Humanistic Psychotherapy

Question 1

There are compelling parallels between this plant and human beings, according to the humanistic approach. Humanists assume that people, like plants, arrive with an inborn tendency to grow. Humanists call this tendency ____________________

Answer 1

self-actualization

Question 2

____________, from the humanistic point of view, is essentially the warmth, love, and acceptance of those around us

Answer 2

Positive regard

Question 3

Carl Rogers’s frequently used term _____________ may best capture this experience of receiving positive regard from others

Answer 3

prizing

Question 4

The primary goal of humanistic psychotherapy is to foster _______________________

Answer 4

self-actualization

Question 5

It communicates that we are prized “only if” we meet certain conditions.

Answer 5

Conditional positive regard

Question 6

When they compare the selves they actually are—the real self—with the selves they could be if they fulfilled their own potential—the ideal self—they perceive a discrepancy. Humanists use the term _____________ to describe this discrepancy, and they view it as the root of psychopathology

Answer 6

incongruence

Question 7

______________—a match between the real self and the ideal self—is achieved when self-actualization is allowed to guide a person’s life without interference by any conditions of worth, and, as a result, mental health is optimized

Answer 7

Congruence

Question 8

A therapist experiences ________________ for a client when the therapist is able to sense the client’s emotions, just as the client would, to perceive and understand the events of his or her life in a compassionate way.

Answer 8

Empathy

Question 9

The term ________________, often used synonymously with humanistic therapy, reflects this emphasis on empathic understanding

Answer 9

client-centered therapy

Question 10

It is, essentially, full acceptance of another person “no matter what.”

Answer 10

Unconditional positive regard

Question 11

They don’t act empathic toward clients or act as though they unconditionally prize them. Instead, they truly are empathic toward clients and truly do unconditionally prize them

Answer 11

Genuineness

Question 12

This genuineness—which Rogers and his followers have also called ___________________, because there is a match between the therapist’s real and ideal selves—is the opposite of playing a role or putting up a front

Answer 12

therapist congruence

Question 13

These three conditions—__________, ____________, and ___________—are the essential elements of the relationship between humanistic therapists and their clients

Answer 13

empathy, UPR, and genuineness

Question 14

Whether empathy, UPR, and genuineness are necessary, sufficient, or both, it is important to remember that humanists view them as _______________, not behaviors

Answer 14

attitudes

Question 15

__________ takes place when a therapist responds to a client by rephrasing or restating the client’s statements in a way that highlights the client’s feelings or emotions. It is not a mere parroting of the client’s words to show that they have been heard but a comment by the therapist that shows the therapist’s appreciation of the client’s emotional experience

Answer 15

Reflection

Question 16

Historical Alternatives to Humanism

Answer 16

• Existential psychotherapy
• Gestalt therapy

Question 17

It is an approach to therapy originally developed by Rollo May, Victor Frankl, and Irvin Yalom. It centers on the premise that each person is essentially alone in the world and that realization of this fact can overwhelm us with anxiety.

Answer 17

Existential psychotherapy

Question 18

Existential theory holds that other inevitabilities of human life, especially _________, contribute to a powerful sense of meaninglessness in many people

Answer 18

death

Question 19

This therapy works well for clients who are physically ill or concerned with the meaning of life

Answer 19

Existential therapy

Question 20

It was founded by Fritz Perls, and it emphasizes a holistic approach to enhancing the client’s experience

Answer 20

Gestalt therapy

Question 21

Gestalt therapists encourage clients to reach their full potential, often through the use of ______________________.

Answer 21

role-play techniques

Question 22

It was originally developed to treat addictive behaviors such as substance abuse, but it has been used with a wide range of client problems. It centers on addressing clients’ ambivalence or uncertainty about making major changes to their way of life. Whereas many therapists might label such ambivalence as resistance, denial, or a lack of motivation, therapists acknowledge that it is a normal challenge for anyone facing the difficult decision of continuing with an unhealthy familiar lifestyle or committing to live in a more healthy but unfamiliar way.

