LECTURE 3: COUNSELING APPROACHES

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lecture the student should be able to discuss the techniques and efficacy of
•Psychodynamic Therapy
•Behavior Therapy
•Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies
•Humanistic Therapy
INTRODUCTION
Prior to the 19th century, people had little understanding of emotional difficulties and mental
disorders.
Many people with severe symptoms were forcibly confined in institutions and exposed to largely
ineffective treatments while those with mild or moderate difficulties typically received no
professional help.
The development of psychodynamic approaches to psychotherapy, spearheaded by the work of
Sigmund Freud led to the emergence of what has been called the first force of psychotherapy.
Viewing peoples’ past experiences as the source of peoples’ present emotional difficulties and
emphasizing unconscious processes and long term treatment, psychodynamic approaches
provided a solid foundation for the field of psychotherapy, but that approach had clear
limitations.
The research and practice of B.F. Skinner as well as more modern theorists such as Albert Ellis,
Aaron Beck, William Glasser and Donald Meichenbaum led to the emergence of the second forc;
behavioural and cognitive theories and interventions.
Behavioural treatment approaches widely used in the 1970s have been integrated with cognitive
approaches, developed primarily in the 1980s, leading to the cognitive-behavioural approaches
that received considerable attention and considerable support in the 1990s.
Cognitive and behavioural treatment systems emphasize the influence of thoughts and actions on
emotions.
They use interventions that focus on the present and seek to minimize dysfunctional cognitions
and behaviours while replacing them with more helpful and positive thoughts and actions.
Carl Rogers’s innovative work emerged in the 1960s and led to the development of the third
force, existential humanistic psychotherapy.
The work of Fritzperls, Victor Frankl and others contributed to this force, which emphasizes the
importance of emotions and sensations and of people taking charge of and finding meaning in
their own lives.

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These approaches also drew attention to the importance of therapeutic alliance.
Now, at the beginning of the 21st century clinicians are entering the era of the fourth force.
Elements of first, second and third force treatment approaches are integrated into a
comprehensive and holistic effort to understand people as fully.
Clinician’s awareness and understanding of components of individual identity such as gender,
culture, age, race and sexual orientation facilitate development of positive therapeutic
relationships and effective treatment plans.
Becoming culturally competent, being an ally with clients and being open to their multiple
perspectives of themselves and their world are essential to today’s clinicians.
Networking and collaboration with other mental health professionals, providers of community
resources and important people in client’s lives are now viewed as integral to treatment.
Theories of counseling and psychotherapy as well as their implementation have changed in
response to the fourth force.
New approaches such as narrative therapy, dialectics and therapies that incorporate Eastern
thought and philosophy provide powerful ways to understand peoples’ experiences more fully
and empower people to take an active role in changing their emotions perceptions and behavior.
The main aim of any therapy is to uncover the unconscious content of a client’s psyche in order
to alleviate psychic tension.
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH TO COUNSELING
Introduction
Psychoanalysis was developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and concentrated on the
unconscious mind.
Freud’s early work focused on the study of neurology.
His research on the brain and spinal cord was his first notable contribution to the field of
psychoanalysis (psychoanalysis refers both to a theory of how the mind works and a treatment
modality)

Psychodynamic therapy is similar to psychoanalytic therapy ( Psychoanalysis )since it attempts

to uncover repressed childhood experiences which are thought to explain an individual’s current
difficulties.

Psychoanalytic therapy is grounded on the ideas that a person’s development is mostly

determined by forgotten events in early childhood and that human behavior and dysfunction are
entirely influenced by irrational drives which are rooted in the unconscious.

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Experimentation led Freud to initiate what he called the concentration technique, in which
patients lay down with their eyes closed while he placed his hand on their foreheads and urged
them to say whatever thoughts arose.
He used questions to elicit material and promote self-exploration.
This was an early version of modern psychotherapy.
Although Freud later stopped touching his patients in this way because of its erotic possibilities,
he continued to emphasize the importance of patient self-exploration and free association.
Basic Assumptions
a)The motivation for behaviour comes from the unconscious mind and not the body.
b)An individual's problems were rooted in early childhood experiences and these were invariably
sexual in character.
c)The therapist was an expert who listened to the patient and treated him/her as if in need of
help.
d)Psychoanalysis involves a long and time-consuming commitment.

