Additionally, developing self-awareness helps the client to rediscover meaning in life. Some clients will, however, need a more structured therapy than is typical in a humanistic person-centered approach. One of the strengths of using a humanistic/person-centered approach when working with clients is the warmth and caring of the relationship that (hopefully) develops between counsellor and client. The counsellors active listening and full emotional availability will provide them with a healing environment within which they can explore their emotional experiences safely and without judgment. Central to the therapist's role in client-centred therapy is respecting the clients values as well as maintaining a therapeutic nonjudgmental attitude.
This is the ability to be you without pretence or façade. This is also called genuineness; it is the most important attribute in counselling according to Rogers, in this the counsellor is keen to allow the client to experience them as they really are, the therapist being authentic. Unconditional Positive Regard: (UPR) this is a non-judgemental, Respecting and accepting the other person as they are, Rogers believed that for people to grow and fulfil their potential it is important that they are valued as themselves. The counsellor has a genuine regard for the client, they may not approve of some of the client’s actions, but the therapist does approve of the client. The therapist needs an attitude of “I’ll accept you as you are.” The therapist must always maintain a positive attitude to the client at all times.
Describe and evaluate the humanistic approach in psychology The humanistic approach contrasts all the other approaches for one simple reason; this is that the humanistic approach believes that we have free will, this is because we are able to make conscious decisions for our self and chose our own path in life, and for example, the behaviourist approach is deterministic, as the environment determines our behaviour. Rogers stated that certain environments are needed in order for a child to achieve their full potential as an adult. Rogers said we need a condition consisting of positive regard. This means knowing that somebody loves you no matter what you do. He said we all need conditional positive regard from our parents, and if we did not receive this is can lead to psychological problems in our future.
This theory was first developed by Abraham Maslow. He described that self-actualizing people share such things like awareness and acceptance of themselves and lean towards spontaneity and openness and are very positive people in general. Maslow believed that the highest personal need was that of self-actualization. Later, Carl Rogers introduced conditions of worth where in the effort to gain positive regard from others, people will deny their true selves to meet expectations. An advantage of this theory is that it drives parents to encourage their children at a young age to build up a large self-esteem; their sense of self-worth.
Lawrence Crabb claims that the goal of counseling should be psychological and spiritual maturity. Counselors should also seek to assist their clients in reaching their full potential for a life of service. He explains that this accomplished through the counseling relationship. This relationship will vary from client to client. Despite the variations amongst all individuals, Crabb believed that it is important to “abstract a game plan” (Crabb, 1986, p.149) which can be applied to a wide range of situations.
Humanism gives us a positive view of human beings and of their significant competence to be self-determining. This paper will explain how humanistic psychology, also known as the third force, is an approach that focuses on the basic concept that individuals are good and will seek out self-actualization but that finding self-fulfillment can be impacted by environment. The humanistic theory is guided by the belief of free will of human beings. This strong belief in free will has both positive and negative implications for the humanistic approach. The paper will show both positive and negative results that relate to the author's own insights and individualization.
The aim of Person centered counselling is to increase a person’s feelings of self-worth (self esteem) and reduce the incongruence they have when entering therapy, between the ideal and actual self, and help a person become a 'fully funchioning' person (Rogers 1963) reaching their full potential. Here the person is known as a “client” who is valued and respected as an individual and is not labled or diagnosed, it is non directive and allows the client to lead themselves towards development, to actively solve their own problems and at their own pace. It believes in conscious acts and helps to encourage people to think about their feelings and encourage responsibility for their actions in terms of values and lifes meanings, focusing on bringing feelings and emotions into the present and dealing with them. It focuses more on the here and now rather then the past, as this was seen as more useful. However the past is sometimes looked into, gaining insight into how it effects the present.
We each had our own reasons why the humanistic theory was important to us. The first theory that we will discuss is the humanistic theory. As defined by Robert S. Feldman, “the humanistic theory is the conscious, self motivated ability to change and improve.” (Feldman, 2009, p.401) Humanistic theorists believe that along with peoples unique creative impulses make up the core of human personality (Feldman, 2009, p.401). For Daniel, this theory meant that we have a basic need and desire as humans, to try and achieve, and to be a good person. For Heather, it meant that the humanistic theory is not inherited but done by interaction.
In conclusion we will see why it could be argued that the latter approach is the most useful for many clients. The term counselling is virtually interchangeable with psychotherapy. Psychotherapy means ‘healing the mind or soul’ (Nelson-Jones, 2011, p.3) and counselling tries to do the same. For counselling to work on a one to one or group basis then the clients must be there willingly. For many the relationship between client and counsellor is crucial to the success of the therapy and is based on trust and respect.
Self-actualization Instead of focusing on psychopathology and what goes wrong with people, Maslow (1943) formulated a more positive account of human behaviour which focused on what goes right. He was interested in human potential, and how we fulfil that potential. Psychologist Abraham Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfilment and change through personal growth. Self-actualized people are those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of. The growth of self-actualization (Maslow, 1962) refers to the need for personal growth and discovery that is present throughout a person’s life.