Carl Rogers

4 Commentsby   |  05.02.11  |  The Schools of Psychology (Part IV)

If i had to pick my favorite class day of the year or at least the most interesting, I would probably pick today. I was first intrigued when one of my favorite movies, “Good Will Hunting” was  the opening for today’s class. I absolutely love this movie, and even chose to critique it for my movie critique essay. It was interesting to get someone else’s perspective on the movie, and to see how it differed from mine. I myself saw Sean’s methods as a form of Rogerian therapy, but could not quite put my finger on the other therapy he seemed to be drawing from until today. It was interesting to hear about how the math professor wanted to project his life upon Will, but was afraid that Sean was trying to project his failures onto Will. The math professor almost saw it as a slap to the face that Will would throw away his genius intelligence in order to be a construction worker with his friends. Sean on the other hand identifies with Will more and understands that if you push him to do what you want him to do, then he is just going to run away. It was also cool to see how Sean used Rogerian therapy, especially his genuineness. He real talked Will during their first session. Instead of holding back the way he felt, Sean actually at one point grabbed Will by the neck and let him know I am going to be completely open and honest to you, and you do the same. I like how the movie employs this Rogerian therapy, but I also understand that the therapy is really just beginning when Will is told “it’s not his fault”.

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4 Comments

  1. Candice Watson
    10:15 pm, 05.02.11

    Love this movie and this scene in particular as well. It almost makes me uncomfortable every time Robin Williams starts saying “it’s not your fault.” I think that we probably all have a deep longing to have someone look us in the eye and tell us something so striking and never stop until we truly get it. It is a unique opportunity for a therapist to have such an open communication with a client, to communicate such profound ideas and to have them received. Whether it is the beginning, middle, or end of treatment, I believe it is a blessing to have such moments as these.

  2. John Day IV
    10:18 pm, 05.02.11

    That movie clip was excellent at expressing what Rogerian psychology might look like. I had wondered what would be used in a session involving humanistic concepts and it totally answered my question. Obviously the depictions of the therapy were dramatized but I do not think I could handle a day filled with sessions like that, not to mention trying not to carry those emotions over to the next client.

  3. Garrett Beach
    10:48 pm, 05.02.11

    I had never seen the movie, but really enjoyed seeing a more contemporary example of Rogerian psychology in the media. Excellent example.

  4. Lacy Hanson
    1:42 pm, 05.03.11

    I’m going to be honest and say that I have never seen this movie before, but I have seen clips like the one in class. And I honestly believe that Rogers’ theory about client centered therapy definitely works in cases like Will’s from what I have seen Without that trust between the patient and the therapist, people are reluctant to open up about their pasts or even things they’re going through right now. I really enjoyed how Robin Williams portrayed Will’s therapist as someone he could relate to and be on the same level with.

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