TECHNIQUE OF PSYCHOANALYTICAL APPROACH

Fundamental to the psychoanalytic counseling process is the belief that people relegate material
they cannot tolerate to the unconscious, using defense mechanisms (eg repression).
Because crucial issues have been pushed out of awareness without being resolved, unmet needs
keep on popping up.
The process of counseling then encourages the client to dislodge unconscious material and
resolve the conflicts contained therein.
The client is encouraged to talk as freely as possible about troublesome situations. Talking about
these issues often leads the client to recall related thoughts that were repressed.
In some cases, free association is used.
In free association, the client suspends control over what he or she says and just lets speech flow-
regardless of how disconnected or bizarre the material seems.
Sometimes dreams are also analyzed for clues to the unconscious.
Regardless of the method of disclosure-problem discussion, free association, or dream analysis –
the counselor seeks to understand the client’s motives and to interpret to the client his or her
thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

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The counselor relies on his or her knowledge of psychodynamics to lead the client toward new
insights. The client often dicharges substantial emotion (referred to as catharsis) as painful
circumstances are explored and new insights are achieved.
With interpretation serving as an important counselor lead, psychoanalytic counseling depends
heavily on the counselor’s knowledge of personality dynamics.
Psychoanalytic counseling places the most emphasis on in-depth exploration.

EFFICACY OF PSYCHOANALYTICAL APPROACH

It is not easy to account for effectiveness of strict psychoanalysis. Therapy as Freud intended
draws heavily from the interpretation of the therapist and therefore not easy to prove.
However, the effectiveness of more modern developed techniques of psychodynamic therapy can
be more accurately gauged.
Meta analyses in 2012 and 2013 established the efficacy of psychoanalytic therapy. Additionally
meta-analysis published recently established that psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy is
effective with the results comparable to or greater than other kinds of psychotherapy
antidepressant drugs.

QUESTION
Discuss Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stages of development and their implication on
human behavior.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY
Behaviour therapy, initiated during the 1950s and 1960s, presented a powerful challenge to the
principles of psychoanalysis.
Behavior therapy’s focus on observable behaviour rather than the unconscious; on the present
rather than the past; and on short term treatment, clear goals and rapid change had considerable
appeal.
As the name implies, behaviour therapy focuses entirely on specific behaviour with the goal of
changing or modifying that behaviour. Health related behaviours such as smoking, obesity and
sedentary lifestyle have become the focus of increased interest in the United States because these
unhealthy behaviours have been linked to illness and preventable deaths. Similarly, childhood
behaviours such as road rage, drinking, phobias and others can be modified as well.
Behaviour theory is not strongly associated with one or two names; many people contributed to
the evolution of this approach.

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Some, like Skinner, Harlow and Pavlov used principles of behaviour to shape the actions of
animals.
Others, including Eysenck, Lazarus, Wolpe, Donald and Miller, Krumboltz and Bandura applied
behaviour therapy and learning theory to people.
The development of learning theory presupposed that all psychological disorders were the result
of faulty learning in childhood.
Skinner’s theories, which used reinforcements to assist learning, were followed by Wolpe’s
theory of systematic desensitization in which people were gradually introduced to a fear
producing object while being taught relaxation techniques.
Later, bandura discovered the role of social learning in the reinforcement of behaviour.
IVAN PAVLOV
In the early 1900s, Ivan Pavlov (1927) a Russian physiologist, identified and described a type of
learning that is now known as classical conditioning.
His study of conditioning dogs’ responses is well known. Pavlov demonstrated that by
simultaneously presenting an unconditioned stimulus (meat paste) and a conditioned stimulus
(the sound of a tuning fork), researches could elicit the dog’s salivation using only the
conditioned stimulus (the sound) because the dogs learned to associate the sound with the meat.
Pavlov also studied the process of extinction. For a while, the dogs in his study salivated to the
sound of the tuning fork, even when the sound was no longer accompanied by the meat.
However, over time, the salivating response diminished and eventually disappeared in response
to the tuning fork alone.
JOHN WATSON
John Watson, an American psychologist, used Pavlov’s principles of classical conditioning and
stimulus generalization along with concepts of learning theory to change human behavior.
Rejecting psychoanalysis then the prevailing treatment approach, Watson (1925) proposed what
he called behaviorism.
Watson demonstrated that an unconditioned stimulus (a white rat) could lead a child to emit a
conditioned response (startle) in reaction not only to a white rat but also to white cotton and
Watson’s white hair.
B.F. SKINNER
Building on the work of Pavlov and Watson, B.F.Skinner developed a theory that has become the
foundation on which behaviour modification is based.
His ideas, known as operant reinforcement theory, postulate that how often a behaviour will be
emitted is largely determined by the events that follow that behaviour.

