Therapy Videos

Thanks to technology, videos of therapy with the masters are accessible online.  I used the video series, Three Approaches to Psychotherapy, to teach social work courses and social work interns.  Hearing Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls and Albert Ellis explain their theories and approaches to psychotherapy in these videos also prepared me for the state licensing exam.  I was able to answer the multiple choice questions about client-centered counseling, gestalt therapy and rational-emotive or cognitive behavioral therapy because of watching these men in action.

Carl Rogers is the kindest of the three ("unconditional positive regard" is a hallmark of Rogers' client-centered counseling approach) and Gloria, the patient, liked him, but said she would accomplish the most with Fritz Perls.  He is confrontational and challenging.

Perls describes his approach as one that focuses on the "I and Thou" and the "Here and Now."  I think Rogers would say the same.  In this way, they are both humanistic-existentialists.  Perls provides his clients the "opportunities to understand and discover self."  He focused on the non-verbal communication because it is "less subject to self-deception."

Here is a link to the first ten minutes or so of Perls with Gloria:

Gloria the Patient with Fritz Perls and Gestalt Therapy

You can search YouTube for the other videos in the series - Gloria, the patient, with Carl Rogers and Albert Ellis.