Client-centred therapy is an approach to psychotherapy developed by the American psychologist Carl Rogers. In his book Significant Aspects of Client-Centered Therapy, Rogers described this approach as attempting to create a situation in which the forces for growth within a person could be brought forward. In order to achieve this, the counsellor should enter the situation with the assumption that the individual is basically responsible for himself, and has within him a desire to develop in maturity and independence. The counsellor should be permissive, and not set limits on the person’s attitudes, or attempt to lead the client in any way. With this approach, the counsellor can expect the client to gain new insight into his own attitudes and behaviours, and consequently learn to adjust his goals and behaviour in the direction of greater psychological growth and maturity.

Source: Rogers, Carl (1951). Client-Centered Therapy. Cambridge Massachusetts: The Riverside Press.