It is untrue that person-centred theory holds that there is an ideal end point to human development and this has implications for therapy

Person-centred therapy has often been criticised for implicitly incorporating the notion of human beings as in some way inherently ‘good’ and that, given the right conditions, they will develop constructively to achieve some ideal state. Central to this criticism is the actualising tendency (Point 9). It is assumed that this leads to an ideal end point to growth which may be a state of ‘self-actualisation’ or a fully functioning person and which is the pinnacle of the individual achievement of potential. However, in terms of person-centred theory, when it is used at all, the term self-actualisation refers to a concept different from that of Maslow in that it is not a peak state resulting from the satisfaction of a hierarchy of needs.