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Drawing on the principles of operant conditions in one of his studies, Skinner used rewards to
gradually shape the behaviour of pigeons until they learned to peck at a red disc.
Similarly, children’s behaviour can be shaped through parental reinforcement; for example ,
parents who attend primarily to children’s misbehavior inadvertently reinforce that behaviour.
Skinner called this ‘operant’ behavior because the behavior ‘operated ‘on the environment and
was controlled by its effects.
Operant conditioning refers to the schedules of reinforcement responsible for producing the new
behaviour.
Based on the effect of consequences, schedules of consequences may be continuous, fixed ratio,
fixed interval or variable rate.
Shaping refers to the manner in which more complicated behaviours are reinforced.
For example, Skinner was able to reinforce a pigeon to turn in a circle by reinforcing small
successive approximations of the desired behaviour until the pigeon was able to complete an
entire turn with only one reinforcement.
Other terms related to behavior therapy include the following:
Positive reinforcement
A behavior followed by appositive reinforcement has an increased probability of being repeated.
Positive reinforcement involves a ‘reward’ to a client upon completion of desired behavior (at
the schedule of reinforcement that has been determined)
Positive reinforcement encourages a behaviour to be repeated, just like a parent’s smile and
excitement reinforces a baby to smile.
Aversive stimulus
The opposite of positive reinforcement, an aversive stimulus is one that is unpleasant, such as
shocking a mouse.
A behaviour followed by an aversive stimulus results in a decreased probability of the behaviour
occurring in the future.
This both defines an aversive stimulus and describes the form of conditioning known as
punishment. If you shock a mouse for doing x it will do less of x.
Negative reinforcement
Involves the removal of an already active aversive stimulus (e.g. turning off the electricity when
the mouse stands on its hind legs will result in the mouse standing more)
Therefore, behavior followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus results in an increased
probability of that behavior occurring in the future.

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Negative reinforcement is often mistaken for punishment yet the two are separate concepts in
behavioral theory.
Operant learning can be used to shape behavior. Skinner compared this learning with the way
children learn to talk-they are rewarded for making a sound that is similar to a word until they
can say the word.
The principles of Skinner are still incorporated within treatments of phobias, addictive
behaviours and in the enhancement of classroom performance as well as in computer based self-
instruction.
JOHN DOLLARD AND NEAL MILLER
Subsequent work by John Dollard and Neal Miller (1950) contributed to more understanding of
learning theory and paved way for behaviorists to move into the arena of psychotherapy.
Dollard and Miller identified four important elements in behavior: drive, cue, response and
reinforcement.
Dollard and Miller defined learning theory as follows:
Learning theory is the study of the circumstances under which a response and a cue stimulus
become connected.
After learning has been completed, response and cue are bound together in such a way that the
appearance of the cue evokes the response.
The connection between a cue and a response can be strengthened under certain conditions.
The learner must be driven to make the response and rewarded for having responded in the
presence of the cue.
The more frequently a stimulus and a response coincide, with the response being rewarded, the
stronger is the tendency to emit the response when that stimulus occur, leading to the
development of a habit or habitual response.
This is the essence of the stimulus-response (S-R) concept, which according to behaviour
ttheorists, determines the behaviours that people learn.
Focusing on behavior change has many advantages in treatment, most of which are similar to the
advantages of focusing on cognitions.
However, an emphasis on actions has additional advantages as well as drawbacks.
EFFICACY OF BEHAVIOUR THERAPY
Behaviours as presenting problems
Clients’ presenting problems often focus on behaviors. People rarely seek treatment because of
dysfunctional thoughts, although they do sometimes seek help for negative emotions like
depression and anxiety.

