PsychologicalSchools of Thought

Humanist Psychology

Humanist PsychologistsWhat they believe…The client should be very

involved in his or her own recoveryShouldn’t rely on therapist’s

interpretations of the issuesHumanists reject quantitative

methodology (experiments)Believe qualitative research

methods are valuableDiary 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 1902-1987Rogers is considered a founding

father of psychotherapy created the Person-centred

approachused to understand personality &

human relationships

ALL Humanists believed ppl had free will & chose their actions

All ppl are attempting to grow & reach their full potentialTF therapy needed to be centred on

self (client-based/person-centred)

Rogers TheoryPPL 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 pplOpposed 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 TheoryPPL have different needs @ different timesBottom needs take priority over othersOnly a few ppl become self-actualizers, that

completely fulfill their ambitionsMany become fixated on issues they struggle

or struggled to acquire for a prolonged period of timei.e. the impoverished often remain anxious over

food

Victor Frankl 1905-1997 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 LOGOTHERAPYFrankl 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