Humanistic Psychology: People Are Good By Nature

Humanistic psychology is a psychological current with a conception of the human being based on the idea that we are all good by nature, as well as that a vital project appropriate to our needs and characteristics is necessary.

Therefore, we could say that humanistic psychology articulates the life of a person based on the search for his life project in a free way in relation to his environment, being able to assist a person who declares a deviation in his being in the world.

Taking these ideas as a basis, we are going to analyze in this article part of the history of humanistic psychology, as well as the concepts and keys to understanding it. Finally, we will carry out a review of the most relevant psychotherapeutic approaches derived from humanistic psychology.

A few brushstrokes on the history of humanistic psychology

Any approach to history needs the delimitation of specific dates that help us to conceive the gestation of the subject at hand. However, there is no precise moment that determines the appearance of humanistic psychology.

Unlike other currents, humanistic psychology was not born of any Freud, but its long period of germination contributed numerous currents and inspiring authors that made this perspective grow (Abraham Maslow, Erich Fromm, Kurt Goldstein, Karen Horney, Gordon Allport , Carl Rogers, Erik Erikson, Binswanger, Viktor Frankl, Fritz Perls, etc).

From its inception, humanistic psychology sought to become a philosophy of life rather than a school of psychology. However, it rose with the title of “third force” or “third psychology” , thus accompanying behaviorism and psychoanalysis in the development of psychology.

Really what humanistic psychology promotes is a psychology more interested in human problems, making this perspective a science by and for people, taking into account their globality in a dynamic and social way.

Humanistic psychology: keys to understanding it

As we have been advancing, humanistic psychology is a perspective that raises a science centered on the person, since it is based on the premise that people are dignified and free by nature.

In some way and according to the philosophy that underlies humanistic psychology and its approaches, through it we try to promote a deep understanding of our relationship with our being in nature, our being with the rest of the world and the way in which we that we experience ourselves.

These three pieces constitute the puzzle of our being in the world, which in turn articulates our vital projects and our walk through life. Simply put, humanistic psychology believes existential analysis is essential since “to live you always have to do something (even if it’s just breathing) . “

In short, humanistic psychology proposes that:

• Each human being must be considered and valued globally, taking into account that each one of us is “someone” from many points of view, both internal and external.
• Each person is free to make their decisions and to choose according to their vital criteria and expectations.
• Each human being must be seen as a complete being incapable of dividing.
• People are good by nature and this only changes through our relationship with a society that corrupts.
• In the same way, humanistic psychology poses social relationships as essential for people and their development.
• People are responsible and we have the ability to decide our path innately. In fact, having a purpose in life makes us stronger in the face of it and its adversities.

Schools of psychotherapy derived from humanistic psychology

Psychotherapy allows penetrating personal conflicts in a conscious way to develop the existential project. However, we will now go on to contemplate

Carl Rogers’ client-based psychotherapy

Carl Rogers was a very important figure in the field of psychotherapy. His method, influenced by Freudian thought together with a more objective psychology oriented towards evaluation by test, was a great revolution.

The Gestalt Therapy of Fritz and Laura Perls

Gestalt therapy was born from the hand of this marriage, which based their therapy on the need for self – realization of the human being, as well as on contact with the here and now (an idea derived from existentialism and Zen Buddhism).

Berne’s transactional analysis

Berne was a neuropsychiatrist who was shocked by the fact that any observable fact that is registered in our brain is associated with a feeling , which generates that when evoked later, both appear together.

Based on this idea, Berne developed a model of ego states that lead to a series of games and exchanges that mark the script of a person’s life. Currently the highest representative of this aspect is Claude Steiner.

Moreno’s psychodrama

The key psychotherapeutic notion of Moreno’s psychodrama is “all true repetition frees us from the original episode . ” Following this premise, the performances from this perspective are based on recomposing a specific scenario that represents the conflict and decomposing the experiences based on it as if it were a play.

Body and energy therapies

In the sixties and seventies a series of approaches were developed that moved away from psychology, focusing their intervention on bodily aspects and emphasizing certain bodily exercises with the idea of ​​eliminating those conflicts that resulted in energy blockages. Its highest representative is the psychoanalyst Wilhem Reich.

Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy

The psychiatrist Viktor Frankl attaches special importance to the loss of meaning or sense of life, which is commonly called existential emptiness. Following this line, the therapist’s task tries to help the person to rediscover the meaning of their existence.

From the perspective of this last author, we are left with a magnificent phrase: “The human being becomes creative when he manages to extract meaning from a life that seemed absurd. Life is potentially meaningful until the last moment, until the last breath, thanks to the fact that meanings can be drawn even from suffering itself ”.

As we can see, humanistic psychology has resulted in various approaches that are very diverse in relation to the consideration of the person, empathy and authenticity that relates to the therapist and the patient.

We invite you to deepen your knowledge of his philosophy and its developments by consulting works by authors such as Maslow, Erich Fromm, Viktor Frankl or Carl Rogers. We promise that through them you will enter into very enriching readings.