Humanistic Approaches

Assumptions of Humanistic Approaches

Humanistic theorists emphasize the freedom and responsibility of the individual. In psychology, these theoretical viewpoints evolved as a reaction to psychoanalytic and behavioral perspectives that characterized human behavior as determined by forces not directly under individual control. The humanists rebelled against the conception of humans as pawns controlled by genetically programmed instinct or environmental forces and accompanying assumptions that seemed to split the individual into pieces. Instead, humanistic theorists emphasize individual agency and holistic functioning.

A related assumption in humanistic approaches is the importance of individual experiencing. Human functioning is viewed as the direct result of the internal world of the individual; thoughts and feelings are given primacy over external forces in the motivation and production of behavior. However, an essential element of human experience is the relationship with the surrounding environment, most notably, other individuals.

Humanistic approaches to counseling tend to emphasize self-awareness, and these therapists prompt clients to explore their inner worlds. In these systems, it is recognized that it is natural for individuals to deny or distort aspects of experience that they find painful or unacceptable to their self-conceptions. These denied or distorted experiences cause problems in living. The tendency to reject aspects of life experience is seen as learned, primarily from the cultural norms and expectations that are incorporated into people's self-concepts as they traverse the developmental path from childhood to adulthood. Freed from societal influences, individuals' natural growth tendencies lead them to become fully functioning, healthy (in both mind and body) human beings who can adequately satisfy their physiological and psychological needs. Healthy individuals freely experience internal and external events and processes, and live authentic lives unfettered by the rules and dictates of society.

Although specifics differ somewhat across theories, one important task of the therapist in humanistic approaches is to provide the correct therapeutic [Page 638]environment for the client. The client must be freed from blocks in experiencing so that they can become authentic. To do this, the therapist, too, must be authentic. The therapeutic relationship is viewed as an encounter between two individuals; the client's experiencing is blocked in some way, and the therapist is experiencing more freely. Ultimately, the therapist's acceptance of the client leads to the client's acceptance of the self, with all of its experience.

Person-Centered Therapy

Person-centered (PC) therapy was developed by Carl Ransom Rogers and has been known by three different names. It was called nondirective therapy when first introduced in the 1940s, and then Rogers renamed it client-centered therapy in the 1950s. In the 1980s, because many PC concepts were being applied beyond counseling and psychotherapy, in areas such as education, industry, and conflict resolution, Rogers began using the name person-centered approach to reflect the potential for application of this theory beyond traditional individual psychotherapy.

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