ABSTRACT
The stages of process indicate something about the individual’s likely way of being and so what is appropriate from the therapist. Although Merry (2002: 59) points out that there ‘is a great deal of variation and individual differences in clients’ processes’ and Rogers (1967: 139) states that ‘a person is never wholly at one or another stage of process’, knowing something about a client’s stage in the process continuum can inform the therapist and help in making appropriate ethical and professional decisions. For example, whether therapy is likely to be effective and should therefore be offered at all, whether pre-therapy may be a more appropriate strategy (Point 34) or whether the client is close enough to being fully functioning not to need therapeutic interventions at all.
