The Persona DIP20s

DIP 20 – Module 2: Personality Theory, Psychological Wellbeing and Psychopathology       
Assessments
Clinical Competence: Audio Recordings can be brought to Supervision Group on 

• Sat 22nd February,
• Sat 22nd March or 
• Sat 10th May

Assignment 2 Personality Theory: The process of Individual Development and Change. 

• Submission date: Mon 19th May
• Feedback date: Fri 20th June

Residential week

• Mon 20th - Fri 24th January

Study Days

• Sat 22nd February
• Sat 22nd March
• Sat 26th April
• Sat 10th May
• Sat 24th May

Reflection & review

• Sat 21st - Sun 22nd June

Key texts from study day 6 (22 Feb) - available on Persona dropbox

Medical model
Elliott, R. (2013) Person Centered / Experiential Psychotherapy for Anxiety Difficulties: Theory Research and Practice [Scanned in from 'Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies Volume 12, 2013 - Issue 1']
Jackson, C. (2018) Nature and Nurture [Therapy Today, December 2018 Volume 29 Issue 10]
Styron, W. (1990) Darkness Visible an essay on the experience of depression [Vanity Fair December 1989]
Wolpert, L. (2001) Stigma of depression – a personal view [British Medical Bulletin 2001; 57: 221–224 (The British Council, 2001)]

Key texts from residential week 2 (20-24 Jan) - available on Persona dropbox

19 Propositions
Freeth, R. (2007) A theory of personality and behaviour (Chapter 2) [The criticisms (p12-13) might be particularly useful - scanned in from Freeth's book]
Mearns, D. (1995) Rogers Nineteen Propositions Represented [An excellent, brief synopsis of each of the 19 propositions]
Mearns, D. (2002) Further Theoretical Propositions in Regard to Self Theory within Person-centered Therapy [Mearns suggests 9 extra propositions in addition to Rogers' 19]
Merry, T. (1999) Ch2: "Human Nature, Actualisation and the Development of the Individual" ["Proposition 4 - actualising tendency. Scanned in from 'Learning and Being in Person-Centred Counselling'"]
Rogers, C. R. (1951) Theory of Personality and Behaviour, Client-Centered Therapy [The place where 19 propositions all started - a must-read!]

Medical Model
Boyle, M. (2007) The Problem with Diagnosis. The Psychologist [Therapy Today article]
BPS (2020) A short guide to what every psychological therapist should know about working with psychiatric drugs [© Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry October 2020]
Warner, M. S. (2000) Person-Centred Therapy at the Difficult Edge ["Fragile process" and ''Dissociated' process"]
Wilkins, P. (2005)  Chapter 4: Person-Centred theory and 'mental illness' [From 'Joseph, S. Worsley, R. Eds (2005) Person-Centred Psychopathology: A Positive Psychology of Mental Health. PCCS Books']

Other / not sure where they fit
Lambers, E. (2000) Supervision in person-centred therapy: facilitating congruence [This is an interesting article about supervision with some good personal examples]
Mearns, D. (1999) Person-Centred Therapy with Configurations of Self - Counselling [Scanned in from magazine 'Counselling' from 1999]

