The Humanistic Approach

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The Humanistic Approach

• Treatments and Therapies

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The Humanistic Approach. . .

• Believes that mental problems stem from issues
  with personal growth.
• Focuses more on the individual, and their view of
  the world.
• Believes that therapists need to act genuinely
  with unconditional positive regard as well as
  accurate, empathic understanding.

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Application of this approach

• Counselling/Therapy can help to make sense of a
  problem or difficulty in your life. It offers a
  safe, confidential setting where one can explore
  concerns, behaviour, crisis or nagging
  dissatisfaction, working through feelings of
  inner conflict.
• Feelings such as unhappiness, loss, anxiety or
  confusion can be acknowledged and expressed. You
  decide what to reveal and the extent of your
  exploration, free of restrictions felt when
  talking to friends or family. Help in achieving
  an understanding of an issue may be enough. You
  may also use the support to make decisions or
  choices towards change. Time in
  counselling/therapy provides space, helps you to
  value yourself and hopefully gain a greater sense
  of well-being.

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• Source of Problem Incongruence between true self
  and the self which is presented to others. Stems
  from conditions of worth. For example, sufferers
  of depression have low self esteem and consider
  themselves worthless
• Goal of Therapy Help people become more truly
  "themselves" by increasing self-awareness and
  self acceptance.
• Therapeutic Methods Unconditional Positive
  Regard Accurate Empathy Genuineness

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Carl Rogers

• Another body of thought in psychotherapy started
  in the 1950s with Carl Rogers who became
  interested in existentialism. The works of
  Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of human needs
  became his main focus of concentration.
• By the early 1930s he had brought Person centred
  psychotherapy into mainstream focus. Rogers'
  basic tenets were unconditional positive regard,
  genuineness, and empathic understanding, with
  each demonstrated by the counsellor. According to
  Rogers, these were both necessary and sufficient
  to create a relationship conducive to enhancing
  the client's psychological well being, by
  enabling the client to fully experience
  themselves.
• Inspired by Rogers, others followed his mode of
  thinking like Fritz and Laura Perls in the
  creation of Gestalt therapy, as well as Marshall
  Rosenberg, founder of Nonviolent Communication.
• Later these fields of psychotherapy would become
  what is known as humanistic psychotherapy today.
  Rogers' technique of active listening is
  considered fundamental to most counselling
  styles, and is included in virtually every
  counsellor preparation program.

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Existential Therapy

• Is a powerful approach to therapy which takes
  the human condition seriously.
• Is an optimistic approach in that it embraces
  human potential while remaining a realistic
  approach through its recognition of human
  limitation.
• Has much in common with psychodynamic and
  relational approaches to psychotherapy.

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Logo Therapy

• Logo therapy literally means therapy through
  meaning. It is an active-directive therapy aimed
  at helping people specifically with meaning
  crisis, which manifest themselves in a feeling
  of aimlessness or indirectly through addiction,
  alcoholism or depression.
• Logo therapy can also be used for those with
  anxiety disorders and phobias.
• Evaluation of logo therapy
• It is relatively simple to understand,
  potentially life changing and enhancing.
• It addresses dimensions of life not addressed by
  other therapies.
• It is optimistic and constructive.
• However
• It is too authoritarian.
• It is not very scientific, but based more on
  religion.