Towards a paradigm shift in the person-centered approach

In view of the resurgence of the narrative perspective in psychology and the experiential emphasis in the person-centered approach (PCA), the concept of the self underlying the PCA is discussed in terms of the geographical and cultural contexts, which influenced my pursuit of psychology as a human as well as a natural science. During this journey I have moved from a traditional Western approach, focusing on the person as an independent and self-sufficient unit of the social system, and the importance of the sub-cortical areas of the brain in behavior, to an awareness of the importance of the interrelatedness of the self, especially in African culture, and the implications it has for psychology. The focus on the individual as an autonomous entity has been found wanting in alleviating the globally growing mental health crisis - We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy and the World's Getting Worse (Hillman & Ventura, 1993). New paradigms are required to facilitate conflict resolution, not only at individual level, but also in a world that is becoming increasingly fragmented. In the new paradigm, room has to be found for an interdependent model of the self that transcends cultural boundaries.