Carl Ransom Rogers
Maureena Robertson '00
Family Information
Carl Ransom Rogers was born on January 8th in 1902. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois and
was the fourth child of
six. His father was a successful civil engineer and his mother was a housewife and devout
Christian. Being raised in
a strict religious environment, Rogers learned the value of hard work through his portion
of the household chores.
These chores also taught him to share responsibility. He became very independent, isolated
and self-disciplined.
After a lifetime of amazing contributions to psychology, Carl Ransom Rogers died of a
heart attack on February 4th
1987 in San Diego, California.
Education
Rogers began his education in second grade because he was able to read before
kindergarten. He went to the
University of Wisconsin with the hopes of studying agriculture but switched to religion to
study for the ministry.
Rogers received his BA in 1924. After graduation, he married Helen Elliot and then moved
to New York to attend
the Union Theological Seminary, which was known as a liberal religious institution. During
this time Rogers acted
as the pastor of a small church in Vermont as part of his studies. He also became deeply
involved in clinical work
with disturbed children at the Rochester Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
children. It was this work that
shifted his interests to clinical work. Rogers entered the clinical psychology program at
Columbia University and
received his MA in 1928. Rogers continued his education towards a Ph.D. and did his
clinical work at the
Rochester Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. It was during this time that
Rogers was introduced to
Otto Rank’s theory and therapy techniques and inspired Rogers to develop his own.
Teaching Career
In 1940 Rogers became a professor of psychology at Ohio State University and stayed there
for five years. In 1942
he wrote his first book, Counseling and Psychotherapy. In 1945 Rogers moved on and became
the executive
secretary of the counseling center at the University of Chicago as well as continuing his
career as professor of
psychology. In 1951 he published his major work, Client-Centered Therapy, in which he
outlines his theory. Rogers
remained at the University of Chicago until 1957. Rogers then went back to his alma mater,
University of
Wisconsin, with a joint position in the psychology and psychiatry departments. These
departments were in a time of
conflict when Rogers arrived which lead to Rogers disenchantment with higher education.
Rogers began a new
phase of his career by entering into a position of research in La Jolla, California. In
California he provided therapy,
gave speeches and wrote.
Who was Carl Rogers?
Carl Rogers was the father of client-centered therapy. He revolutionized
the course of therapy that existed and developed his own approach referred to as
psychotherapy. Rogers’ theory of personality development was developed out of his
frustration with authoritative therapists that imposed analysis. Rogers felt that the
patients should be allowed to discover the solution to their problems themselves and
should take responsibility for them. His therapy revolved around his view that the patient
knows what hurts, what direction they want to go in, what problems are crucial and which
memories and experienced have been buried. Rogers believed that each client has within
themselves a wealth of resources for self-understanding, for altering one’s own
self-concept, attitudes and self-directed behavior. He believed that a therapist must help
to tap those resources in order to provide helpful therapy. This approach to therapy
allows the patient to learn about him/herself and make their own choices that are
significant to them understanding the problem.
Rogers was the first psychologist to systematically analyze therapy sessions. He began by
recording the sessions. Rogers would then analyze the transcripts from the sessions and
examined factors related to the outcome of therapy. Rogers was also the pioneer for
encounter groups. Rogers focused on self-actualization, self-discovery and personal
growth. He spent his life doing research and wrote 16 books as well as over 200 articles.
His work has touched areas ranging from psychotherapy to counseling to education to
conflict resolution and peace.
During the last decade of his life, Rogers devoted his time applying his theories to areas
of conflict throughout the nation. Rogers traveled to Belfast, Ireland and brought
together the Protestants and the Catholics. He then traveled to South Africa where he
assisted with trying to establish peace between the black and white inhabitants. In the
Unites States Rogers brought together consumers and providers in the health field. In
November of 1985, Rogers and some of his colleagues created their Peace Project. This
conference took place in Rust, Austria and brought together high-ranking diplomats from
seventeen Central and South American countries to discuss "The Central American
Challenge". Rogers took his last trip at the age of 85. He traveled to the Soviet
Union where he lectured and led workshops fostering communication and creativity. The day
he died, February 4th 1987, Carl Ransom Rogers was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for
his work in Ireland, South Africa and Central America.
Awards
1955- Nicholas Murray Butler Silver Medal from Columbia University
1956- Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award for research in psychotherapy from the
American
Psychological Association
1964- selected as humanist of the year, American Humanist Association
1972- distinguished professional psychologist award, Division of Psychotherapy
Positions Held
1944- President of the American Association for Applied Psychology
1946- President of the American Psychological Association
1956- First President of the American Academy of Psychotherapist
1960- member of executive committee, University of Wisconsin
1962- Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences
All information in this paper was taken from the following web pages.
Boeree, G. (1998). Carl Rogers: 1902-1987 [online]. Available:
http://www.ship.edu/`cgboeree/rogers.html. (April 24, 2000).
Dushkin/McGraw-Hill Companies (2000). Biography: Carl Rogers [online].
Available: http://www.dushkin.com/connectext/psy/ch11/bio11d.mhtml. (April
24, 2000).
Gale Group. (February 16, 1987). Died. Carl Ransom Rogers. (obituary)
[online]. Available:
http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/27/270/61159290w3/purl=rc1_EAIM_0_A4664607&dyn=39!xrn_7_0_A4664607?sw_aep=sbc_main.
(April 12, 2000).
Hall, Kathy. (no date given). Carl Rogers: 1902-1987 [online]. Available:
http://muskingum.edu/%7Epsychology/psycweb/history/rogers.htm#Time Line.
(April 24, 2000).
Smith, M. (July 14, 1999). Carl Rogers [online]. Available:
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rogers.htm. (April 24, 2000).
Sonoma University. (no date given). Carl Rogers: Where No Psychologist Went
Before [online]. Available: http://psy1.clarion.edu/jms/Rogers.html. (April
24, 2000).
No author given. (August 10, 1998). Carl Rogers (1902-1987) [online].
Available: http://home.earthlink.net/-chalquist/rogers.html. (April 24,
2000).
No author given. (April 2, 1999). Carl Rogers: Where No Psychologist Went
Before [online]. Available: http://oprf.com/Rogers/. (April 24, 2000)
No author given. (no date given). Carl Rogers [online]. Available:
http://nrogers.com/carlrogers.html. (April 24, 2000).
