Congruence: An integrative five-dimension model - ADPCA

1 Cornelius-WhitePerson-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, Volume 6, Number 4 229 Cornelius-White 1477-9757/07/04229-11 Jeffrey H. D. Cornelius-WhiteMissouri State UniversityCongruence:An integrative five-dimension modelAuthor author may be contacted at Missouri State University, 901 S. National Ave., Springfield MO65897. Email: There have been numerous discussions of the concept of congruence . This paper presents afive- dimension model that brings different aspects together, clarifying their similarities and differences. Itarticulates various characteristics of congruence , including what it means to be a person, relationshipswith other person-centered and experiential theoretical concepts, historical and conceptual contexts, andappropriate synonyms inherent in these discussions. The paper explores the different dimensions separatelywith the understanding that congruence in practice is a unified : congruence , awareness, organismic integration, ecology, theoryKongruenz: Ein integratives Modell mit f nf DimensionenEs gibt bis heute zahlreiche Diskussionen des Kongruenzkonzepts.

2 Dieser Artikel stellt ein Modell mitf nf Dimensionen vor, das verschiedene Aspekte zusammenbringt und ihre hnlichkeiten undUnterschiede kl rt. Er artikuliert verschiedene Charakteristika von Kongruenz, darin inbegriffen, was eshei t, eine Person zu sein, Beziehungen mit anderen personzentrierten und experienziellen theoretischenKonzepten, historische und konzeptionelle Kontexte und angemessene Synonyme, die diesen Diskussioneninh rent sind. Der Artikel untersucht die verschiedenen Dimensionen einzeln, wobei davon ausgegangenwird, dass in der Praxis Kongruenz eine einheitliche Erfahrung : Un modelo integrativo de cinco dimensionesHa habido numerosas discusiones acerca del concepto de congruencia. Este escrito presenta un modelode cinco dimensiones que a na diferentes aspectos, clarifica sus similitudes y diferencias. Articula variascaracter sticas de la congruencia, incluyendo lo que significa ser persona, las relaciones con otros conceptoste ricos centrados en la persona y experienciales, contextos hist ricos y conceptuales, y sin nimosapropiados inherentes a estas cuestiones.

3 El escrito explora las diferentes dimensiones en forma separadapero entendiendo que en la pr ctica la congruencia es una experiencia congruence : Un mod le int gratif en cinq dimensionsLe concept de congruence a t le sujet de nombreuses discussions. Cet article pr sente un mod le de230 Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, Volume 6, Number 4 congruence : An integrative five-dimension modelcongruence cinq dimensions qui en rapproche les diff rents aspects et en clarifie leurs similarit s et leursdiff rences. Il articule diff rents dimensions de la congruence , y compris : les caract ristiques d unepersonne qui fonctionne son plein potentiel ; les liens avec d autres concepts th oriques centr s sur lapersonne et exp rientiels ; les contextes historiques et conceptuels ; les synonymes appropri s inh rents ces discussions. L article explore les diff rentes dimensions s par ment en tenant compte du fait que,dans la pratique de la congruence , il s agit d une exp rience unifi ncia: Um modelo integrativo em cinco dimens esO conceito de congru ncia tem suscitado in meros debates.

4 Este artigo apresenta um modelo em cincodimens es que colige diferentes aspectos, clarificando as suas semelhan as e diferen as. S o articuladasv rias caracter sticas da congru ncia, incluindo o significado de ser-se pessoa, rela es com outros conceitoste ricos centrados na pessoa e experienciais, contextos hist ricos e conceptuais e sin nimos adequadosinerentes a estas discuss es. O artigo explora as diferentes dimens es separadamente mas sob oentendimento de que a congru ncia , na pr tica, um conceito is often asserted to be the most difficult to understand concept in person-centeredand experiential psychotherapies. It is sometimes referred to as the most important construct,the hardest concept to measure, and as the aim of all PCE work. There have been numerouselaborations of the concept ( Bozarth, 1998, 2001; Brodley, 1998/2001; Cornelius-White,2002, 2006a, 2007b; Ellingham, 2001; Grafanaki, 2001; Greenberg & Geller, 2001; Haugh,2001; Klein, Michels, Kolden, & Chrisolm-Stockard, 2001; Lietaer, 2001; Seeman, 2001;Schmid, 2001, 2005; Wyatt, 2001, 2004).

5 Many of these elaborations use the same constructsto mean different things, and language itself appears to be fuzzy in defining the central (2007b) has formulated a synthesis of this variety with the definition: congruence refers to the internal, relational, and ecological integration of persons (p. 168).This paper offers a five- dimension model of congruence and is intended to better organizeand clarify the diversity of descriptions. Table 1 gives a shorthand summary of the conceptualmodel. The paper offers a heuristic to explore the different dimensions separately with theunderstanding that congruence in practice is a unified experience and the dimensions andtheir descriptors are not mutually exclusive. While it may appear that certain concepts fitbetter with certain schools of thought within person-centered and experiential therapies, it isthe author s view that, to a large extent, this is mainly an artifact of the angle at whichcongruence is viewed.

