Humanistic Psychology

1
Humanistic Psychology

• Katie Blumenshein, Dimitri Vitebsky, Geeta
  Devjani, Sandy Cerda, Nairy Kevork, Stacy Blanco,
  Anja Langner, Avichg Cohen

2
History of Humanism

• In 1954, Humanistic Psychology gave rise after
  the First and Second Forces of Psychology,
  Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis.
  
• Humanistic Psychology, the Third Force, was
  popularized during the 1950s and 1960s
  following WWII and the Cold War.
  
• During this time period psychologists were
  seeking a more optimistic and nurturing approach
  in response to the stresses that came with war.
  

3
The Humanistic Perspective

• Unlike the first force of psychology, human
  behavior was no longer attributed to conditioned
  responses to the environment or a result of early
  childhood experiences, as was explained by such
  as the second force.
• The humanistic perspective was based on the
  belief that human beings have an innate need to
  search for the meaning of life.
  
• The founders of humanism also based this
  perspective on the belief that human beings were
  self-reflective, self-determined, and possessed
  free will.

4
Philosophical Influences

• Humanism was largely influenced by early Greek
  and Hebrew philosophers, as well as Europeans of
  the Renaissance era, who believed that human
  beings were unique in that they had the ability
  to love, have self-consciousness, and seek
  self-actualization.
• Such early thinkers included Kierkegaard,
  Nietzsche, Sartre, Buber, and Heidegger.
  

5
Influence from Existential Psychology

• The humanistic approach has its roots in
  existentialist thought. Existential philosophy
  grew out of nineteenth century writings of these
  philosophers just mentioned, and was later
  elaborated in the phenomenological philosophies
  of Husserl and Heidegger.
• While the term phenomenology is a complicated
  term which many philosophers and psychologists
  disagree about, the essence of what it means for
  Existential and Humanistic psychology is that
  they value personal experience.
• In the 1940s the theories of existentialism were
  given a name, and an enormous boost in
  popularity, by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and
  other European intellectuals who suffered through
  World War I and come out on the other side with a
  philosophy focusing on self-reliance,
  authenticity, responsibility and morality.

6
Influence (continued)

• How did this philosophy get translated into
  psychology and furthermore what does it have in
  common with Humanistic Psychology?
  
• The existentialists could be thought of as
  stressing the meaning of human existence. Thus,
  they can be seen as predecessors of modern
  Humanistic Psychology.

7
Carl Rogers(Father of Humanism)

• Carl Rogers was born January 8, 1902 in Oak Park,
  Illinois a suburb of Chicago
  
• His education started in the second grade,
  because he could already read before
  kindergarten
  
• Carl Rogers was very isolated, independent, and
  self-disciplined as a child.
  
• He went to the University of Wisconsin as an
  Agriculture major
  
• Later, he switched his major to religion to study
  for ministry
  
• After graduating, Carl Rogers married Helen
  Elliot, moved to New York city, and began
  attending the Union Theological Seminary.
  

8
Carl Rogers (CONT)

• After attending a seminar Rogers realized that
  his interest was not with the ministry and moved
  on to pursue Psychology
  
• Rogers than switched to the Clinical psychology
  program of Columbia University, and received his
  PhD. In 1931
  
• He was offered a full professorship at Ohio
  State in 1940
  
• In 1942, he wrote his first book, Counseling and
  Psychotherapy
  
• It was while working there that in 1951 he
  published his major work, Client-Centered
  therapy, wherein he outlines his basic theory

9
Client Centered Therapy

• The purpose of this therapy is to help the client
  discover a better way to develop self awareness
  
• Based on the idea that client can make positive
  and constructive choices.
  
• People are trustworthy (can solve problems
  without intervention)
  
• People are capable of self-directed growth if
  involved in a therapeutic relationship
  
• Under nurturing conditions an individual can move
  forward and resolve their problems.
  

10
Client Centered Therapy

• Rogers believed that people are capable of self
  directed growth if they are in a therapeutic
  relationship
  
• We are capable of directing ones life
• His primary focus was helping the client discover
  more appropriate behaviors by becoming aware of
  their true self and develop ways to fully
  encounter reality.

