Comparing Humanism And Humanistic Psychology

• The humanistic perspective views human nature as basically good. They believe humans have an inherent potential to maintain healthy, meaningful relationships and to make choices that are in the interest of their self and others. The humanistic therapist focuses on helping people free themselves from certain ways of thinking and attitudes so they can live fuller lives. The humanistic therapist emphasizes growth and self-actualization. This perspective holds that people have an inherent capacity for their own responsible self-direction. For the humanistic therapist, not being your true self is the source of problems. The therapeutic relationship serves as a way in which the process of psychological growth happens. The humanistic therapist tries

Humanistic psychologists look at human behavior through the eyes of the observer and through the eyes of the client. Humanistic psychologists believe that a persons’ behavior is a result of their inner feelings and self-image. Unlike the behaviorists, humanistic psychologists believe that humans are not only the product of their environment. Rather, humanistic psychologists study human meanings, understandings, and experiences involved in growing, teaching, and learning. They focus on the importance of understanding the characteristics that are shared by all human beings such as love, grief, caring, and self-worth. Humanistic psychologists emphasize that humans are influenced by their self-perceptions and the personal meanings that they attach to their experiences. Humanistic psychologists are not particularly concerned with instinctual drives, responses to external stimuli, or past experiences. Instead, they consider conscious choices, responses to internal needs, and individual circumstances to be important in shaping human behavior. They help provide grounds for meaningful engagement with all aspects of the treatment process. Humanistic psychologists believe

• As a therapist, you must be a good listener. It is the therapist’s job to make sure they really hear and understand what is being said by the client. The therapist must receive and respond to the whole content of what the client is telling them. It does not matter if it is verbal or nonverbal, the therapist must listen and understand. What is not said can be even more important than what is said aloud. As a therapist, you must help the client talk about all areas of concern, not just the superficial problems. The therapist must also talk about things that are uncomfortable to talk about, as those can be very important. The therapist must be responsive to what the client is telling them and make sure the client’s experiences are being attended to. The client must feel like they are being attended to and that they are not being judged. Therapeutic listening also helps the client listen to themselves and to slow down and understand. Rogers’ said that “by listening acceptingly to every aspect of the client’s experience, the therapist is modeling the notion of listening to oneself. And, by being accepting and non-judgmental of the feelings within the client, the therapist is modeling a non-judgmental self-acceptance in the client.” Active listening is the practice of listening to a speaker while providing feedback indicating that the listener both hears and understands what the speaker is saying. In active listening, the speaker must feel heard. Listeners can use several