Becoming a Person, 1954 In many ways, Carl Rogers was a revolutionary. Raised in a strict, conservative home, Rogers eventually developed a theory of psychology that swept away old power structures and put the patient in charge of his own treatment. His work continues to be important for what it teaches us about relationships and human potential, as well as about psychology. Unlike earlier practitioners of psychology, like Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung, Rogers did not elaborate a unifying theory of human consciousness. His work is not focused on unconscious drives, collective memory, or hidden impulses. It does not dwell on childhood memories or on sexuality, unless the patient (or, to use Rogers' own word, the client) wants to dwell on those matters. Instead, Rogers focused on what he called the desire for self-actualization. He believed that by creating the right conditions, therapy could release people from whatever was holding them back so that they could discover their true selves