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Usually, what impels them to seek help is an upsetting behavior, either their own or somebody
else’s.
Common behavioral concerns include overeating, unhealthy use of drugs or alcohol, poor
impulse control, difficulty finding a rewarding job, problems in developing rewarding
relationships, etc.
Attending to unrewarding or self-destructive behavior is particularly important in treatment of
people who are not self-referred for help.
For example, people who are fulfilling court mandated treatment requirements, who have been
encouraged to meet with an employee- assistance counselor at work or who have been brought
for help by a concerned parent or dissatisfied partner usually are in treatment because their
behaviours have violated the law or been unsatisfactory or troubling to others.
The accessibility of behaviours
Behaviours are more accessible than thoughts and emotions.
Think back yesterday at this same time. You may have difficulty recalling your thoughts and
feelings but you can probably remember where you were and what you were doing.
Comfort in discussion of behaviors
Discussion of peoples’ behaviors is likely to be less threatening than discussion of their early
childhood experiences or their troubling emotions and somewhat less uncomfortable than
discussion of their cognitions.
People are used to talking about their activities with others but are less likely to talk with others
about thoughts and emotions.
In addition, most actions are overt and observable whereas thoughts and emotions are covert and
often not obvious.
Accuracy of information
Discussion of actions is socially acceptable, even among casual acquaintances and people seem
more able to present accurate information about their behaviours than about their emotions and
cognitions.
Having clear and valid information, especially at the beginning of treatment, is essential in
formulating realistic goals and a viable treatment plan, as well as in developing therapeutic
alliance.
Ease of measurement
Actions are amenable to measurement.
People can determine the baseline frequency of a behavior and then assess change in sucxh
variables as how much time they spend with friends, how often they exercise, etc

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Availability of behavior change strategies
A broad range of behavior change strategies have been developed.This enables clinicians to
individualize, bring creativity to their work and maximize the likelihood of success by tailoring
treatment to a particular person and behavior.
Extensive research support
Because the impact of behavior change strategies ususlly is easy to assess and because most most
behaviorally oriented clinicians are favourably disposed toward empirical research, an extensive
body of literature describes and affirms the effectiveness of behavior and cognitive –behavioural
therapy.
LIMITATIONS OF BEHAVIOUR THERAPY
An exclusive focus on actions can lead clinicians and clients to ignore thoughts and feelings that
need attention and are important in solidifying change. This can lead to superficial treatment and
limited results.
For example, Lily sought counseling for help with time management; she expressed a wish to
have more involvement with her husband and children.
Underlying her presenting problem were feelings of self-doubt and low self-esteem,
disappointment with her marriage and fear that her husband was having an affair.
Lily’s marital concerns were exacerbated by feelings of betrayal stemming from childhood
sexual abuse by her father. Neglect of Lily’s thoughts, emotions and background have done her a
disservice and probably led to treatment that at best would have had limited success.

Behavior Therapy and Applied Behavioral Analysis

Behavior therapy is based on the idea that maladaptive behavior is learned, and thus adaptive
behavior can also be learned.
Defining the Behavioral Approach and Applied Behavioral Analysis
Behavior therapy is a treatment approach that is based on the idea that abnormal behavior is
learned. It applies the principles of operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and
observational learning to eliminate inappropriate or maladaptive behaviors and replace them with
more adaptive responses. Behavior therapy methods sometimes focus only on behaviors, and
sometimes on combinations of thoughts and feelings that might be influencing behaviors. Those
who practice behavior therapy, known as behaviorists, tend to look more at specific, learned
behaviors and how the environment has an impact on those behaviors. Behaviorists tend to look
for treatment outcomes that are objectively measurable.

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Behavior therapy stands apart from insight-based therapies (such as psychoanalytic and
humanistic therapy) because the goal is to teach clients new behaviors to minimize or eliminate
problems, rather than digging deeply into their subconscious or uncovering repressed feelings.
The basic premise is that the individual has learned behaviors that are problematic and
maladaptive, and so he or she must learn new behaviors that are adaptive.

Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies

Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies address the interplay between dysfunctional
emotions, maladaptive behaviors, and biased cognitions.
Definition of Cognitive-Behavioral Approach
Cognitive therapy (CT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are closely related; however,
CBT is an umbrella category of therapies that includes cognitive therapy. CBT is a
psychotherapeutic approach that addresses dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviors, and
cognitive processes through a number of goal-oriented, systematic procedures. The category
refers to behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and therapies based on a combination of basic
behavioral and cognitive principles and research, including dialectical behavior therapy.

Basic tenets of CBT: The diagram depicts how emotions, thoughts, and behaviors all influence
each other. The triangle in the middle represents CBT’s tenet that all humans’ core beliefs relate
to themselves, others, or the future. Centered around that is a feedback loop between behavior,
thoughts, and feelings, all of which are the target of CBT.
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy seeks to help the client overcome difficulties by identifying and changing
dysfunctional thinking and behavior, as well as emotional responses. This involves helping
patients to develop skills for modifying beliefs, identifying distorted thinking, relating to others
in different ways, and changing behaviors. Treatment is based on collaboration between the
patient and therapist and on testing beliefs.
At the core of cognitive therapy is the idea of cognitive biases, or irrational beliefs that cause
distress in a person’s life. Some examples include:
Over-generalization: drawing general conclusions from a single (usually negative) event, such
as thinking that making a single bad grade makes you a failure of a student.
Minimization and magnification: either grossly underestimating one’s own positive
performance or overestimating the importance of a negative event.
Selective abstraction: occurs when a detail is taken out of context and believed while everything
else in the context is ignored.

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Cognitive biases: Cognitive biases are maladaptive patterns of judgment, whereby inferences
about other people and situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion. The example in this
image depicts a common cognitive bias known as black-and-white thinking, in which someone
may think in terms of false dichotomies of always/never or right/wrong with no room for grey
areas in between.
These irrational beliefs take the form of automatic thoughts; cognitive therapy believes that
patients suffering from mental illness can be helped if therapists challenge these irrational
beliefs. In this way, cognitive therapy encourages people to see that some of their thoughts are
mistaken. It has been found that by adjusting these thoughts people’s emotional distress can be
reduced.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) works to solve current problems and change unhelpful
thinking and behavior. The basic tenet of CBT is that emotions (both adaptive and maladaptive)
occur because of our interpretation of an event, not because of the event itself. At its most basic
level, it is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. While rooted in rather
different theories, these two therapy types have been characterized by a constant reference to
experimental research to test hypotheses. Common features of CBT procedures are a focus on
the here and now, a directive or guidance role of the therapist, structured psychotherapy sessions,
and alleviating patients’ symptoms as well as vulnerabilities.
CBT is one of the most widely researched and most effective treatments for depression, anxiety
disorders, eating disorders, and substance abuse disorders. When someone is distressed or
anxious, the way they see and evaluate themselves can become negative. CBT therapists and
clients work together to see the link between negative thoughts and mood. This empowers people
to assert control over negative emotions and to change the way they behave. CBT assumes that
changing maladaptive thinking leads to change in affect and behavior. Therapists help
individuals to challenge maladaptive thinking and help them replace it with more realistic and
effective thoughts, or encourage them to take a more open, mindful, and aware posture toward
those thoughts.
Modern forms of CBT include a number of diverse but related techniques such as exposure
therapy, stress inoculation training, cognitive processing therapy, cognitive therapy, relaxation
training, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT),
which is discussed in more detail below.

History of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

The modern roots of cognitive behavioral therapy can be traced to the development of behavior
therapy in the early 20th century, the development of cognitive therapy in the 1960s, and the
subsequent merging of the two. Groundbreaking work of behaviorism began with Watson’s and
Rayner’s studies of conditioning in 1920. Behavioral-centered therapeutic approaches appeared
as early as 1924 with Mary Cover Jones’s work on the unlearning of fears in children. These

