Although REBT rejects some of the basic tenants of his “person centered” approach and his proposition that “getting in touch with feelings” is itself therapeutic, Carl Rogers remains one of the most important and  influential psychologists of the 20th Century, one of the founders of humanistic psychology, popularizer of “unconditional positive regard” employed by virtually all psychologists today, and grandfather of the “touchy-feely movement.”

I doubt that there is any practicing therapist today who has not been deeply

influenced by the work of Carl Rogers and who has not–consciously or unconsciously–incorporated some of Roger’s principles and approaches into their therapy.  Most notably, Rogers introduced the idea that a therapist has “unconditional positive regard” for their client, an idea that is so taken for granted today that it seems odd to realize that there was time when it was not in place. Dr. Ellis accepted this “attitude” as a given, but took it further with his idea of Unconditional Self Acceptance (USA), Unconditional Life Acceptance (ULA) and Unconditional Other Acceptance (UOA). In other respects, of course, Dr. Ellis took a major departure form Roger’s person-centered approach.

Carl Rogers was an American psychologist Known for his influential psychotherapy method known as client-centered therapy. Rogers was one of the founding figures of humanistic psychology and widely regarded as one of the most eminent thinkers in psychology. In one survey of professional psychologists, Rogers was ranked as the sixth most eminent psychologist of the 20th-century.