Humanist Psychology

Humanist Psychologists What they believe… The client should be very involved in his or her own recovery Shouldn’t rely on therapist’s interpretations of the issues Humanists reject quantitative methodology (experiments) Believe qualitative research methods are valuable Diary accounts, open-ended questionnaires, & unstructured interviews & observations

Humanist Psychologists continued… Every person has their own unique way of perceiving & understanding the world Other approaches take an objective approach asking “what is the person like?” Humanists ask subjective questions, “What is it like to be this person?”

Carl Rogers Rogers is considered a founding father of psychotherapy created the Person-centred approach used to understand personality & human relationships ALL Humanists believed ppl had free will & chose their actions All ppl are attempting to grow & reach their full potential TF therapy needed to be centred on self (client-based/person-centred)

Rogers Theory PPL could only reach full potential IF they had a +ve view of self (positive self regard) Can only happen IF person feels they are valued/respected (unconditional self regard) ONLY happens if person believes they meet certain conditions of worth (good behaviour, passing exams, etc) Problem is that incongruities arise b/c ppl often struggle w/ how they perceive self & how they think self should be Real self (how the person is) Ideal self (how they think they should be) Example: “B” on a final exam when person believes they must be perfect to be valuable “B” is either considered an outright failure Result is blamed on teacher/others Robs the person of their actual accomplishment b/c the ideal self is misleading

Abraham Maslow 1908 – 1970 Maslow created a Hierarchy of Needs that stressed the importance of focusing on the positive qualities in ppl Opposed treating ppl as a 'bag of symptoms.‘ Preferred to study well people Specifically “Self-Actualizing” ppl & their “peak experiences” Wanted to understand how they achieved their full potential

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self-fulfillment needs Psychological needs Basic needs

Maslow’s Theory PPL have different different times Bottom needs take priority over others Only a few ppl become self-actualizers, that completely fulfill their ambitions Many become fixated on issues they struggle or struggled to acquire for a prolonged period of time i.e. the impoverished often remain anxious over food

Victor Frankl Frankl was an Austrian neurologist/psychiatrist & Holocaust survivor Created logotherapy A form of Existential Analysis Frankl’s theory and therapy grew out of his experiences in Auschwitz – a Nazi concentration camp that was set up during WWII Frankl observed the behaviours of his fellow prisoners & saw that those who survived often did so because they had something to hold on to Loved ones hey hoped to reunite with Others wanted to return to their lives to complete a project

Frankl’s LOGOTHERAPY Frankl believed that having/finding meaning in one’s life was the key to therapy LOGOTHERAPY Greek word logos = study, word, spirit, God, or meaning LOGOTHERAPY tries to help the patient find the aim/meaning of his or her own life as a human being w/out accessing the medical aspect of mental health Believed everyone has an inborn inclination to seek the meaning of his or her existence Believed that. this determination existed even in the worst of circumstances

Logotherapy Compared to Other Approaches Freud had proposed a need for pleasure as the root of all human motivation Alfred Adler (another psychodynamic psychologist) proposed a need for power Logotherapy suggests humans are motivated by a need for meaning Frankl believed that ppl that can’t find meaning feel empty Emptiness leads to feelings of depression Logotherapy also suggests ppl have freedom of will PPL can choose how to respond to situations PPL have power to shape your own life Important b/c PPL can make changes in their lives, such as overcoming anxiety