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were the antecedents of the development of Joseph Wolpe’s behavioral therapy in the 1950s.
During the 1950s and 1960s, behavioral therapy became widely utilized by researchers in the
United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, who were inspired by the behaviorist
learning theories of Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and Clark L. Hull.
Cognitive therapy was developed by psychiatrist Aaron Beck in the 1960s. His initial focus was
on depression and how a client’s self-defeating attitude served to maintain a depression despite
positive factors in her life. One of the first forms of cognitive-behavior therapy was rational
emotive therapy (RET), which was founded by Albert Ellis and grew out of his dislike of
Freudian psychoanalysis. During the 1980s and 1990s, cognitive and behavioral techniques were
merged into cognitive-behavioral therapy. Pivotal to this merging was the successful
development of treatments for panic disorder by David M. Clark in the UK and David H. Barlow
in the US. Over time, cognitive-behavioral therapy came to be known not only as a therapy, but
as an umbrella category for all cognitive-based psychotherapies.
Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
In adults, CBT has been shown to have effectiveness and a role in the treatment plans for anxiety
disorders, depression, eating disorders, chronic low back pain, personality disorders, psychosis,
substance use disorders, and in the adjustment, depression, and anxiety associated with
fibromyalgia and post-spinal-cord injuries. Evidence has shown CBT is effective in helping treat
schizophrenia, and it is now offered in most treatment guidelines. Some meta-analyses find CBT
more effective than psychodynamic therapy and equal to other therapies in treating anxiety and
depression. However, psychodynamic therapy may provide better long-term outcomes.
In children and adolescents, CBT is an effective part of treatment plans for anxiety disorders,
body dysmorphic disorder, depression and suicidality, eating disorders and obesity, obsessive-
compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as tic disorders, trichotillomania,
and other repetitive-behavior disorders.
Criticisms of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
The research conducted for CBT has been a topic of sustained controversy. While some
researchers write that CBT is more effective than other treatments, many other researchers and
practitioners have questioned the validity of such claims. A recent meta-analysis revealed that
the positive effects of CBT on depression have been declining since 1977. The overall results
showed two different declines in effect sizes: 1) an overall decline between 1977 and 2014, and
2) a steeper decline between 1995 and 2014. Some critics argue that CBT studies have high
drop-out rates compared to other treatments. At times, the CBT drop-out rates can be more than
five times higher than those of other treatment groups.
Critics argue that one of the hidden assumptions in CBT is that of determinism, or the absence of
free will, because CBT invokes a type of cause-and-effect relationship with cognition.
Specifically, critics argue that since CBT holds that external stimuli from the environment enter
the mind, causing different thoughts that lead to emotional states, there is no room in CBT theory
for agency or free will.

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HUMANISTIC APPROACHES TO COUNSELING
They view as important what people have observed, encountered, and experienced.
These approaches are phenomenological because of the importance they ascribe to how people
view themselves and their world.
Theories that focus on emotions rather than background or cognitions, including client-centered,
existential, Gestalt, and emotion-focused therapy, are considered to be humanistic.
They share the following common beliefs:
i.The person should be viewed holistically, each person has an innate self-actualization tendency.
ii.Humans have free will and are able to make choices.
iii.Because humans have free will and choice, they also have responsibility for those choices.
Humanistic theories emphasize the positive nature of human beings, which overshadows any
emphasis on dysfunction or psychopathology. Since Rogers's time, research on the impact of
stress and emotions on health, the development of positive psychology has focused on optimal
functioning. Compared to Freud's complicated theory of drives and the unconscious, humanistic
theories seem rather simple. Humanists generally assume only one drive: the innate need to self
actualize.
Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic therapy helps individuals access and understand their feelings, gain a sense of
meaning in life, and reach self-actualization.
Defining the Humanistic Approach
As a psychotherapeutic treatment approach, humanistic therapy typically holds that people are
inherently good. It adopts a holistic approach to human existence and pays special attention to
such phenomena as creativity, free will, and human potential. It encourages viewing ourselves as
a “whole person” greater than the sum of our parts and encourages self-exploration rather than
the study of behavior in other people. Humanistic psychology acknowledges spiritual aspiration
as an integral part of the human psyche and is linked to the emerging field of transpersonal
psychology.
Goals of Humanistic Therapy
The aim of humanistic therapy is to help the client develop a stronger, healthier sense of self, as
well as access and understand their feelings to help gain a sense of meaning in life. Humanistic
theory aims to help the client reach what Rogers and Maslow referred to as self-actualization —
the final level of psychological development that can be achieved when all basic and mental
needs are essentially fulfilled and the “actualization” of the full personal potential takes place.

