Congruence (psychotherapy)

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Congruence (from Latin congruens, "matching", "matching"), generally means agreement . In the field of psychotherapy, congruence describes the authentic communication between the therapist and his patient, in which the therapist is genuine in his self- communication , i.e. agrees with himself. Agreement relates to what the therapist feels and experiences, what he becomes aware of and what he communicates about it.

Historical

The term was coined by Carl Rogers as part of his client-centered psychotherapy . Here Rogers names the congruence as one of the necessary basic attitudes of the therapist in the relationship with his patient in order to be able to bring about a psychotherapeutic change in the self-concept of the patient.

Congruence as part of the therapeutic relationship

In psychotherapy , congruence , along with acceptance and empathy , is one of the key elements of a therapeutic relationship and means that the psychotherapist brings himself into the therapy as a real and transparent person and makes his own feelings about the therapeutic process visible. For this, the therapist must integrate his positive and negative characteristics into his self-image and at the same time be able to differentiate himself from the patient.

The therapist is aware of his own experience and he can separate it from what he perceives in the other person. He meets the other person as a person and does not hide behind a professional mask. This requires that he admit and accept his feelings, impulses and impressions, but not that he communicate them to the other person unfiltered in every case. He must be able to assess when it makes sense in the context of his task to convey his feelings and when not. Congruence also means that the framework conditions of the respective situation are clear and transparent for everyone involved.

The concept of client-centered psychotherapy and the relationship- oriented understanding of psychotherapy that goes back to it assumes that the therapeutic relationship itself triggers changes with the help of its three variables, congruence, acceptance and empathy. The therapist-client relationship is now also seen as an important factor in most other psychotherapy methods.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Marlis Pörtner: Take seriously - Confidence - Understand. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta Verlag.

literature

  • Christian Reimer, Jochen Eckert, Martin Hautzinger, Eberhard Wilke: Psychotherapy: A textbook for doctors and psychologists . 3. Edition. Springer, Berlin 2008, ISBN 3-540-29987-4 , pp. 832 (completely reworked and updated edition). Page 250ff Chapter 10.3.1 Contribution of the therapist
  • Virginia Satir: Communication. Self worth. Congruence: Concepts and perspectives of family therapy practice . 7th edition. Junfermann, 2004, ISBN 3-87387-018-5 .
  • Jobst Finke: Psychotherapy. Basics and specific applications . 3. Edition. Thieme, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-13-129603-8 .