Person-Centered Approach in clinical practice

This thesis explores the position of Person-Centred Approach (PCA) in the practice of Czech clinical psychologists and psychiatrists who went through the PCA psychotherapy training and they use this approach in their current clinical practice. The main principles of PCA theory (1), principles of biomedical model in which clinical practice is rooted (2) and the new forms of person-centred psychopathology and psychodiagnosis (3) are the theoretical background of the following research. Based on the qualitative analysis of five recorded interviews (three clinical psychologists, two psychiatrists) the experience of the respondents is organised as comprehensive concepts concerning various areas and topics of the clinical practice (diagnosis, psychotherapy, dealing with PCA, dealing with biomedical model, therapeutic relationship, relation to the profession). Several common mechanisms are identified in the concept's dynamics. Through these mechanisms Person-Centred Approach is applied in areas and activities mentioned. The concepts based on experience and the PCA application mechanisms enrich the theories and ongoing research of PCA practice in the Western mental health care. Key words: Person-Centred Approach, Client-Centred Therapy, psychiatry, clinical psychology, psychotherapy, psychodiagnosis,..