| Course | CCMH 506 Personality Theories and Counseling Models (CCMH/506) |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Counseling theory application |
| Length | about 1,170 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for CCMH 506 Week 2
Conditions of Worth and the Question of Meaning: Person-Centered and Existential Work With Alana
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
CCMH/506: Personality Theories and Counseling Models
Week 2 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The clinic, the client and all details are composites written for a model paper; theories and research findings come from the sources listed.
Last week I read Alana's inner critic through psychodynamic and Adlerian lenses. This week I turn to humanistic and existential approaches, which focus less on explaining her past than on how she experiences herself now and what she wants her life to be.
The Person-Centered View
Person-centered counseling assumes that people have an inherent tendency toward growth and that distress arises when they learn to value themselves only under certain conditions, known as conditions of worth. When love and approval depend on meeting others' standards, a person may disown feelings and experiences that do not fit, creating incongruence between self-concept and experience.
For Alana, the condition of worth is clear: she is acceptable when she is flawless. When she makes an error, her self-concept as a capable, worthy person collides with the experience, and the inner critic floods in.
The Conditions for Change
Rogers (1957) argued that personality change needs six conditions and nothing beyond them. The counselor and client have to be in real contact. The client is out of step with herself, uneasy or easily hurt. The counselor is genuine in the room, warmly accepting without conditions and able to sense the client's private world from the inside while trying to show that understanding. Finally, the client has to pick up at least some of that acceptance and understanding. Rogers argued that no other conditions, including particular techniques or diagnoses, were necessary.
What This Looks Like With Alana
When Alana described redoing a brief at midnight because of one comma, a person-centered response would stay close to her experience: "Even something that small feels like proof that you're failing, and there's no rest until it's fixed." When she says she must have been too much for her partner, I would not argue or reassure, but convey acceptance: "Part of you wonders if being fully yourself is too much for anyone." Over time, experiencing acceptance from another person may let Alana extend some to herself.
Does Empathy Matter?
Elliott et al. (2011) meta-analyzed research on empathy and psychotherapy outcome, drawing on fifty-seven studies with more than three thousand clients. Empathy showed a moderate, consistent relationship with outcome across many types of therapy, and clients' own perceptions of being understood predicted outcome better than therapists' or observers' ratings. The authors recommended that therapists of every orientation work at understanding clients from the inside and check that understanding with them.
What may help Alana most is not a technique but the experience of being fully understood without being judged.
The Existential View
Existential approaches focus on what are sometimes called givens of human existence: the freedom to choose and the weight of owning those choices, the fact that no one can fully share our inner life, the need to find something worth living for and the certainty of dying. Distress may come from avoiding these concerns, for example by handing over choices to others or filling life with activity to avoid asking what it is for.
Reading Alana Existentially
Alana has lived by goals others set: her mother's "twice as good," her firm's billable hours, her partner's expectations. The breakup confronted her with aloneness and with a question she had avoided: what does she want her life to be about? Her overwork may protect her from that question. An existential counselor would invite her to notice that she is choosing, even when choices feel forced, and to consider which values she would choose if approval were not at stake. When she said, "I don't even know what I like anymore," that statement would become the center of our work, not a symptom to fix.
Evidence for Existential Therapies
Vos et al. (2015) meta-analyzed controlled trials of existential therapies. Therapies that focused explicitly on helping people find or create meaning showed substantial improvements in meaning in life and moderate reductions in psychological distress, while other existential approaches showed weaker or less consistent effects. Many studies involved people with physical illness, so evidence for clients like Alana is more limited.
Congruence in Practice
Congruence is the condition I find hardest. When Alana described rewriting a friend's resume at two in the morning while ignoring her own exhaustion, I felt worried and slightly frustrated. Congruence does not mean announcing every reaction, but it does mean not hiding behind a professional mask. I said, "I notice I feel concerned hearing how little room you leave for yourself." Alana said it felt strange to hear someone worry about her rather than about her work. Genuineness, used carefully, showed her a relationship in which feelings can be spoken rather than managed.
Freedom and Responsibility at Work
The existential themes also touch Alana's career. She chose law because it seemed respectable and secure, not because it interested her. When I asked what she loved as a child, she said drawing and helping her grandmother in the garden. An existential counselor would not push her to quit her job, but would help her see that staying is also a choice, one she can make deliberately rather than by default, and that small choices, like taking a weekend art class, are ways of taking responsibility for her own life.
Culture
Person-centered acceptance fits Alana's need to be seen without judgment, but a counselor's acceptance must include her experiences as a Black woman, including the reasons behind her mother's standards. Existential emphasis on individual choice should be balanced with her family and community ties, which may be a source of meaning rather than constraint. I would ask what meaning her faith, family history and work have held for her, and which of those she wants to keep at the center of her life.
Combining the Approaches
Person-centered and existential approaches fit together. The person-centered relationship creates safety for Alana to explore difficult questions; the existential focus gives those questions direction. Both differ from last week's models in emphasizing present experience and choice over interpretation of the past.
