When we go on a trip we take certain things with us, including: provisions, passports, preoccupations and prejudices. When we travel as person-centered therapists and facilitators we also bring our own ‘baggage’ which includes certain views and assumptions, for instance, about the human organism and the impact of his or her environment, and the nature of change and therapy. This article considers these in terms of the foundations of person-centered therapy, and what constitute the fundamentals of this approach to therapy as well as the wider applications of the person-centered approach. In the context of our multi-cultural and multi-faith societies – and world - it discusses how we may integrate new understandings in ways which are consistent with our fundamental principles and values, including openness to experience, and which avoid fundamentalism.
The tPeP (Journal Person-centered experiential Psychotherapy) is the scientific journal for Dutch and Flemish psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, that work from, or are interested in a client-centered perspective.