The theory and practice of person-centred therapy has been subject to a great deal of criticism. This criticism is often based in misunderstanding

More charitably, there is a view that while person-centred therapy ‘works’ for the worried well or to help people in acute (but relatively trivial) distress anyone who is more seriously disturbed, ‘mentally ill’ or who has deep-rooted problems needs the stronger medicine of another approach. Given the research evidence for the efficacy of person-centred therapy and the respect accorded to Rogers, why this view is held is difficult to understand. One view is that there is something about person-centred therapy which is intrinsically threatening to therapists of other orientations and that this leads to

Mearns and Thorne 2000: ix-x).