Person-centred psychotherapy for limited contact functions

In person-centred psychotherapy there is a method of pre-therapy developed by Garry Prouty. Using this method special moments of relationship experience can be experienced even with people who have severely limited contact and are considered 'untreatable' - a way of reaching people with severe mental disabilities dementia or chronic psychiatric patients who have been hospitalised for many years. After an introduction to the limits of reduced perception detailed case reports are used to explain how pre-therapeutic concepts are put into practice. The seminar also highlights ways of using sound therapy methods to establish non-verbal 'contact' - which according to Rogers is a prerequisite for moments of encounter. The extraordinary moments of 'being in contact' are discussed from a person-centred perspective with a particular focus on the topics of actualisation tendency empathy resonance and dialogical components. A common thread running through this paper is the central question: where does psychotherapy begin?