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Humanistic therapy focuses on the individual’s strengths and offers non-judgmental counseling
sessions.
Approaches to Humanistic Therapy
Empathy is one of the most important aspects of humanistic therapy. This idea focuses on the
therapist’s ability to see the world through the eyes of the client. Without empathy, the therapist
is no longer understanding the actions and thoughts of the client from the client’s perspective,
but is understanding strictly as a therapist, which defeats the purpose of humanistic therapy.
Another key element is unconditional positive regard, which refers to the care that the therapist
needs to have for the client. Unconditional positive regard is characterized by warmth,
acceptance, and non-judgment. This ensures that the therapist does not become the authority
figure in the relationship, and allows for a more open flow of information, as well as a kinder
relationship between the two. A therapist practicing humanistic therapy needs to show a
willingness to listen and ensure the comfort of the client by creating an environment where
genuine feelings may be shared but are not forced upon someone.
Types of Humanistic Therapies
In humanistic therapy, there are two widely practiced techniques: gestalt therapy and client-
centered therapy.
Gestalt therapy focuses on the skills and techniques that permit an individual to be more aware of
their feelings. According to this approach, it is much more important to understand what and
how clients are feeling, rather than to identify what is causing their feelings. Previous theories
are thought to spend an unnecessary amount of time making assumptions about what causes
behavior. Instead, Gestalt therapy focuses on the here and now.
Client-centered therapy provides a supportive environment in which clients can reestablish their
true identity. This approach is based on the idea that fear of judgment prevents people from
sharing their true selves with the world around them, causing them to instead establish a public
identity to navigate a judgmental world. The ability to reestablish their true identity will help the
individual understand themselves as they truly are. The task of reestablishing one’s true identity
is not an easy one, and the therapist must rely on the techniques of unconditional positive regard
and empathy.

Client-centered therapy: In client-centered therapy, a form of humanistic therapy, one of the

goals is to establish a trusting relationship built on empathy and unconditional positive regard.
History of Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic psychology rose to prominence in the mid-20th century in response to the limitations
of Sigmund Freud ‘s psychoanalytic theory and B. F. Skinner’s behaviorism. With its roots
running from Socrates through the Renaissance, this approach emphasizes individuals’ inherent

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drive towards self-actualization, the process of realizing and expressing one’s own capabilities,
and creativity.
Among the earliest approaches are the developmental theory of Abraham Maslow, which
emphasizes a hierarchy of needs and motivations, and the client-centered therapy of Carl Rogers,
which is centered on the client’s capacity for self-direction and understanding of his or her own
development. The term “actualizing tendency” was also coined by Rogers and was a concept that
eventually led Maslow to study self-actualization as one of the needs of humans. Rogers and
Maslow introduced this positive, humanistic psychology in response to what they viewed as the
overly pessimistic view of psychoanalysis; during the 20th century, humanistic psychology
became known as the “third force” in psychology.
Efficacy of Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic therapy is used to treat a broad range of people and mental health challenges. It has
been used in the treatment of schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, relationship issues, personality
disorders, and various addictions, such as alcoholism. Many proponents advocate the idea that it
can be useful and effective with any population; however, others have argued that it has limited
effectiveness with individuals who have limited access to education. Certain studies suggest that
humanistic therapy is at least as effective as other forms of psychotherapy at producing stable,
positive changes over time for clients that engage in this form of treatment.
While personal transformation may be the primary focus of most humanistic psychologists,
humanistic approaches have also been applied to theories of social transformation related to
pressing social, cultural, and gender issues. In addition, humanistic psychology’s emphasis on
creativity and wholeness created a foundation for new approaches towards human capital in the
workplace, stressing creativity and the relevance of emotional interactions.

Criticisms of Humanistic Therapy

Critics have taken issue with many of the early tenets of humanistic psychology. As with all
early psychological approaches, questions have been raised about the lack of empirical evidence
used in research. Because of the subjective nature of the framework, psychologists worry about
the fallibility of the humanistic approach. The holistic approach allows for much variation but
does not identify enough constant variables to be researched with true accuracy. Psychologists
also worry that such an extreme focus on the subjective experience of the individual does little to
explain or appreciate the impact of society on personality development. The presence of such a
dynamic view of personality also does not seem to account for apparent continuity in an
individual’s persona over time.

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