Answer 22

Motivational Interviewing

Question 23

Taking the clients’ points of view and honoring their feelings about their experiences are vital to MI.

Answer 23

Expressing empathy

Question 24

MI therapists highlight how a client’s behavior is inconsistent with his or her goals or values. This enhances the client’s self-motivation to change and puts him or her (rather than the therapist) in the position to argue for a new way of living.

Answer 24

Developing the discrepancy

Question 25

MI therapists do not directly confront clients, even if clients are engaging in self-destructive behaviors. They recognize that clients must choose to change rather than being strong-armed by a therapist.

Answer 25

Avoiding argumentation

Question 26

When clients express hesitancy to change, MI therapists accept and reflect it rather than battle against it. They respect that clients have mixed feelings about changing.

Answer 26

Rolling with resistance

Question 27

It takes the form of client statements in favor of continuing the problem behavior: “I’ve always eaten unhealthy food, and so does my whole family. I wouldn’t even know what else to buy at the grocery store or order in a restaurant.”

Answer 27

Sustain talk

Question 28

It is the statements clients make in favor of changing the problem behavior: “My weight and my cholesterol are getting out of control. I’m so out of shape and unhealthy—I really need to eat healthier.”

Answer 28

Change talk

Question 29

MI therapists make efforts to communicate to clients that they have the power to improve themselves. The role of the therapist is facilitative; it is the client who has the most power for change.

Answer 29

Supporting self-efficacy

Question 30

It is a broad-based approach that emphasizes human strengths rather than pathology, and cultivation of happiness in addition to reduction of symptoms in psychotherapy

Answer 30

Positive psychology

Question 31

The seven basic categories of positive psychology techniques, according to Parks and Layous

Answer 31

• Savoring
• Gratitude
• Kindness
• Empathy
• Optimism
• Strength-based activities
• Meaning

Question 32

in which clients intentionally focus on and extend, without distraction, moments of joy and happiness

Answer 32

Savoring

Question 33

in which clients purposefully focus on reasons to be thankful by writing letters, journaling, visiting important people in their lives, or simply thinking about things that make them feel appreciative

Answer 33

Gratitude

Question 34

in which clients deliberately do nice things for others, including the donation of money or time for charity, volunteering, tutoring, or similar activities

Answer 34

Kindness

Question 35

in which clients intentionally build a sense of understanding, forgiveness, and perspective-taking with others in their lives

Answer 35

Empathy

Question 36

in which clients purposefully cultivate positive expectations about the future and anticipate good things that may happen in their lives

Answer 36

Optimism

Question 37

in which clients deliberately use (or write about) their personal strengths in meaningful or novel ways

Answer 37

Strength-based activities

Question 38

in which clients intentionally remind themselves of their own values and set goals to live a life that falls in line with them

Answer 38

Meaning

Question 39

_______________________________ is a short-term humanistic therapy that has garnered significant empirical evidence and popularity in recent years. It emphasizes the expression, acknowledgment, and healing power of emotions in the present moment, as well as emotions that may have been “bottled up” for a long time.

Answer 39

Emotionally focused therapy (EFT)

Question 40

It is a technique in EFT in which clients speak directly to an imaginary person such as a family member or partner toward whom they have typically withheld their feelings

Answer 40

empty chair technique

Question 41

A noteworthy feature of EFT is that it is frequently practiced with _________.

Answer 41

couples

Question 42

In terms of “what works” empirically, _________________ undoubtedly leads the pack of the current generation of therapies derived from humanism

Answer 42

motivational interviewing

Question 43

Along with Abraham Maslow, ____________________ pioneered the humanistic movement in psychology and its clinical application, humanistic therapy.

Answer 43

Carl Rogers

Question 44

the selves they actually are

Answer 44

Real selves

Question 45

the selves they could be if they fulfilled their own potential

Answer 45

Ideal self