Sample Psychology Paper: Promoting psychological health

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Title: Promoting psychological health

Introduction

The humanist perspective to psychological wellbeing puts emphasis on the whole person. Humanist psychologists are interested in human behavior through the eyes engaging in the behavior as opposed to those of the observer. These psychologists hold the view that an individual’s behavior is a manifestation of his self-image and inner feelings (Smith, 1990). This perspective focuses on the uniqueness of the individual, and hence the view that every person has the free will to bring about change in his life.

Core principles of the humanist perspective

Humanist psychology is so called because its core belief in the respect for humanity and the basic good that exists in all mankind (Buhler, 1971). This perspective traces its origin from existential psychology, which deals with the realization and understanding of the individual’s social responsibility and existence (Smith, 1991). The humanist perspective was introduced by two psychologists: Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers (Sheldon, 2001). These psychologists expounded the humanist perspective as a way of defining and understanding people’s personalities as well as improving their overall satisfaction.

One of the core principles of the humanist perspective is that the present moment is the most significant aspect of an individual (Davidson, 1992). On this basis, humanists put most emphasis on the ‘here and now’ as opposed to an examination of the past or attempts to make future predictions. The second principle is that for individuals to maintain mental health, they must take personal responsibility for all their actions; regardless of whether those actions are positive or negative. The third principle is that each person is inherently worthy, simply by being.  Although some of a person’s actions may be negative, all of these actions cannot cancel out the individual’s value as a person. Humanist psychologists also hold the view that the ultimate aim of living is simply the attainment of personal growth and understanding. This process of growth and development, which is achieved through constant self-understanding and self-improvement, makes the individual truly happy.

According to Abraham Maslow, human life involves much more than just external reinforcement (Schott, 1992). Maslow disputes the assertion by behaviorists that humanity was born without any value or direction. It is on this basis that he came up with the needs triangle, also known as the needs hierarchy. The fundamental premise of the needs hierarchy is that every individual is born with specific, clear-cut needs. If an individual is unable to meet the base needs, he is unable to survive and maintain focus upward within this hierarchy. The first stratum is made of psychological needs, namely sleep, oxygen, food, and water. These needs are followed by the need for security and safety. Once someone feels secure and safe, he attempts to establish a sense of belonging by building friendships. Maslow calls them social needs, which are followed by esteem needs. Finally, the apex of the needs triangle is represented by the need for self-actualization.

Various therapeutic stances and techniques in this approach

From the humanist perspective there are different approaches that are used in both counseling and therapy (Schowe, 1979). In counseling, one of the main techniques is client-centered or person-centered therapy, which was originally developed by Carl Rogers. In the person-centered therapy, the therapist has to enter into the client’s phenomenological world (Raskin, 1989). He has to mirror this world to the extent that he does not point out or disagree with any contradictions. The therapist also avoids delving into the unconscious. The focus is restricted on just the immediate conscious experience. In Rogers’ view, therapy is simply a process through which a person is freed by removing obstacles in order for development to take place, thereby enabling the individual become self-directed and independent.

The existential psychotherapy of Medard Boss is also commonly used in counseling (Wertheimer, 1978). Boss, who was a psychoanalyst and physician, was greatly inspired by Martin Heidegger’s existential-phenomenological philosophy. He managed to adopt a humanist approach to counseling and therapy without doing away with the valuable insights he had gained in psychiatry and medicine. Boss used the ‘essential’ structures of human existence, which, for Heidegger, included such things as time, space, sociality, things, and others (Schneider, 2001). All these ‘essentials were of great use to Boss’s counseling procedures.

There are many other therapeutic stances, including experiential psychotherapy, primal integration, bodywork, psychodrama, depth therapy, psychosynthesis, group work encounter, and transpersonal therapy. All of these stances provide a holistic description of the person. In experiential psychotherapy, for instance, the therapist often acts more as a guide than as a clinician. Experiential psychotherapy is a deeply empathic and emotion-focused approach to therapy. In this process, the work of the therapist is to guide the client to process his experiences affectively and cognitively using the appropriate active interventions for facilitating the resolution of painful emotions.

Conclusion

Through the use of inter-subjective, phenomenological and first-person categories, the aim of the humanist psychologist becomes to catch a glimpse of the whole individual rather than merely the fragmented parts of his personality. When there is integration of the whole person, self-actualization is said to have been achieved. Whenever self-actualization is realized, this becomes a new proof for the humanist psychologists’ claim that every person is in possession of in-built potentials and resources for enabling him build a stronger self-concept and personality.

 

References

Buhler, C. (1971) Basic theoretical concepts of humanistic psychology, American Psychologist, 26(4), 378-386.

Davidson, L. (1992) Philosophical foundations of humanistic psychology, The Humanistic Psychologist, 20(2), 136 – 157.

Raskin, N. (1989) Person-centered therapy: Current psychotherapies (4th ed.), Itasca, IL: Peacock Publishers.

Schneider, K. (2001) The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Leading Edges in Theory, Research, and practice, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Schott, R. (1992) Abraham Maslow, Humanistic Psychology, and Organization Leadership: A Jungian Perspective, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 32(1), 106-120.

Schowe, B. (1979) Identity crisis in deafness: A humanistic perspective, New York: Foundation Press.

Sheldon, K. (2001) Goals, Congruence, and Positive Well-Being: New Empirical Support for Humanistic Theories, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 4(1), 30-50.

Smith, M. (1990) Humanistic psychology, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 30(4), 6-21.

Smith, M. (1991) Values, self, and society: toward a humanist social psychology, New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

Wertheimer, M. (1978) Humanistic psychology and the humane but tough-minded psychologist, American Psychologist, 33(8), 739-745.

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