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Introduction to special issue on nondirectivity

The therapeutic approach founded by Carl Rogers in the 1940s was initially named nondirective therapy. The approach grew, expanded, evolved, and changed its name to client-centered therapy and person-centered therapy. In spite of the name changes, the concept of nondirectivity remained central for a significant parcel of the person-centered community. It is probably not an exaggeration to say, however, that nondirectivity is themost debated and disputed idea within the person-centered community. When I first suggested the idea of a special issue of PCEP on nondirectivity, I received mixed reactions from scholars and practitioners in the person-centered community. Some were enthusiastic about the idea and thought this was a very welcome proposal. Some were reluctant, concerned that this special issue would be a repetition of old ideas and jargon. Some thought the debate around nondirectivity had worn out and was now irrelevant in the face of contemporary developments of the person-centered and experiential approaches – that there would be nothing further to say. These fears have not materialized! We received an unexpectedly large number of submissions – enough to fill more than one issue of the journal – showing that the concept of nondirectivity is still stirring the interest of scholars and practitioners around the world. This first part of the special issue on nondirectivity includes contributions which challenge established views on nondirectivity, and propose creative ideas and new perspectives on this 70-year-old concept. We begin with an enlightening article by Sommerbeck, where she presents practical guidelines on how to work nondirectively within directive contexts. Drawing on her 35 years of experience of being a nondirective client-centered therapist in the psychiatry field, she discusses dilemmas such as working nondirectively with suicidal clients, participating in multidisciplinary meetings, and handling confidentiality and requests for assessments. The vivid examples that Sommerbeck uses to illustrate these dilemmas bring great clarity and realness. Her guidelines are likely to be of great value for trainees as well as for more seasoned practitioners in the person-centered approach. Moore and Al-Thani present a thought-provoking account of Al-Thani’s experience of introducing person-centered counseling in the Islamic State of Qatar. They present and discuss the adaptations and adjustments that they thought were necessary for the implementation of the nondirective model in a state ‘‘where Islam is