What Is Humanistic Therapy?

Humanistic therapy is a compassionate, empathetic, and client-centered approach to counselling. Extremely popular since its inception in the 1950s and ‘60s, research has shown that humanistic therapies can improve well-being, self-esteem, and quality of life. But different approaches resonate with different people and, if you’re in the process of choosing a therapist, it’s important to understand what makes humanistic therapy unique.

Consider the following question: Why do you want to start therapy?

Every person committed to the process will have a valid answer, but the nuances have a significant impact on which types of therapy are appropriate. For example, one person may be looking to reduce their anxiety while another is hoping to find greater purpose and meaning in their life. A therapy approach designed to target symptoms might be perfect for the former but inadequate for the latter.

This is where humanistic therapy comes in. Whereas therapies like CBT emphasize structured methods to shift thoughts and behaviors, humanistic therapy emphasizes open exploration and the therapeutic relationship as the main catalyst for change. In fact, the process is primarily guided by the therapy relationship, with the aim of finding a route to authenticity, personal growth, and self-actualization.

A deeper look into humanistic therapy will help you understand if it is the right fit for you.

The Impact and Importance of Humanistic Therapy

Although humanistic therapy developed as a modality in its own right, it shifted paradigms in the field of psychology as a whole. Before it emerged, therapies like psychoanalysis had explored a person’s history and their subconscious, while behavioral therapies were designed to be more mechanical. Both approaches held a fairly deterministic view of human behavior and focused on changing symptoms deemed problematic rather than leading to inner change.

But experts in psychological theory and practice sensed that something was missing in these approaches. Abraham Maslow, for example, observed that people strived towards a greater goal than symptom reduction: the process of self-actualization. Self-actualization was not at the forefront of every person’s mind, but he theorized that this is because it was a higher order need, one which only becomes pertinent when one’s basic needs are met.

He published his famous ‘hierarchy of needs’, with necessities like food at its foundation and self-actualization at the top. This model, while not universally accepted, played a significant role in the evolution of the field of psychology.

His contemporary and collaborator, the psychologist Carl Rogers, took the concept of self-actualization into his therapy office. He found ways to put its principles into practice, developing ‘person-centered therapy’ which required giving attention to more than just symptom reduction.

Additional kinds of humanistic therapy, including gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and logotherapy, were consequently developed. Some of them built on person-centered therapy while others diverged, but all were essentially based on the same humanistic principles.

Core Principles of Humanistic Therapy

We’ve touched on self-actualization as being the ultimate goal of humanistic therapy, but what do we actually mean by self-actualization and what core principles are used to get there?

What is self-actualization?

The humanistic approach views self-actualization as the achievement of one’s potential and the highest level of authentic expression. While self-actualization looks different from person to person, it involves characteristics such as self-acceptance, a problem-solving mindset, a realistic outlook, spontaneous self-expression and creativity, and the capacity for deep and meaningful relationships.

With this goal at the forefront, the therapy approach is built on the basis of the following core principles:

• Empathy and unconditional positive regard must be embodied by the therapist
• The process is client-centered and guided by their own exploration rather than the therapist’s notions
• The client is encouraged to take an active role in their therapy journey
• A holistic perspective of the person and their mental health must be taken by the therapist

It is important to note that these days, even those therapy approaches that are not based on humanistic principles tend to draw from them. While humanistic therapy remains its own modality, it has had an indelible impact on fundamental tenets underlying the entire field of psychology.

How Does Humanistic Therapy Work?

Humanistic therapy works by building a foundation of empathy, unconditional positive regard, and the safety of an environment of non-judgment. The process is led by the dynamics that emerge through the resulting therapist-client relationship, with the client’s experience guiding their exploration.

Consequently, there is no rigid structure and therapy progresses differently for each individual according to their needs, personality, and personal experience, among other factors.

There are multiple types of humanistic therapy and some are more structured than others. Common principles are at the foundation of each, but their unique techniques and goals inform how the therapy process is guided.

Common Humanistic Therapy Techniques

Various techniques are commonly used in humanistic therapies. These techniques tend to be based in reflective practices, questions that are open-ended, and an overarching goal of authenticity.

