Exploration of the Humanistic Perspective in Mental Health Studies

Exploration of the Humanistic Perspective in Mental Health Studies

A New Approach to Psychology: Humanistic Psychology

In the mid-20th century, a new force emerged in the world of psychology – humanistic psychology. This approach, often referred to as the "third force," was a response to the dominant theories of behaviorism and psychoanalysis. Humanistic psychology emphasizes the unique and unrepeatable nature of humans, focusing on conscious experience, free will, personal growth, and self-actualization.

Origins and Influences

The popularity of humanistic psychology soared in the 1960s during the "human potential" movement in the United States. This period emphasized personal growth and self-fulfillment as central to psychological health. The roots of humanistic psychology can be traced back to philosophical humanism from the 19th century, which rejected supernaturalism and emphasized human values and reason. Key thinkers such as Auguste Comte and later scientific advances like Darwin's theory of natural selection played significant roles in shaping this movement.

Key Ideas

1. Human Uniqueness and Subjectivity: Humanistic psychology stresses the importance of understanding humans as whole individuals with conscious experiences and subjective realities.
2. Free Will and Personal Responsibility: People are seen as agents capable of consciously making choices and shaping their lives, rather than being determined solely by unconscious forces or conditioning.
3. Innate Drive Toward Growth: Humans have an inherent tendency to develop, grow, and realize their potential, often called self-actualization by Abraham Maslow or the actualizing tendency by Carl Rogers.
4. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy illustrating that basic needs (e.g., physiological and safety) must be met before individuals can pursue higher-level psychological needs such as love, esteem, and self-actualization.
5. Carl Rogers' Concepts: Rogers emphasized the need for acceptance and empathy in relationships, the importance of the self-concept in personality development, and unconditional positive regard.
6. Focus on Healthy Psychology: Humanistic psychology centres on health, well-being, and fulfillment rather than pathology and dysfunction; it views humans as essentially good or neutral beings capable of positive growth.

The Humanistic Therapist

Unlike psychoanalysis, humanistic therapy focuses on the description of the experience and its experience, not on the conscious interpretation of it. The therapist accompanies the person in the process of personal discovery, providing tools for exploration and finding one's own solutions, rather than giving advice or slogans.

Research and Methodology

In humanistic psychology, a single subject is significant, and research often involves participatory methodology, where subjects are participants from problem selection to solution proposal. Techniques used in humanistic psychology include experiential and expressive methods such as self-report and psychodrama, as well as group discussion and in-depth interviews.

The Legacy of Humanistic Psychology

The humanistic approach took on a new meaning by considering man as another element of the universe as a whole, leading to the concept of Neo-humanism. Today, there are strong global movements that defend animal rights, protect nature, and defend endangered species, characterized by the inclusion of the Other, respect for nature, and a better way of life in full harmony with nature.

The anguish generated by the phenomenon of wars placed the man faced with the need to understand himself, to explain his own nature. Existentialism as a philosophical current provided humanistic psychology with the concept of responsibility and the primacy of concrete experience. The French humanist philosopher L. Ferry states that the separation of man and nature may be a parenthesis closing, and that respect and care for nature is the only way to demonstrate our human character.

In essence, humanistic psychology places human experience, meaning, and choice at the core of understanding behavior, highlighting personal growth and self-worth against the backdrop of earlier psychological models focused on determinism or mechanistic behaviorism. The most important quality in a teacher, according to humanistic psychology, is the potential to establish emotionally healthy relationships with students, not authority through punishment. Paul Goodman, an American Gestalt therapist, emphasized the importance of talking about the structure of the learner and their learning rather than the structure of the subject.

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