ABSTRACT
The first of the necessary and sufficient conditions is that the therapist and the client are in (psychological) contact. This is defined as each making at least a minimal impression on the experiential field of the other. For most of us, most of the time, this can be taken as a given. We almost always know when we are in the presence of another person and are taking at least some note of who, how and what they are, what they are doing and how all this impinges on us. We are also likely to have some awareness of how we are affecting the other person. However, this does not mean that, in person-centred practice, contact can be assumed and neglected – it is something to be deliberately cultivated and the acknowledgement of the client by the therapist is fundamental to successful therapy. Also, there are different degrees of contact and the depth of contact will influence or guide the manner in which the therapist responds to the client. As Sanders (2013: 15) says, ‘the therapist has to deliberately attend [original emphasis] to making contact with the client’.
