eds) (1998)Handbook of Experiential Psychotherapy. New York:Guilford Press.

McLeod J (2002) Research policy and practice in person-centred and experiential therapy: restoring coherence.Person-centred and Experiential Psychotherapies, 1: 87-101.

Mearns D (1997) Person-centred Counselling Training.London: Sage.

Norcross J (ed) (2002) Psychotherapy Relationships thatWork: Therapist Contributions and Responsiveness toPatients. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rowland N and Goss S (eds)(2000) Evidence-BasedCounselling and Psychological Therapies: Research andApplications. London: Routledge.

Schneider KJ, Bugental JFT and Pierson JF (eds) (2001) TheHandbook of Humanistic Psychology: Leading Edges inTheory, Research and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Toukmanian SG and Rennie DL (eds) (1992)Psychotherapy Process Research: Paradigmatic andNarrative Approaches. London: Sage.

© John McLeod, 2002

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