Provided by David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
Surgeon General of the United States of America
Chapter 2
Overview of Treatment
Humanistic Therapy
The third wave of psychotherapy is referred to variously as
humanistic (Rogers, 1961), existential (Yalom, 1980), experiential, or Gestalt
therapy. It owes its origins as a treatment to the client-centered therapy that
was originated by Carl Rogers, and the theory can be traced to philosophical
roots beginning with the 19th century philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard. The
central focus of humanistic therapy is the immediate experience of the client.
The emphasis is on the present and the potential for future development rather
than on the past, and on immediate feelings rather than on thoughts or
behaviors. It is rooted in the everyday subjective experience of the person
seeking assistance and is much less concerned with mental illness than it is
with human growth.
One critical aspect of humanistic treatment is the relationship that is forged
between the therapist, who in some ways serves as a guide in an exploration of
self-discovery, and the client, who is seeking greater knowledge of the self and
an expansion of inherent human potential. The focus on the self and the search
for self-awareness is akin to psychodynamic psychotherapy, while the emphasis on
the present is more similar to behavior therapy.
Although it is possible to describe distinctive orientations to psychotherapy,
as has been done above, most psychotherapists describe themselves as eclectic in
their practice, rather than as adherents to any single approach to treatment. As
a result, there is a growing development referred to as “psychotherapy
integration” (Wolfe & Goldfried, 1988). It strives to capture what is best about
each of the individual approaches. Psychotherapy integration includes various
attempts to look beyond the confines of any single orientation but rather to see
what can be learned from other perspectives. It is characterized by an openness
to various ways of integrating diverse theories and techniques. Psychotherapy
also should be modified to be culturally sensitive to the needs of racial and
ethnic minorities (Acosta et al., 1982; Sue et al., 1994; Lopez, in press).
The scientific evidence on efficacy presented in this report, however, is
focused primarily on specific, standardized forms of psychotherapy.
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