Humanistic Therapy: What Is It And What Principles Is It Based On?
It seems that Humanistic Therapy is in fashion. Courses, conferences, web pages, articles appear everywhere, and obviously there are defenders and retractors.
I am not going to take a position, but I do think it is interesting to really know what we are talking about, in the same way that I think it is important that we learn to differentiate therapy or a humanistic approach from other unreliable disciplines. When something becomes fashionable, we lack time to invent “alternatives” of dubious credibility.
The precursor of the humanistic approach is considered to be Carl Rogers (1959). He was an American psychologist who, before becoming a relevant clinical psychologist, studied agriculture at university and later became interested in theology, which brought him into contact with philosophy.
Carl Rogers appeared in a specific socioeconomic context, he did not emerge from nowhere. In the 60s everything was questioned; It was the time of the student movements, of the hippies, of feminism, of the environmentalists… there was a desire for change. And in that breeding ground Humanistic Psychology appeared.
Humanistic Psychology appears
We could simplify the identity of this current of psychology by saying that “humanists” not only investigate suffering, but also delve into the growth and self-knowledge of the person themselves. They are more concerned with proposing alternatives to this suffering than with studying behavior. They provide a positive vision and their basis is the will and hope of the same person. They start from goodness and health, and understand that mental disorders or everyday problems are distortions of this natural tendency. They focus on healthy people, and consider that personality is innate and “good” in itself.
In humanistic models there is no appeal to the past or personal history, but rather it is the capabilities and tools available to the person at the current moment that influence their problem and/or solution. We could say that it analyzes the present, the here and now. The moment you are not able to enjoy and take advantage of this present is when problems appear. Humanists understand that the “healthy” person is the one who is enriched by her experience. Its purpose is to be able to know yourself and learn gradually.
Humanists defend that each person innately has a potential that allows them to grow, evolve and self-actualize and that pathology appears when these capacities are blocked. They consider that the individual must learn to be, to know and to do, and that it is the same person who must find the solutions on his or her own, leaving him or her total freedom to decide. Pathological disorders are renunciations or losses of this freedom that do not allow one to continue their process of vital growth.
Contributions from the humanistic perspective
Some of the most important contributions that appear associated with the appearance of Humanistic Therapy are the following:
We must also keep in mind that these models postulate that the individual does not react to reality, but rather to his or her perception of it, which is totally subjective.
Criticisms of this approach
Another notable point is the one that has led to the most criticism of this approach: its theoretical weakness. Humanistic Psychology avoids classifications and does not consider the scientific method as a “natural” method to understand “abnormal” behavior. This means that this current is not accompanied by a solid empirical basis and suffers from theoretical weakness, which has given rise to many “self-help” movements of dubious credibility.
Another criticism that this movement has received is its consideration of human beings as “good by nature.” It is an optimistic approach and surely very timely for the time, but forget that the human being is a set of negative and positive factors and characteristics and therefore we must consider both.
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself as I am, then I can change.” —Carl Rogers
