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Person to Person: The Problem of Being Human
Explores the origins, techniques, and applications of client-centered psychotherapy based on direct knowledge of and interaction with individual schizophrenics
286 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
19 people are currently reading
1453 people want to read
About the author
Carl R. Rogers
89 books1,320 followers"Experience is, for me, the highest authority. The touchstone of validity is my own experience. No other person's ideas, and none of my own ideas, are as authoritative as my experience. It is to experience that I must return again and again, to discover a closer approximation to truth as it is in the process of becoming in me." -Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person
DEVELOPED THEORIES - THERAPIES
Person-Centered; Humanistic; Client-Centered; Student-Centered
TIMELINE
1902 - Carl Rogers was born in Oak Park, Illinois.
1919 - Enrolled at University of Wisconsin.
1924 - Graduated from University of Wisconsin and enrolled at Union Theological Seminary.
1926 - Transferred to Columbia.
1931- Earned Ph.D. from Columbia.
1940 - Began teaching at University of Ohio.
1946 - Elected president of American Psychological Association (APA).
1951 - Published Client-centered Therapy.
1961 - Published On Becoming A Person.
DEVELOPED THEORIES - THERAPIES
Person-Centered; Humanistic; Client-Centered; Student-Centered
TIMELINE
1902 - Carl Rogers was born in Oak Park, Illinois.
1919 - Enrolled at University of Wisconsin.
1924 - Graduated from University of Wisconsin and enrolled at Union Theological Seminary.
1926 - Transferred to Columbia.
1931- Earned Ph.D. from Columbia.
1940 - Began teaching at University of Ohio.
1946 - Elected president of American Psychological Association (APA).
1951 - Published Client-centered Therapy.
1961 - Published On Becoming A Person.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 14, 2025
MIND WEEDS. We've all got 'em.
You know - those pesky inner foibles, follies and failings that distance us from people we respect, and drive us into a blue funk.
We may be labelled as ‘different’ by our seemingly ‘knowing’ friends...
But Relax, says the immortal therapist Carl Rogers. You're well on your way to becoming more fully human - a rare commodity indeed, these days.
Congratulations.
They say there are literally millions of kinds of animals, birds, and reptiles in the world. Who says there aren’t millions of kinds of HUMANS too, here on earth? If you have eyes to see, you will SEE that...
Just tell that to the BULLIES, though!
They haven’t even STARTED yet!
Well done.... because you’re leaving them behind in the DUST.
Because the Trolls work around, and not WITH, their Mind Weeds, using pat, with-it formulas.
They’re OUT of it!
Out of the old Darwinian upward path of evolution.
They won’t make next grade.
***
The term "mind weeds" originated with a wonderful San Francisco Zen master named Shunryu Suzuki in the seventies.
He said Japanese gardeners bury weeds in infertile soil so that later, their gardens will grow luxuriantly.
Your garden will flourish too, said Suzuki, if you grow on top of your buried mind weeds by just sitting with them patiently.
We readers sit with our mind weeds by READING, and not AVOIDING contentious books. We get to many of the ROOTS of our mind-weed discomfort through our stories. We glean insights from them that would sink many a seaworthy dreadnought - and we REFUSE TO GIVE UP OUR BOOKS!
Carl Rogers did more than just sit patiently with his therapy patients’ mind weeds.
He honestly CARED about those weeds, because they evolved his patients into REAL, good, Human Beings. He cherished their differences, and positively ENCOURAGED their individual growth. Just like a good book does.
He provided the extra water and sunlight the garden of their spirit NEEDED to grow. Just like our go-to Novels do for Us.
Our minds being full of buried mind weeds, we already have the nutrients!
Our differences and our mind weeds CAN MAKE A HUGELY POSITIVE DIFFERENCE TO THE WORLD!
Witness young tempest-tossed Barry, the patient that collaborated with Rogers on this book: her compelling story alternates with Dr. Rogers'.
Unfairly labelled as a kid - a “hopeless misfit” - she gradually and determinedly become the kind of person we’d ALL like to be.
Not PERFECT...
But COMPLETE.
Barry stands up for her values.
She has a vital strength that makes her STAND UP AND ROAR LIKE A LION when times get tough!
And you know what else? She does things in HER OWN quirky but positive way.
Oh, the ill effects of years and years of straitjacketed correction and schooling! Just MELTED AWAY by her intensive humanistic therapy...
She knows now the only important way to live your life is by BEING YOURSELF.
Which is exactly what our reading teaches us.
So go ahead - make a difference with your bookish differences - those pesky distinctive mind weeds that make you HUMAN.
Read, assimilate , and GET YOURSELF ENRICHED!
And GROW.
