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=Welcome to the Carl Rogers Wiki =

The purpose of this wiki is to provide an insight and understanding of the personality Psychologist Carl Rogers. Who he was, what he did, who influenced him and who he influenced.**Click on any topic of interest in the navigation panel on the left to find the information you require.** One of the best ways to understand the sort of person he was is to hear what those who knew him had to say about him. 

 **Desmond Cartwright, a former student at Chicag o ****said:** 'he had warmth and openess and a special ability to make others feel at ease. 'I remember Carl coming into sunlit waiting room. I was a new student dressed in an open neck Hawaiian sports shirt he immediately set me at ease. He stretched out his hand in greeting, his eyes shone welcome, he smiled and said something like 'I'm glad you're here.' Such freedom giving warmth is a dominant part of Carl's personality also of his character and teaching styles.( D Cartwright, personal communication, November 29, 1983).

Return to top **Maria Bowen, a colleague noted:** 'the first outstanding characteristic that comes to mind is a man that follows his heart. Carl seems to go wherever his energy takes him, instead of always assessing what the external needs are and merely meeting those. I think Carl's openess to other peoples ideas points to a general openess to life. Even in his eighties he is always ready to experiment. It is a source of pleasure to witness his excitement with his new adventures.... His excitement and aliveness in facing new adventures is abundantly evident.' ( M Bowen, personal communication, November 16, 1983). Return to top **David, Carl Rogers son shared an anecdote: '** one day as a teenager, when I was doing my homework, going into his desk and getting a pad of lined yellow paper to do my work on- I'd run out of my own. That night I received a lecture from my father saying that he had no problem giving me a pad of his own paper, but that particular pad happened to belong to Ohio state university- his employer, not him- and consequently it was not mine to use. Needless to say I have not forgotten that little lesson in personal responsibility- or perhaps more accurately accountability.' ( D.E Rogers, personal communication, November 4, 1983). (Heppner, Rogers, & Lee, 1984). Return to top He wasn't perfect Before the reader jumps to the conclusion that Carl Rogers the famous psychologist was a perfect human being, he himself would be the first to admit that he was not. Rogers admits he became very interested in  psychic phenomena and visited mediums on many occasions, and came away from them with a firm belief in there genuineness and a strong interest in all types of the paranormal. Later in his life while his wife Helen was terminally ill, he informed her that he needed to live a life of his own, and began an affair with another woman. Rogers also advocated the free love and 'swinging' lifestyle of the sixties and seventies (Fitzpatrick, 1994).

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