When people come to therapy, they often talk about wanting to “heal” – to recover from painful experiences, to feel more whole, to become themselves again. But in person-centred therapy, healing might not always look the way you expect.

This approach doesn’t focus on fixing or diagnosing, and it doesn’t assume that something about you is broken. Instead, person-centred therapy offers the conditions for growth, self-trust, and change. And while healing may happen along the way, it’s not necessarily the main goal.

So if we’re not here to “heal wounds,” what are we working towards?

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Moving Towards Your Fully Functioning Self

Person-centred therapy is based on the belief that every person has an innate actualising tendency – a natural drive to grow, develop, and move towards the most fulfilling version of themselves. This doesn’t mean striving for perfection. It means becoming more you – freer, more open, and more in tune with your own thoughts, feelings and values.

Carl Rogers, who developed the person-centred approach, described this idea through his concept of the ‘person of tomorrow’ – someone who is:

• Open to experience
• Living in the present
• Trusting in their own judgment
• Guided by an internal sense of meaning
• Able to adapt and grow
• Living a life that feels congruent and fulfilling

This doesn’t mean never feeling pain again. It means having more capacity to be with your experiences, and to move through life with more authenticity, freedom and connection.

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Healing as a Side Effect – Not the Goal

Sometimes people come to therapy hoping to be “cured” of what hurts – past trauma, relationship difficulties, anxiety, shame. And it’s true that person-centred therapy can support real shifts in these areas. But rather than focusing on “fixing” wounds, person-centred therapy offers space to explore, feel, and understand yourself more deeply. In doing so, some of those painful places may begin to soften, and a sense of healing can emerge.

It’s a different kind of process – not about making the pain disappear, but about becoming someone who can hold it with compassion, insight, and strength.

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Rogers’ Seven Stages of Process

Rogers also described seven stages that clients might move through during therapy. These range from being very closed-off and cautious (Stage 1), to being open, flexible, and self-trusting (Stage 7).

By Stage 7, a person:

• Feels deeply connected to their experiences
• Can express themselves freely and authentically
• Is open to change
• Feels less defensive or rigid
• Relates to others with empathy and ease

This process isn’t linear – people might move back and forth between stages. But over time, the hope is that therapy helps you move closer to this more fluid, open, and self-connected place.

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So, What Is Healing in Person-Centred Therapy?

In this approach, healing isn’t about being “fixed.” It’s about becoming more yourself. It’s about being able to feel, choose, grow and relate in ways that feel true to who you are. Sometimes that means feeling lighter and freer. Sometimes it means feeling more connected to the painful parts of your story – but no longer overwhelmed by them.

It’s not a destination, but an ongoing process of becoming.

If you’re curious about therapy that honours your experience, trusts your capacity for growth, and walks alongside you without trying to take over – person-centred therapy might be right for you.