About the Group
Making Sense of Rogers’ 19 Propositions: Linking Theory to Practice
From Complex Ideas to Everyday Counselling Work
Carl Rogers’ 19 Propositions are central to person-centred theory, yet many practitioners and students find them abstract, dense, or difficult to connect to everyday therapeutic work. This workshop is designed to bring the propositions to life, making them easier to understand and directly relevant to both personal growth and client work.
Through clear explanations, practical examples, and reflective exercises, participants will explore how the 19 Propositions can deepen self-awareness, guide practice, and enrich the therapeutic relationship.
What You’ll Learn:
An accessible breakdown of each proposition and its meaning
How the propositions relate to personal development and self-awareness
Practical ways to link the theory to counselling practice and client work
Opportunities to reflect on your own experiences in light of Rogers’ ideas
Tools to bring person-centred theory alive in everyday therapeutic encounters
Who Is This Workshop For?
Counselling students, trainees, and practitioners who want to deepen their understanding of person-centred theory and strengthen the link between Rogers’ philosophy and practical therapeutic work.
Why Attend?
Demystify Rogers’ 19 Propositions with clear, practical explanations
Strengthen your confidence in applying theory to practice
Enrich both your self-reflection and client work
Engage in experiential learning within a supportive group environment
Carl Rogers’ 19 Propositions: An Overview
Carl Rogers developed the 19 Propositions (1951) as the foundation of his theory of personality and behaviour. Together, they describe how people experience the world, develop a sense of self, and grow through relationships that offer empathy, acceptance, and genuineness.
Experience and Reality
We live in a constantly changing world of experience (our phenomenal field).
Each person’s experience is unique and only they can truly know it.
We react to life as we experience it — not necessarily as it really is.
How we perceive reality influences our behaviour more than the actual facts.
The Self and the Need for Regard
A person’s sense of self develops from interaction with the environment and others.
The self is an organised pattern, but it is fluid and can change.
Our behaviour aims to satisfy needs as experienced and perceived, including the need for positive regard (acceptance and love).
Experiences that match our self-concept are seen clearly; those that don’t may be distorted or denied.
Growth, Congruence, and Incongruence
When experiences are denied or distorted, incongruence develops between the self and lived experience.
Incongruence leads to tension, defensiveness, and difficulty in functioning.
Psychological adjustment happens when the self-concept is flexible and open to experience.
Maladjustment occurs when the self-concept is rigid and resistant to new experiences.
Learning and Change
Any experience that is accepted into awareness can be assimilated and organised by the self.
When experiences are threatening, they may be distorted or kept out of awareness to protect the self.
Growth occurs when people are free from threat and open to their whole experience.
When given unconditional positive regard, people can reduce defensiveness and open themselves to new ways of being.
The Fully Functioning Person
The good life is a process, not a fixed state — it is a continual movement towards openness, trust in oneself, and congruence.
Behaviour is goal-directed and purposeful, guided by how we see ourselves in relation to our environment.
Under conditions of acceptance, empathy, and genuineness, people naturally move toward growth, fulfilment, and self-actualisation.
✨ In practice: Rogers’ 19 Propositions remind us that therapy is not about “fixing” clients but about creating a relationship where people feel safe enough to explore, accept, and grow into who they truly are.
Carl Rogers
Your Group Facilitators
Dr Joanna Naxton
