Because person-centred therapy relies on how the therapist is rather than what the therapist knows, there is professional obligation on person-centred therapists to attend to their own growth and development

The importance of a thorough grounding in theory to the successful practice of person-centred therapy has already been indicated (Point 53) but this alone is not sufficient to ensure that therapists can offer an effective relationship. Because person-centred therapy emphasises the importance of not only the ‘person’ of the client but also the person of the therapist, there is a professional obligation on the latter to attend to personal growth and development. Just as an athlete keeps in and improves physical condition by exercise and training so, for the good of their clients and their own health, person-centred therapists are strongly advised to attend to their psychological and emotional well-being. However, whereas an athlete keeps in trim to avoid loss of muscle tone and strength, the objective of the person-centred therapist’s attention to psychological well-being is, for example, to avoid ‘burnout’ (see Mearns 1994: 29–33) and a subsequent decrease in effectiveness and quite possibly illness.