The main characteristic of humanist psychology is that the human being as a whole is to consider the human being as a whole, it is based on the multiple factors involved in mental health, all converge and are interconnected: emotions, body feelings, behavior, thoughts, etc.
“I realize that if I were stable, careful and static, I would live in death. So I accept confusion, uncertainty, fear and emotional ups and downs, because that’s the price I’m willing to pay for a fluid, rich and exciting experience. Life?
? Carl Rogers?
Humanist psychology is a stream of psychology that emerged in the mid-20th century, born as an alternative to the two main schools: conductism and psychoanalysis, with the aim of giving a different answer, addressing the problems of the human being, offering a perspective of the health space without the disease.
The humanist approach advocates mental health and all the positive attributes of life, the person as being individual, emphasizing what is needed to serve them in a personalized and multidimensional way.
The roots of humanist psychology lie in the philosophical current of European existentialism, with authors such as:
Jean Paul Sartre
“Man was born free, responsible and unpologetic. “
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Man is good by nature, it is society that corrupts him. “
Erich Fromm
“If I am what I have and lose what I have, who am I then?
Viktor Frankl
“Man is performed to the same extent that he is attached to the meaning of his life. “
These authors have a vision of the human condition based on freedom, the meaning of life, emotions and responsibility; consider the individual responsible for his life and actions, being able to find his own path to freedom.
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers can be considered the main forerunners of humanist psychology.
Abraham Maslow: is best known for his famous “Pyramid of Maslow”, in which he defines a different hierarchy of human needs, from the most basic (physiological) to the highest, where self-realization is found. This concept was created by Maslow to consider that from the moment the human being has met all his needs, he will reach the stage of development of his vital impulse.
Carl Rogers: do you have a new therapeutic vision that seeks closer collaboration with him?Client? (a term coined in psychology, considered more appropriate than the term “patient”).
In his book “Customer Centered Therapy”, he shows how he rejects guiding techniques in his clinical experience, showing a closer relationship with his clients, thus facilitating the individual’s encounter with himself.
His contribution to psychology, from this point of view, is invaluable, because it is considered that the individual is able to find in him all the resources necessary to maintain balance in his life.
For Rogers, sick people “sleep” and need to be awakened through their own inner wisdom. The therapist serves as a guide to finding your own answers.
? It offers a broad holistic perspective, that is, it is characterized by a vision of the person as a whole, globally, each aspect has the same relevance. Thoughts, body, emotions and the spiritual side, these aspects are interdependent and converge. They are the main route by which the individual is located.
? Human existence occurs in an interpersonal context, therefore, the relationship with others is very important and necessary, given the context in which it occurs, for the individual development of the human being.
? People have the ability to make their own decisions, take responsibility, and develop and implement their own potential.
? Promotes and facilitates personal development. The psychologist serves as a tool for the person, through his own resources, to understand and develop.
? People have an innate tendency to self-realization, human beings can rely on the wisdom of this part of their interior, since the whole remedy is in their own answers, this must be understood, because there is no need to control the environment or control their emotions by suppressing them.
Humanist psychology focuses on the individual from a global perspective. He understands that all aspects of human beings are important. The individual is seen as a unique being, responsible for his own experience, able to become aware of his own resources; to develop, achieve self-realization and discover its full potential.
“The basic element of the field of knowledge is direct and intimate experience (?). Is there no substitute for experience ?.
? Abraham Maslow?