To get a clearer understanding of humanistic therapy, let’s look at some of its common modalities and their respective techniques.

Person-Centered Therapy Techniques

Person-centered therapy (also known as non-directed, client-centered, or Rogerian therapy) is perhaps the most open-ended therapy approach. Designed by Carl Rogers, it requires that the therapist ensure they meet the following 3 core conditions in each session:

1. Empathy: achieving an accurate understanding of the client’s world.
2. Congruence: genuineness in how they relate to the client, conveying their real thoughts and feelings. However, this does not mean that they share details about their personal lives or their own issues.
3. Unconditional Positive Regard: holding the attitude that each individual is worthy of complete acceptance. In person-centered therapy, the therapist-client relationship is central to healing and unconditional positive regard creates an environment which encourages the client to be their authentic self.

The techniques used by Rogerian therapists are built upon these foundations. They include:

• Non-directiveness: The therapist guides the client in leading the session, ensuring all insights are authentic and helping them build a sense of autonomy.
• Active Listening: The therapist reflects the client’s thoughts and feelings back to them, often from a different angle, which helps them reach the most accurate understanding of their experience.
• Open Questions: The questions posed are not leading but rather are open to many different types of answers, which helps the client explore their thoughts and feelings from whichever angle they choose.
• Paraphrasing: This helps the client get a firmer grip on their experience so as to better process what they are going through.

Gestalt Therapy Techniques

Like other humanistic therapies, Gestalt therapy places the person’s current experience at the forefront. Its techniques are more directive than those of person-centered therapy and are built on the basis of the following principles:

1. Holism: The person is viewed as an integrated whole, with their mind, body, and environment all put into focus rather than specific aspects or symptoms.
2. Experiences Shape Behaviors and Emotions: No one can be wholly objective and the therapist should hold space for the client’s truth rather than imposing their own views.
3. The Present: What is happening in the here-and-now is viewed as more important than narratives from the person’s history. Therefore, sessions encourage the noticing and exploration of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as they emerge.

Common Gestalt therapy techniques include:

• Words and Language: The therapist pays close attention to the words the person uses, in addition to their tone. The way they express themselves changes over the course of therapy, as their language takes on a greater sense of agency.
• Empty Chair: The client role plays a conversation with an imagined person or an aspect of themselves, sitting across from them in an empty chair.
• Role Playing: Other role playing techniques include ‘top dog and underdog’, in which the client speaks to their different characteristics – those that are dominating and those that are submitting.
• Bringing Attention to Body Language: Not only does the therapist pay attention to body language, but they also bring it up to help the client gain further insight into their inner experience.
• Locating Emotions in the Body: Emotions are experienced physically. Finding where the emotion occurs in the body makes it easier to process and identify in future.

Existential Therapy

Existential therapy was shaped by figures such as Viktor Frankl and expanded by Irvin Yalom, who recognized that existential issues were often overlooked in traditional modalities. Although certain universal human concerns may seem like subjects for philosophy, they play a huge role in a person’s happiness. Existential therapists therefore place importance on incorporating them into therapy. Existential therapy can be used as a modality in its own right or as a complement to other humanistic approaches.

Existential therapy recognizes four givens of the human experience:

1. Freedom: Every person grapples with their inherent freedom to choose and its significance in their life.
2. Isolation: Since no one can truly know another’s inner life, each of us experience a sense of isolation.
3. Meaninglessness: People seek a sense of meaning.
4. Death: The inevitability of death is the most potent fear every person must face.

Common existential techniques used to address these elements include:

• Bringing Existential Anxiety to the Fore: Many people do not realize that they are struggling with existential anxiety as we tend to suppress it. Unless it is brought to the fore and addressed, it will continue having an indelible effect on the person’s wellbeing.
• Courageous Engagement with Existential Questions: The therapist does not shy away from engaging with questions that can be distressing, thereby helping the client feel less alone in their exploration.
• Exploring Various Approaches to Death: There is no way to outrun death and it is therefore necessary to learn to live with and regulate the associated anxiety. Certain ideas and perspectives can be helpful, but not all approaches resonate with everyone. It’s important to explore the varying ways in which people come to terms with death in order to find an approach which fits.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Humanistic Therapy

Every person has their own needs and expectations from therapy. Humanistic therapy has many benefits but it is not for everyone.