Persona recommended texts: Key texts highlighted in bold

Barrett-Lennard, G. (1998). Carl Rogers' Helping System: Journey and Substance. London: Sage.
Beresford, P (2010) A Straight-Talking Introduction to Being a Mental Health Service User. PCCS Books
Cooper, M. (2003). Between freedom and despair: existential challenges and contributions to person-centered and experiential therapy. Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, 2, 43-56.
Freeth, R. (2007) Humanising Psychiatry and Mental Health Care: Radcliffe Publishing
Johnstone, L. (2014) A Straight-Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Diagnosis. PCCS Books
Joseph, J & Worsely, R. (2005) Person-Centred Psychopathology – a positive Psychology of Mental Health Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books
Lambers, E. (2003). The person-centred perspective on psychopathology: In D. Mearns, Developing Person-Centred Counselling (2nd ed) (pp 103-119). London: Sage.
Mearns, D. (1997). Person-Centred Counselling Training. London: Sage (particularly chapter 9).
Mearns, D. (1999). Person-centred therapy with Configurations of Self. Counselling 10, 125-130.
Mearns, D. & Thorne, B. (2000) Person-Centred Therapy Today: New Frontiers in Theory and Practice. London: Sage. (Particularly Chapters 6, 7 and 9).
Mearns, D. (2002). Further theoretical propositions in regard to self-theory within person-centered therapy. Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, 1, 14-27.
Merry, T. (2002). Learning and Being in Person-Centred Counselling. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books.
Newnes, Holmes and Dunn. eds (1999) This is Madness: A Critical look at Psychiatry and the Future of Mental Health Services Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books
Newnes, Holmes and Dunn. Eds (2001) This is Madness Too: Critical Perspectives on Mental Health Services Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books.
Read, J. Sanders, P (2010) Straight-Talking Introduction to the Causes of Mental Health Problems. PCCS Books
Rogers, C. (1951). Client-Centered Therapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (particularly pp 481-533).
Rowan, J. & Cooper, M. (Eds.) (1999). The Plural Self. London: Sage.
Thorne, B., & Sanders, P. (2013) Carl Rogers. London: Sage.
Tudor, L. E. (et al) (2004) The Person-Centred Approach: A Contemporary Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan
Van Werde, D. (2003) Dealing with the possibility of psychotic content in seemingly congruent communication. In D. Mearns, Developing Person-Centred Counselling (pp 125-128). London: Sage

Here is the digital version of the Persona Course Handbook for 2024-2026 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yZ0NrnGBuD_jrp2p-vWONvwhHsmzNmcY/view?usp=sharing.

It's only a link, as the file is too big (1.2 MB) to be added to this discussion.

You are expected to reference a range of recommended texts which include classical and contemporary texts. Classical texts refer to Rogers, either Client Centred Therapy, Rogers (1951) or The Carl Rogers Reader Kirschenbaum and Henderson (1990).

Contemporary texts refer to authors such as:

• Dave Mearns and Brian Thorne
• Mick Cooper
• Margaret Warner
• Tony Merry
• Pete Sanders
• Paul Wilkins
• Rachel Freeth.

Recommended key texts are noted in the Course Handbook, (included below for ease of access). You will find some of these texts in the Staff and Students area of the Persona website Module 2 (see below).

Note: We expect students to refer to a minimum of six texts from the recommended texts and papers.

Research and writing: Remember you do not have to read texts from cover to cover; you can dip in and out and source the sections that are particularly relevant to this assignment. You are also encouraged to illustrate your thinking and build your argument by referencing articles, e.g. Therapy Today and the Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Journal published by BACP (available on BACP website). You also have access to EBSCO via the BACP website which will give you access to a range of different journals.

This element of the assignment invites you to focus on your own development and demonstrate how person-centred concepts regarding individual development:

• provide you with insight into your own development or, conversely, 
• fail to provide you with a satisfactorily model for understanding aspects of your own development. 

It also invites you to consider how person-centred theories regarding individual development and emotional, psychological disturbance can inform and support your work with clients, and/or with 'clients' in the practice sessions. 

It is helpful to provide examples from your practice, for example: 

• the self-concept, 
• self-regard, 
• conditions of worth, 
• external locus of evaluation, 
• configurations of self, 
• fragile process.

You are invited to show your understanding of original and contemporary person-centred theories of human development/personality through an examination of key concepts such as: 

• Rogers's Personality Theory, 
• Mearns' Configuration Theory, 
• Cooper's Self-pluralism, 
• Warner's Process Sensitive Model, and 
• consider the value of these concepts in understanding psychological and emotional disturbance. 

You are also invited to consider the differences between these approaches and the Medical Model in their understanding of psychological and emotional disturbance and clinical work with individuals who are disturbed.

You are invited to show your understanding of the key concepts of Rogers' Personality Theory and demonstrate your understanding of the philosophical and psychological assumptions underlying the theory, outlining the key concepts and providing comment on strengths and limitations. Your exploration should include commentary on:

• the actualising tendency,
• self-actualisation,
• the self-concept,
• the need for positive regard and positive self-regard,
• conditions of worth,
• denial and distortion and
• the locus of evaluation.

The concept of the fully functioning person also merits some discussion.

Note: You do not have to comment on each separate proposition, although you can, if that works for you; the propositions can be grouped together, as presented in Kirschenbaum, H. Henderson. V.L. (1990) The Carl Rogers Reader: A Theory of Personality (pages 244-249)