11
Promoting Growth

• Congruence Being genuine
• Unconditional Positive Regard (It is consistent
  and active attention to the client that will
  allows to become fully aware of our feelings)
  
• Empathy Ability to grasp the individuals
  subjective world
  

12
Psychopathology

• Neurotic persons deny awareness of significant
  sensory and emotional experiences
  
• Experiences that are incongruent with their
  self-structure are subceived reality is denied
  or distorted
  
• Distortion and denial results in self-experience
  discrepancy
  

13
Psychopathology

• Rogers differentiated among forms of defensive
  behaviors
  
• Rationalization, in which a person distorts
  behavior in such a way as to make it consistent
  with the self
  
• Fantasy a man who defensively believes himself
  to be an adequate person may fantasize that he is
  a prince
  
• Projection people whose self-concept involves
  no bad sexual thoughts may feel that others are
  making them have these thoughts
  

14
Types of resistance

• -Introjection Accepting others beliefs and
  standards
  
• -Projection Take certain aspects of ourselves
  and put it into the environment
  
• -Retroflection Doing to ourselves what we like
  someone to do to us
  
• - Deflection Using distraction to make it
  difficult to maintain contact
  
• -Confluence Blurring of the self and the
  environment

15
Therapists Job

• The therapist helps promote change but are not to
  direct change in the client
  
• Develops an environment where the patient can
  grow
  
• Is respectful, real, understanding and caring the
  client. In doing this the client can let go of
  his/her defenses, gain perception and reconnect
  with themselves.

16
Since Rogers..

• Other psychologists have followed the Humanistic
  Psychology outlook.
  
• Abraham Maslow
• Fritz Perls
• Victor Frankl

17
Abraham Maslow

• Maslow became the leader of the Humanistic school
  of psychology that emerged in the 1950s and
  1960s, which was referred to as the third
  force.
• Humanistic psychology gave way to several
  different therapies, guided by the idea that
  people have inner resources for growth and
  healing, therapy is used to help remove obstacles
  in achieving this goal.
• Maslows primary contribution to psychology is
  his hierarchy of needs.
  

18
Maslow Hierarchy

• Basic needs air, water, food, and sex.
• Safety needs security and stability.
• Psychological/social needs belonging, love, and
  acceptance.
  
• Esteem respect of others and by others,
  self-esteem, confidence and achievement.
  
• Self-actualizing needs the need to fulfill
  oneself, to become all that one is capable of
  becoming.
  

19
Maslow thought that humans had a hierarchy of
needs that they sought to fulfill in their lives.

20
Self-Actualized

• Genuineness Youve achieved self-actualization
  if you can be open with your thoughts and
  feelings and if your external behavior matches
  your internal thoughts. Being honest encourages
  others to be genuine as well.
• Acceptance You're self-actualized when you
  value people even when you know of their failings
  and dark sides. Unconditional positive regard
  toward your own self is key to a happy, peaceful
  and fulfilled life.
• Empathy You can relate to anothers emotions
  and experiences. Self-actualization involves
  being empathetic.
  

21
Frederick S. Perls

• Frederick S. (Fritz) Perls (1893-1970) was the
  originator of Gestalt Therapy, along with his
  wife, Laura Perls.
  
• It is both existential (people are always in the
  process of rediscovering themselves) and
  phenomenological (focuses on clients perception
  of reality), and it is based on the premise that
  individuals must be understood in the context of
  their ongoing relationship with the environment.

22
Goals of Therapy

• Person to person relationship between client and
  therapist.
  
• Wants the client to gain awareness of what they
  experience and go through.
  
• Aims to move from environmental support to
  self-support.
  

23
Goals of Therapy

• Therapy wants people to live in and appreciate
  the present the past holds people back from
  coming to terms with the present.
  
• People are left with unfinished business which
  can turn into unexpressed feelings of resentment,
  rage, hatred, pain, etc.
  

24
Basic principles of Gestalt therapy

• Holism View people as a whole, all dimensions
  of human functioning.
  
• Field Theory Organism is seen in its
  environment, as part of the constantly changing
  field.
  
• The Figure-Formation Process How an individual
  organizes the environment from moment to moment.
  
• Organismic Self-Regulation People do the best
  to regulate themselves based on their
  capabilities.
  

25
Victor Frankl

• Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as
  a Holocaust survivor
  
• Founder of Logotherapy
• He who has a why to live for can bear with
  almost any how. (Nietsche, 1963)

26
Logotherapy

• Search for a meaning in life Primary
  motivational force in human beings
  
• Frankl's approach is based on three philosophical
  and psychological concepts
  
• Freedom of Will
• Will to Meaning, and
• Meaning in Life

27
Logotherapy

• Techniques
• Paradoxical intention wishing the very thing
  you are afraid of breaks down the neurotic
  vicious cycles
  
• Dereflection shifting attention away from
  oneself and onto others
  
• Ultimate goal self-transcendence
• assist the client in rediscovering the latent
  religiousness (meaning to life) that exists in
  each of us