You know - those pesky inner foibles, follies and failings that distance us from people we respect, and drive us into a blue funk.
We may be labelled as ‘different’ by our seemingly ‘knowing’ friends...
But Relax, says the immortal therapist Carl Rogers. You're well on your way to becoming more fully human - a rare commodity indeed, these days.
Congratulations.
They say there are literally millions of kinds of animals, birds, and reptiles in the world. Who says there aren’t millions of kinds of HUMANS too, here on earth? If you have eyes to see, you will SEE that...
Just tell that to the BULLIES, though!
They haven’t even STARTED yet!
Well done.... because you’re leaving them behind in the DUST.
Because the Trolls work around, and not WITH, their Mind Weeds, using pat, with-it formulas.
They’re OUT of it!
Out of the old Darwinian upward path of evolution.
They won’t make next grade.
***
The term "mind weeds" originated with a wonderful San Francisco Zen master named Shunryu Suzuki in the seventies.
He said Japanese gardeners bury weeds in infertile soil so that later, their gardens will grow luxuriantly.
Your garden will flourish too, said Suzuki, if you grow on top of your buried mind weeds by just sitting with them patiently.
We readers sit with our mind weeds by READING, and not AVOIDING contentious books. We get to many of the ROOTS of our mind-weed discomfort through our stories. We glean insights from them that would sink many a seaworthy dreadnought - and we REFUSE TO GIVE UP OUR BOOKS!
Carl Rogers did more than just sit patiently with his therapy patients’ mind weeds.
He honestly CARED about those weeds, because they evolved his patients into REAL, good, Human Beings. He cherished their differences, and positively ENCOURAGED their individual growth. Just like a good book does.
He provided the extra water and sunlight the garden of their spirit NEEDED to grow. Just like our go-to Novels do for Us.
Our minds being full of buried mind weeds, we already have the nutrients!
Our differences and our mind weeds CAN MAKE A HUGELY POSITIVE DIFFERENCE TO THE WORLD!
Witness young tempest-tossed Barry, the patient that collaborated with Rogers on this book: her compelling story alternates with Dr. Rogers'.
Unfairly labelled as a kid - a “hopeless misfit” - she gradually and determinedly become the kind of person we’d ALL like to be.
Not PERFECT...
But COMPLETE.
Barry stands up for her values.
She has a vital strength that makes her STAND UP AND ROAR LIKE A LION when times get tough!
And you know what else? She does things in HER OWN quirky but positive way.
Oh, the ill effects of years and years of straitjacketed correction and schooling! Just MELTED AWAY by her intensive humanistic therapy...
She knows now the only important way to live your life is by BEING YOURSELF.
Which is exactly what our reading teaches us.
So go ahead - make a difference with your bookish differences - those pesky distinctive mind weeds that make you HUMAN.
Read, assimilate , and GET YOURSELF ENRICHED!
And GROW.
May 10, 2010
If this is the book I think it is, it is actually a dialogue between a youngish Barry Stevens and person-centered therapist Carl Rogers, in which she writes one chapter (asking questions and ruminating on being human) and Carl Rogers responds personally and professionally in the next, etc.
A wonderful, very readable book--not a typical "self help" book, but wise, funny, and above all, willing to talk about the many problems of being a human being. WONDERFUL
A wonderful, very readable book--not a typical "self help" book, but wise, funny, and above all, willing to talk about the many problems of being a human being. WONDERFUL
December 1, 2007
Im not far but already in love with this book. How we relate to each other and grow as inividuals. Clinical+Personal=Human.
Want to read
January 22, 2021Read a review of this here, and it made me think of the emotionally mature school bully sketch from Key & Peele. So now I want to read it.
August 11, 2021
A bit clunky in parts, but very strong on the message of listening to your inner self, ignoring the introjected values of others, and self growth through being abnormal i.e. conforming to societal expectations never produced significant achievements.
June 25, 2021
This is a fantastic read! Carl Roger’s Humanism is truly how we should interact with other humans and Barry Steven’s interludes are filled with deep wisdom and wonderfully memorable anecdotes. While Rogers’ essays can be dry at times, they are well worth reading. I cannot recommend this enough to those who are interested in living kindly or in Psychology!
April 3, 2018
Person to Person: The Problem of Being Human (Paperback)
by Carl R. Rogers
by Carl R. Rogers
April 20, 2025
I love correspondence formatting. I love when writers, write exactly how they talk.
September 25, 2008
Hard to get through at times because it's a bit dense, but I liked the way they divided the technical essays from Carl Rogers and followed it with Barry's own personal opinions and reflections. Barry's essays also REALLY reflect the time period it was written in, but that's okay. :)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews