Carl Rogers was the founder of Person Centered therapy and his theory was that we all have within ourselves vast resources for self-understanding and as such we are the best experts on ourselves.
One of the guiding principles of Person Centered therapy is that we have the capacity for self-healing and personal growth leading to ‘self actualisation.’

With behaviourism the emphasis is on observable behaviour. The theory is based on the premise that we are all born with a ‘blank state’ which suggests behaviour is learned from the environment. The two components of behaviorism is classical and operant conditioning from which we learn new behaviour.

Gestalt therapy helps clients focus and understand what is really happening in their lives right now. The approach encourages clients to experience past situations, through re-enactment rather than simply talking about them. Through this process, clients learn to become more aware of their own negative thought patterns and behaviours.

Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis was the original psychodynamic theory to explain the origins of behaviour.
Many theories originated based on Freud’s ideas leading to the psychodynamic approach. Some of the famous psychodynamic theories are those by Carl Jung and Alfred Adler.
The basic assumptions of the psychodynamic approach is that the unconscious mind and our childhood experiences play a significant part in our behaviours and feelings.

CBT was pioneered by Aaron Beck and is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings and behaviour all interact together. The cognitive approach believes that issues arise from faulty thinking about oneself, others and the world, leading to a negative impact on our feelings and behaviour. The focus therefore is to help clients become aware of the distorted thinking and for the client and therapist to work together to develop alternative ways of thinking and behaving.
REBT, developed by Albert Ellis, focuses on emotional and behavioural patterns.  The aim in REBT is to change irrational beliefs to more rational ones. The focus is for the client to identify their irrational belief (e.g. I must be perfect) and work together with the therapist to challenge the false beliefs through reality testing.

As the name suggests, SFT focuses on solutions rather than problems. The past is not discounted but the primary focus is on the here and now and the desired outcomes where attainable goals are set.

TA was developed by Eric Berne and is designed to improve communication and relationships. It is an effective approach in understanding and exploring an individual’s personality and helping clients to develop tools for finding constructive solutions. The primary aim is to promote personal growth and change.