According to Carl Rogers, we are all hiding pieces of our true self behind a facade, to protect ourselves from evaluation and scrutiny. This is psychologically unhealthy. In order to address this, Carl Rogers recommends that therapists provide clients with a safe environment by providing "unconditional positive regard." This safe environment allows the client's true self to emerge.

During the process of Rogerian therapy, individuals abandon their facades and move away from external "oughts" that have previously governed their lives. In addition, they become more morally autonomous—they do not let others dictate right and wrong for them. They become more accepting of the choices of others. They begin to create an environment of unconditional positive regard for the others in their lives. In short, individuals are enabled to transform themselves in ways that are often quite contrary to who they've been prior to therapy or who their parents or others wish them to be.

Rogerian thought has dramatically impacted modern life in ways most of us haven't completely realized. The idea that love means that we never evaluate others, the idea that judgment is a form of hate, the idea that our inner desires are part of our personal identity, and the idea that guilt is a disease are all informed by Rogerian psychology.