Definition
Congruence
Congruence is the term used to describe a condition in therapy when a therapist “is what he is” in the psychotherapeutic relationship (Rogers 1961, p. 61). That is, in the relationship with the client, a therapist “is genuine and without ‘front’ or façade, openly being the feelings and attitudes which at that moment are flowing in him” – “a unified, or integrated, or congruent person” (p. 61). Congruence occurs for the therapist when there is an “accurate matching of experience with awareness” (p. 282) – the therapist is at one with the feelings they are experiencing and able to communicate these genuinely to the client if appropriate.
Congruence, as it exists for the client, is a state of internal consistency arising from an individual “revising his concept of self to bring it into congruence with his experience” – “reorganizing the concept he hold...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Proctor, C. (2017). Conditions of worth. In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences. New York: Springer.
Rogers, C. R. (1959). A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships as developed in the client-centered framework. In S. Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A study of a science, Formulations of the person and the social context (Vol. 3, pp. 184–256). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person: A therapist’s view of psychotherapy. London: Constable.
Rogers, C. R. (1980). A way of being. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Worth, P., Proctor, C. (2020). Congruence/Incongruence (Rogers). In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1460
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1460
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24610-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24612-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences