Carl Rogers Quotes

Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987)

Humanistic Psychologist Carl Ransom Rogers
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Carl Rogers' work and theories made him one of the preeminent psychologists of the 20th-century. He is best known for creating what is known as client-centered therapy, a nondirective approach that places the client in control of the therapeutic process.

As one of the leaders of the humanist movement in psychology, Rogers believed that people were essentially good and healthy. This differed greatly from the psychoanalytic focus on abnormal behavior.

Below are just a few Carl Rogers quotations.

Selected Carl Rogers Quotes

On human nature:

"When I look at the world I'm pessimistic, but when I look at people I am optimistic."

Rogers believed that people possessed and inherent goodness and that all people are driven by the actualizing tendency. While Freud's psychoanalysis and Watson's behaviorism tended to take a much more negative view of human nature, often focusing on the abnormal or the problematic, Rogers' approach was much more positive and centered on helping people becoming the best that they can be.

On learning, growth, and change:



"The very essence of the creative is its novelty, and hence we have no standard by which to judge it." --From On Becoming a Person, 1961


Rogers believed that people were always in the process of changing and growing. The striving for self-actualization leads people to pursue happiness and fulfillment. The ability to adapt, learn, and change plays a vital role in his theory, as individuals work toward becoming what he referred to as fully-functioning people.

On psychotherapy:


Rogers is remembered for the development of his non-directive approach to therapy known as client-centered therapy. This technique gives the client control over the process and in which the therapist is non-judgmental, genuine, and empathetic. Unconditional positive regard for the client is essential for effective treatment.

On the Good Life:

"A second characteristic of the process which for me is the good life, is that it involves an increasingly tendency to live fully in each moment. I believe it would be evident that for the person who was fully open to his new experience, completely without defensiveness, each moment would be new." --From On Becoming a Person, 1961




This quote captures the essence of so much of Rogers' humanistic theory. His approach turned from simply diagnosing and treating pathology into using therapy as a tool to help people grow. His approach also stressed how each person continually strives for actualization and self-fulfillment, but as Rogers so eloquently notes, this is not a state you can simply reach and then be done. Part of self-actualization is the actual process of reaching, striving, and growing. The good life, as Rogers calls it, is the journey not just the destination.

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