6 The classic metaphor of persons feeling something in the dark andthereby yielding different perspectives of a unified construct (an elephant) comes to mind. d) ( . Cornelius-WhitePerson-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, Volume 6, Number 4 231 The schools of person-centered and experiential approaches acknowledge and describe most,if not all, aspects of the five- dimension model , albeit in different ways and with differentemphases. Likewise, while the model begins with ideas of congruence in dimensions 1 and2 (below) that are perhaps the most well known, they are admittedly culturally grounded ina Western view of the individual self as the primary identity 1 congruence : An integrative five-dimension modelPC: person-centeredCCT: client-centered therapyUPR: unconditional positive regardPCT.

7 Person-centered therapyDimensionsofConsistency01234 ConsistencybetweenPre-consistent,Post-co nsistentAttitudesSelf &ExperienceSelf,Experienceand Com-munication(to Other)Experience,Self, OtherWorldRelationshipto PCTheoryUPR toexperienceGenuinelyempathicanduncondit ionalUPR to selfTransparent,spontaneousself-disclosu re Being theChange ContextsExperientialNon-directiveEarly CCT,RealnessClassicalPCT,AwarenessEncoun ter,DialogicalSystemicHolonicSynonymsFlo wGenuinenessSymboli-zationAuthenticOrgan ismicIntegrationIdentityConstructsProces s, Tao Sincere Person,Not a roleActualizing,AgenticRelational,Other firstFormative,Extensional,Transpersonal 232 Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, Volume 6, Number 4 congruence : An integrative five-dimension modelDIMENSION 1: GENUINENESSR ogers introduced the concept of congruence with several related words and phrases, whichoften stood as contrasts to other approaches. These included understanding of self (1939,p.)

8 238), a genuinely different goal (1942, p. 28) and acceptance of self (1951, p. 138).While congruence would not be conceptualized formally as a central construct until later,many of its implications and several of the dimensions discussed in this article were alreadypresent in Rogers early writings. Nevertheless, it is from an early use of genuineness thatperhaps the most basic and unified meaning of the concept as a Dimension-1 concept is being real. Real or genuine means not playinga role. It means sincerity free from pretense. While a person might be sincerely selfish orjudgmental from a particular worldview, within the person-centered approach, sincerityhypothetically involves the integration of the therapeutic attitudes of empathy andunconditional positive regard in the therapist. Rogers described how the counselor is deeplyand genuinely able to adopt these attitudes (1946, p. 421), and later more formally states, The wholeness of the therapist in the relationship is primary, but a part of the congruenceof the therapist must be the experience of unconditional positive regard and the experience ofempathic understanding (1959, p.

9 215). Dimension-1 congruence is an integration of theattitudes in a real person who is genuinely empathic and 2: SYMBOLIZATIONR ogers formal theory statements in his early writings define congruence in terms of theconsistency between self and experience. A person is congruent when the differentiated part(or I ) of the phenomenal field is congruent with their lived experience. Bozarth (1998/2001) defines congruence as unconditional self-regard. A classical person-centered view ofcongruence is this matching of self and experience in awareness and not typically incommunication (Brodley, 1998/2001). This view is rooted in the client as an actualizingwhole organism in which suffering occurs when conditions of worth contribute to the denialand distortion of experience, fragmenting the phenomenal field into me and not-me. Asthe person is actualizing, the target of empathy is the client s proactive and reactive agencyrather than the facts of a person s experience (Brodley, 2005), a view also resonant withexperiential approaches which emphasize empathizing with the deeper, more personal,affective and/or meaningful aspects of a person s (1959) uses additional terms to describe Dimension-2 congruence and writesof Awareness, Symbolization, Consciousness.

10 These three terms are defined assynonymous (p. 198). Symbolizations, whether internal in an individual or formedthrough empathy, have varying degrees of sharpness or vividness (p. 198). It is thisvividness that forms roots for the evocative and poignant functions of the therapist seenin experiential approaches. Rogers also describes Dimension-2 congruence with the termsavailability to awareness and accurate symbolization, terms that are more consistent withCornelius-WhitePerson-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, Volume 6, Number 4 233a classical view. Whether vivid or accurate, Dimension-2 congruence is the consistencybetween self and 3: AUTHENTICITYW yatt (2001), Ellingham (2001) and others talk about the three- dimension model ofcongruence where there is a matching, not just between self and experience, but also withcommunication. Lietaer (2001) calls this Dimension-3 congruence transparency , referring tothe use of self or self-disclosure of the symbolized experience.