The Quiet Power of Person-Centred Counselling
Starting therapy can feel mysterious and daunting. You sit in a room with someone you barely know and start talking about your life, your pain, your hopes and dreams. You start to build a relationship with your therapist, and somewhere in that strange, brave process, something begins to shift.
But how? What is it that actually helps?
If you're exploring therapy options, you’ve probably come across person-centred counselling. It’s often described in phrases like “unconditional positive regard,” “empathy,” and “congruence.” While these terms are important, they can sound abstract or clinical—like something from a counselling textbook. So let’s talk about what person-centred counselling actually feels like, and why it might matter more than you think.
It’s Not About Fixing You
Unlike some other forms of therapy that focus on diagnoses, techniques, or restructuring your thoughts, person-centred counselling begins with a radical assumption: you are not broken.
This approach trusts that, at your core, you already have the capacity for growth, healing, and self-understanding. It’s not the therapist’s job to "fix" you — it’s their job to create the kind of space where you can hear your own voice more clearly.
What Does That Space Feel Like?
Imagine talking to someone who doesn’t interrupt, analyse, or steer you. Someone who isn't waiting to offer advice or pull out a tool from a psychological toolkit — but who is genuinely present with you, right where you are.
It’s less like being examined under a microscope and more like sitting beside someone on a bench, looking together at the same horizon.
The Relationship Is the Therapy
Carl Rogers, the founder of person-centred therapy, believed that three core conditions—empathy, congruence (genuineness), and unconditional positive regard—are the therapy.
When you're met with these qualities:
You begin to feel understood.
You feel permission to be genuine.
You slowly stop judging yourself.
That kind of relationship doesn’t just help you cope — it can help you grow. Rogers said, “The Curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” - On Becoming A Person
Who Is It For?
This approach is for anyone who wants to feel more connected to themselves, especially those who’ve been made to feel “other.”
In my own work, I’ve seen how powerful this method is for people from all backgrounds. Being listened to, completely, is powerful for anyone. I find it to be especially helpful for neurodivergent clients and those healing from trauma—people who often carry the weight of having to hide or explain who they are or what they experience.
You Lead the Way
Person-centred counselling is gentle but powerful. You decide what we talk about and when. I simply hold the space with warmth and care, trusting your pace and your process.
Because therapy isn't about being changed—it's about being met.
Final Thoughts
This approach may not be flashy. But in its quiet, steady way, person-centred counselling can help you come home to yourself.
To be heard.
To be accepted.
To realise—sometimes for the first time—that you are enough.
Interested in working together?
I offer a free 20-minute phone consultation so we can see if it feels like a good fit. Get in touch here or email me at annetteproctorcounselling@gmail.com
