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Post#1 by Leslie Taylor Developmental Theories
According to Bland & Derobertis (2019), humanism is rooted in “the idea that people have an ethical responsibility to lead lives that are personally fulfilling while at the same time contributing to the greater good for all people.” Two of the most well-known proponents of humanistic psychology are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, both of which lived and practiced during the 20th century. Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who is best known for proposing a hierarchy of human needs in motivating behavior. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comprises of a 5-tier hierarchy depicted in the shape of a pyramid whereby a person begins from the bottom of the hierarchy and strives upwards from attainment of basic needs to the top hierarchy of self-actualization. The humanistic perspective describes a person’s need for fulfillment and personal growth as a key motivator of all behavior (McLeod, 2015). Humanistic theorists believe that people are continually looking for new ways to grow, to become better, to learn new things, and to experience psychological growth and self-actualization, as depicted by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow asserted that so long as basic needs necessary for survival were met, such as food, water, shelter; higher-level needs, such as one’s social needs would begin to motivate behavior. Maslow theorized that the highest-level needs relate to self-actualization, a process by which full potential is reached. Carl Rogers was also an American psychologist who, like Maslow, emphasized the potential for good that exists within all people. Rogers’s focus was to ensure that human developmental processes led to healthier, even more creative, personality functioning. Actualizing tendency is a term coined by Rogers and was a concept that eventually led Abraham Maslow to study self-actualization as one of the needs of humans.
Leslie Taylor Developmental Theories
Because humanistic psychology focuses on a holistic view of individuals and believes that humans are inherently good and seek to achieve fulfillment and self-actualization, humanistic psychotherapy is aimed at fostering these goals (Churchill et al., 2010). In contrast to psychoanalysis, humanistic therapists focus on conscious rather than unconscious thoughts. They also emphasize the patient’s present and future, as opposed to exploring the patient’s past or possibilities of an afterlife. According to Zakhari (2021), symptoms are viewed as resulting from inconsistencies between a person’s behaviors or actions and their view of themselves and what they want to achieve. Thus, the goal of person-centered therapy (PCT), created by Carl Rogers (1951), is to create conditions under which “clients can discover their self-worth, feel comfortable exploring their own identity, and alter their behavior to better reflect this identity.” Rogers believed that “all people have the potential to change and improve, and that the role of therapists is to foster self-understanding in an environment where adaptive change is most likely to occur” (Rogers, 1951). Rogers (1951) prescribed a specific strategy that a therapist conducting person centered therapy must display. Namely, a therapist must “display three features to maximize the effectiveness of this approach: unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy.” According to Setiya (2018), this type of therapy is often called “nondirective therapy because the therapist does not give advice or provide interpretations but helps the person to identify conflicts and understand feelings so they can take responsibility for their own direction in life and for their choices.” The therapist actively listens and asks questions in demonstration of their active listening and presence in the conversation which allows the client to feel heard and understood.
Leslie Taylor Developmental Theories
As described by Bland & Derobertis (2019), one key advantage of person-centered therapy (PCT) is that it is highly acceptable to patients as people tend to find the supportive, flexible environment of this approach very rewarding. The main disadvantage to PCT, however, is that findings about its effectiveness are mixed, primarily based on unspecific treatment factors (Bland & Derobertis, 2019). The therapeutic techniques of the humanistic or person-centered therapy approach are criticized for the ability to be applied to anyone instead of being individualized and hence providing a more tailored approach to the individual patient and the mental concerns they are seeking help for.
The fundamental belief of humanistic psychology is that people are innately good and that mental and social problems result from deviations from this natural tendency rather than looking at religious, divine, or spiritual matters for explanations and guidance. It is theorized that people can solve their own problems in a type of environment that fosters a supportive, and non-judgmental vibe as the patient strives for self-actualization.