Humanistic Approach Flashcards
Humanistic Approaches
Stress focus on client’s “here and now” experiences
- Person-Centered Psychotherapy
- Gestalt Therapy
- Existential Therapy
- Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy
Humanism says people consciously guide behavior towards realizing their fullest potential and *** why pathology?
Fundamental Humanistic Themes:
1) clients lives can be understood only from perspective of the client
2) humans are naturally good, and make choices to determine their own future (they aren’t instinctually driven)
3) Therapeutic relationship is the primary means to benefits of therapy – clients regarded as equals
4) Importance of experiencing/exploring emotions that are confusing/painful.
Humanistic Approach: Person Centered Therapy
Carl Rogers: didn’t like therapists as authority figures,
–> believed in man’s actualizing tendency – ppl have an innate motive towards growth; and saw all behavior as an effort towards self actualization.
- Success of therapy in hands of the therapist: ‘IF correct circumstances are created by therapist THEN client (driven by actualizing tendency) will improve.
- -> the atm a therapist creates is more important than what is said or what methods are used..
- as clients experience empathy, unconditional + regard, and congruence in the TR, they become….
- more self aware and accepting,
- less defensive in relationships,
- less rigid in thinking
- more reliant on self evals
- better able to function in a wide variety of roles*
Designed to construct a great sense of self trust*** clients improve listening to their feelings, they are less likely to misread them, and become less self critical so their self confidence/ sense of efficacy develops.
Person Centered Therapy: Rogers Personality Theory and view of Psychopathology
Development of functioning personality hinges on development of the self concept –
- -> SELF = experiences recognized as ‘me’
- –> 2 important components =
1) REAL SELF
2) IDEAL SELF
Person Centered Therapy: The Self and Conditions of Worth
As children grow, self concept expands in context of relationships with others - esp. parents.
– Ideally parents convey UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD - acceptance of all child’s behavior and experiences. –> rogers considered this important to psychological growth.
- child naturally incorporates experiences into REAL self concept to degree parents communicate acceptance..
- if parents comm. rejection or disapproval, child could experience love as conditional.. = CONDITIONS OF WORTH - because child comes to believe acceptance and self worth hinge on thinking and acting certain ways.
–> more pronounced the conditions of worth, the more the REAL self concept deviates from the IDEAL self concept.
–> IDEAL self isn’t what the child experiences as ‘me’ but its what they believe they should be.
Person Centered Therapy: Incongruence
Discrepancy between the real self and the ideal self.
- the more you experience positive regard as depends on acting or feeling a certain way, the larger the gab between the real self and the ideal self.
- -> conditions of worth force ppl to distort their real feelings/experiences
–> this is what can make symptoms of disorders appear
Person Centered Therapy : Goals
Don’t set treatment goals - client knows what they want to change, so they select their own.
–> for therapist - want to make client more aware of ‘here and now’ experiences.
- therapist can try to do this by promoting interpersonal relationship that can be used to reduce incongruence and foster personal growth.
- -> Therapeutic growth-enhancing relationship only exists when 3 conditions met:
1) Conveys unconditional positive regard
2) Conveys empathy
3) Conveys congruence
Person Centered Therapy: Unconditional Positive Regard
The therapist cares and accepts client, and trusts clients ability to change.
- Ideal form = “non possessive caring”- client feels valued but still free to act themselves (no obligation to please)
- ‘willingness to listen’ = important
- accept without judgement –> don’t have to approve just have to accept.
-Rogerians try not to give advice or make decisions for client because the client needs to be allowed to make bad decisions (and don’t want to elevate therapist over client or cause clients dependence)
Person Centered Therapy: Empathy
See world as client sees it to understand client behavior.
–‘empathic understanding’
-Adopt an internal frame of reference (understand what it must be like for this client) rather than external (apply values or psych theories from the outside).
- Active listening methods:
- -REFLECTION: communicates emotional understanding and makes clients more aware of their own feelings (more like paraphrasing) - to distill and playback client feelings
Person Centered Therapy: Congruence
Therapist feelings and action should be congruent/consistent with each other - this promotes trust.
- The more genuine the therapist is, the more helpful they will be.
Person Centered Therapy: Case Formulation
Emphasis on client’s internal perspective (how is the client experiencing life even beyond his symptoms)
Don’t care about personal or fam history
Wouldn’t naturally give DSM diagnosis
Person Centered Therapy: Role of the Therapist
Provide atm where client can explore thoughts and feelings openly.
- be non directive (no topic suggestion, guiding convo, interpretation of behavior)
- listen empathically, reflect, be genuine
- -> empathy shown in degree comm’ understanding of client’s experiences (including emotions client might not be fully aware of)
- helps clients become more accepting of their experiences
- -> increased self acceptance means the client can tolerate some of the negative feelings that used to be associated with the conflicting self concept more, and the feelings have las power over him..
Designed to construct a great sense of self trust*** clients improve listening to their feelings, they are less likely to misread them, and become less self critical so their self confidence/ sense of efficacy develops.
Humanistic Approach: Gestalt Therapy
Fritz and Perls: enhance client’s self awareness to free them to grow in their own conscious ways.
By…
1) helping them become aware of feelings they’ve disowned but are still a part of them – assimilate or ‘re-own’ these rejected parts of self.
2) recognize feelings/values they the ink are a part of them but that are actually borrowed from other ppl. - reject these ‘phony’ features.
- ->Ideal = start taking responsibility for themselves as they really are instead of being attached to/defensive of a part phony/internally conflicted self image..
- need to integrate all aspects of personality (wanted and unwanted) to do so
– gestalt therapists are more active and dramatic than person centered..
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Gestalt Therapy: Focus on Here and Now
Progress made by keeping clients in contact with current feelings as they occur.
–> any attempt by client to recount past or see future obstructs therapy goals – seen as an escape from reality
-therapist point it out as avoidance
Gestalt Therapy: Role Playing
Clients explore inner conflicts and experience symptoms and psycho defenses they’ve developed to keep conflicts out of awareness.
–> also role play into ‘convos’ between diff parts of client:
like the superego ‘top dog’ and the part suppressed by ‘shoulds/oughts’ aka the ‘under dog’.
Empty Chair Technique - talk to someone they imagine in a nearby chair and express true feelings about them / events they were involved in.
Unmailed Letter Technique - write but don’t send letters that express important but previously unspoken feelings
Role Play Reversals - enhance awareness of genuine feelings (helps get in touch with feelings being suppressed)
Gestalt Therapy: use of nonverbal cues
Special attention to what clients do as they speak - nonverbal often contradicts actual words.
