Which psychotherapist started a movement toward using the term 'client' instead of the term 'patient' for people seeking therapy?

Which psychotherapist started a movement toward using the term 'client' instead of the term 'patient' for people seeking therapy?

• A. Sigmund Freud
• B. Carl Rogers
• C. B.F. Skinner
• D. Erik Erikson

Answer: (B)

The shift in terminology reflects a move toward a collaborative, nonmedical view of therapy. Carl Rogers popularized this approach with client-centered (or person-centered) therapy, where the person seeking help is called a client to emphasize partnership and the client’s active role in their own growth. Rogers believed therapy should be a facilitative relationship in which the therapist provides empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence, while the client leads the process and discovers their own solutions. This contrasts with the traditional medical-model language that treats the person as a patient under diagnosis and treatment. Freud used the term patient within a psychoanalytic, medical framework; Skinner and Erikson aren’t associated with this shift in terminology.

The shift in terminology reflects a move toward a collaborative, nonmedical view of therapy. Carl Rogers popularized this approach with client-centered (or person-centered) therapy, where the person seeking help is called a client to emphasize partnership and the client’s active role in their own growth. Rogers believed therapy should be a facilitative relationship in which the therapist provides empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence, while the client leads the process and discovers their own solutions. This contrasts with the traditional medical-model language that treats the person as a patient under diagnosis and treatment. Freud used the term patient within a psychoanalytic, medical framework; Skinner and Erikson aren’t associated with this shift in terminology.