What term describes the role the therapist takes in person-centered therapy?

• A. Facilitator
• B. Nondirective Counseling
• C. Personal Power
• D. Congruence

Answer: (A)

In person-centered therapy, the therapist’s role is to support the client’s own process of self-discovery by creating a warm, accepting, and nonjudgmental environment. Describing this role as a facilitator fits best because the therapist steps back from directing the client and rather enables growth through active, empathetic listening and reflection. The client remains the driver of change, with the therapist providing the conditions that make change possible.

This aligns with the core stance of the approach: the therapist guides and supports rather than controls or interprets. While nondirective counseling captures the general idea of not steering the client, describing the therapist as a facilitator emphasizes the practical, ongoing work of fostering exploration and self-understanding in the session. The other terms don’t fit as well: personal power isn’t a standard label for the therapist’s function in this approach, and congruence refers to the therapist’s genuineness, not the overall role they occupy in guiding the process.