Person-centered counselling of women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and interpersonal crises

Abstract

The person-centered approach to counselling was developed by Carl Rogers (1902-1987) in the United States based on the principles of humanistic psychology. Many studies conducted in the West have shown the effectiveness of this approach with various groups of clients. However there is limited number of studies investigating the benefits of this approach in the Malaysian setting. Consequently, a qualitative case study was conducted in an attempt to explore the outcome of person-centered counselling sessions underwent by women with HIV who were facing interpersonal crises. ‘Women with interpersonal crises’ in the present study refers to women who are facing issues or challenges in their relationships with their significant others such as marital issues or issues of being abused. The aim of this study is to investigate the outcome of employing person-centered counselling as an approach in helping these women. The overall findings show positive outcome of the person-centered counselling sessions on the participants. The characteristics of client’s self-exploration in a non-directive, egalitarian relationship in exploring their personal growth was identifiable through several major themes that served as indicators of personal growth. The major themes that have been identified are Religiosity, Personal changes, Emotional changes, Cognitive changes, Plan of action, Behavioural changes and Selflessness. The important and distinct feature in this research is that one of the major signifiers of personal growth is the aspect of Religiosity.