Date of Award

2-6-1992

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling Psychology & Community Services

First Advisor

Eldon Gade

Abstract

Carl R. Rogers' Person-Centered philosophy and Martin Buber's Dialogical philosophy are often compared with one another. Some scholars conclude that they are merely variations on a theme, while others conclude that they represent two entirely separate world-views. With the advent of Dialogical counseling this debate is brought into the discipline of counseling. The purpose of this study is to continue this debate in the discipline of mental health counseling.The current study is an interpretive inquiry into the similarities and differences of Person-Centered and Dialogical counseling. Utilizing the written works of Buber and Rogers, the written work of counselors who identify themselves with each school of thought and personal contact with scholars a comparison was made between the two counseling modalities, focusing on three questions. (1) In what ways are Person-Centered and Dialogical counseling similar to one another, and in what ways do they differ? (2) Given these similarities and differences, do Dialogical and Person-Centered counseling represent two separate counseling modalities? (3) May a synthesis be formed between the Person-Centered and Dialogical models of counseling which does not "blur the contributions of both theoretical systems", or are they so fundamentally different in philosophy and praxis that such a synthesis would prove unworkable?The study reached four primary conclusions. (1) There exist major philosophical and theoretical differences between the modalities. (2) Dialogical and Person-Centered counseling do in fact represent two entirely separate counseling modalities. (3) A synthesis which does not blur the contributions of both theoretical systems is not possible. (4) The models may be used complimentarily in counselor training.

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