Limits
Alana has said she wants practical tools. A purely nondirective approach may frustrate her, so I would be transparent about my approach and integrate skills later if needed. Empathy research supports the relationship, but it does not tell me how long to wait before offering structure.
A Moment From Session
In our third session, after Alana described staying late again, I said, "It sounds exhausting to be on trial all the time." She was silent, then said, "Nobody's ever said that. Everyone just tells me to relax." She cried for the first time in our work. That moment illustrated Rogers's point: she did not need advice, she needed someone to understand how it felt from the inside.
Conclusion
Person-centered counseling offers Alana an accepting relationship in which conditions of worth can loosen, supported by strong evidence on empathy. Existential work invites her to choose what her life will mean beyond flawlessness. Together they shift the question from "What is wrong with me?" to "Who do I want to be?"
References
Elliott, R., Bohart, A. C., Watson, J. C., & Greenberg, L. S. (2011). Empathy. Psychotherapy, 48(1), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022187
Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045357
Vos, J., Craig, M., & Cooper, M. (2015). Existential therapies: A meta-analysis of their effects on psychological outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(1), 115-128. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037167
What the CCMH 506 Week 2 instructions ask
The second week of CCMH 506 commonly examines humanistic approaches, especially person-centered counseling, along with existential therapy. Prompts usually ask students to describe each approach's view of human nature and psychological distress, explain core concepts such as the actualizing tendency, conditions of worth, freedom, responsibility, isolation and meaning, describe the counselor's stance and apply both to a client. Some versions ask what research says about empathy or about existential therapies. Show how each approach would shape the counselor's way of being with the client, give examples of responses rather than techniques alone, weigh the evidence and consider culture. Note where the approach might frustrate a client who wants structure, and cite scholarly sources in APA style.
How this CCMH 506 Week 2 example is built
Continuing with Alana Brooks, who believes she must be flawless to be worth loving, the counseling intern Owen Whitaker turns to humanistic work. Rogers's statement of the necessary and sufficient conditions for change frames a person-centered approach: congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy offered steadily so Alana can loosen conditions of worth. A meta-analysis of empathy shows that clients' sense of being understood predicts outcome across therapies. An existential lens asks what Alana wants her life to mean beyond achievement and how she faces freedom and aloneness after the breakup. A meta-analysis of existential therapies finds meaning-focused approaches most supported. Owen shows sample responses, reflects on culture and notes where Alana may want more structure.
CCMH 506 Week 2 grading rubric: where the points go
Papers on humanistic and existential work earn credit for accurate concepts, application that captures the counselor's stance and honest use of evidence. Instructors look for the core conditions, conditions of worth and existential themes to be explained correctly, for sample counselor responses to show the approach in action, for research on empathy or existential therapy to be summarized accurately and for culture to be considered. Credit goes to recognizing that these approaches are a way of being with clients as well as a set of skills. Papers that reduce person-centered work to reflecting words back lose points; APA style governs citations and references, and sample responses should sound like real speech rather than textbook phrasing.
CCMH 506 Week 2 help: mistakes to avoid
Students often describe person-centered counseling as simply being nice or repeating what the client says, missing the demanding discipline of genuine empathy and acceptance. Another common weakness is treating existential themes, such as death or meaning, as abstract philosophy unrelated to the client's daily life. Some papers claim humanistic approaches lack research when evidence on empathy and some existential therapies is substantial. Others skip culture. Explain the concepts, show sample responses, connect existential themes to the client's actual choices, summarize research and address cultural fit. A tutor can help you write counselor responses that reflect a humanistic stance rather than advice.
Related CCMH 506 sample papers
Other CCMH 506 week samples
- CCMH 506 Week 1: Psychodynamic and Adlerian Models
- CCMH 506 Week 3: Behavioral Therapy
- CCMH 506 Week 4: Cognitive Behavioral Therapies
- CCMH 506 Week 5: Interpersonal and Attachment-Based
- CCMH 506 Week 6: Multicultural and Feminist
- CCMH 506 Week 7: Family Systems Theories
- CCMH 506 Week 8: Personal Theory of Counseling
More MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling sample papers
CCMH 506 Week 2 questions, answered
What does CCMH 506 Week 2 usually cover?
Person-centered and existential counseling, including the core conditions, conditions of worth, freedom, responsibility and meaning.
Where can I find a free CCMH 506 Week 2 sample paper?
The complete CCMH 506 Week 2 person-centered and existential paper on one client is above, free to read.
What are Rogers's core conditions?
Counselor genuineness, unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding, communicated to a client who is anxious or incongruent.
Does empathy predict therapy outcome?
A meta-analysis found a moderate relationship between empathy and outcome across many types of therapy.
What does existential therapy focus on?
Concerns such as freedom, responsibility, isolation, death and meaning, and how clients respond to them in their lives.
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