Who Can Benefit From Humanistic Therapy?

Certain individuals are best-placed to benefit from humanistic therapy modalities. The ideal candidates are seeking deeper self-awareness and personal growth. They are sensitive and interested in deeper connections with other people and with life itself.

While candidates for these modalities may be struggling with mental illnesses, including anxiety and depression, their symptoms should range from mild to moderate. A person in crisis may not have the capacity for personal or philosophical exploration.

Humanistic modalities are popular among creative and introspective individuals, especially those who are invested in a search for meaning.

With self-actualization a primary goal of humanistic therapy, many people achieve a greater sense of self in the process. They begin to live with more authenticity, in the direction of their values and chosen purpose.

Conditions and Concerns Humanistic Therapy Addresses

Humanistic therapies are often chosen to address the following conditions and concerns:

• Anxiety and stress management: Self-exploration helps the person discover the sources of their anxiety. Integrating work and life responsibilities into a greater sense of meaning can also make stress more manageable, as the person learns to prioritize what is really important to them and let go of expectations that amplify the toll of everyday stressors.
• Depression and mood disorders: The person delves into and challenges internalized beliefs about life that lead to negativity bias.
• Relationship and interpersonal struggles: Humanistic therapies help the person identify what they want from relationships, as well as how to be authentic and vulnerable with their loved ones.
• Identity and self-esteem: Negative views of self emerge from perceived expectations of family or society. When these expectations are interrogated, the person often realizes they do not share the values underlying them. They become better able to see themselves in the context of their own perspective on what they want from life.
• Life transitions: Even in the absence of mental illness or chronic issues, major life transitions can shake a person’s world, leading to struggles with adapting, regulating uncomfortable emotions, and finding the motivation to forge ahead. In therapy, they explore why the transition is causing distress and discover inner resources to face new challenges.
• Existential crises: Everyone grapples with issues like purpose and meaning. However, some people are more sensitive to existential questions. Anxieties around existential concerns can also be amplified in certain scenarios, such as a diagnosis of a physical illness or the loss of a loved one. Modalities like existential therapy give the person a safe environment to confront these crises.

Drawbacks to Understand

Humanistic therapies have been shown to be helpful for many people, particularly those seeking self-exploration and growth, but they may be less suitable in acute crises or when rapid symptom relief is the goal. This is due to certain drawbacks which, depending on a person’s context, can be quite significant.

The most commonly acknowledged drawback is that a humanistic therapy process tends to be a long-term commitment. Since the goal goes beyond symptom management and mental health to self-actualization, therapy needs to play out according to each individual's inner realities. Structure is necessarily loose and there is no natural endpoint to the therapeutic process.

Many people appreciate this more open-ended approach to therapy but it is impractical in many instances, as when a person is in severe crisis, as well as for people whose resources are limited. Not everyone has the time or finances to attend weekly therapy sessions on an indefinite basis.

Another common concern is that humanistic therapy is most pertinent to the context in which it emerged. Because early models were developed in white, Western contexts, adaptations are often needed for cultural resonance. Many contemporary therapists integrate culturally responsive practices to make humanistic therapy relevant across diverse populations.

Humanistic Therapy vs. Other Therapy Types

There are major differences between humanistic therapies and therapies such as CBT, psychodynamic, and behavioral therapy. Whereas the latter modalities primarily target symptom reduction through a somewhat systematic process, humanistic therapies aim for self-actualization, are open-ended, and can differ greatly from client to client.

Humanistic therapies are not only suitable for people looking to improve their mental health and general wellbeing, but also cater to those who seek self-growth, including the search for meaning and purpose.

Comparing Therapy Modalities

For a clearer understanding of the unique features of humanistic therapy, consider the following table comparing it with other modalities.

Finding the Right Humanistic Therapist

What should you look for in a humanistic therapist?

Any therapist you consider should be a fully licensed mental health professional (LMHP). This ensures that not only do they have an extensive education in therapy, but have also conducted thousands of hours of therapy under supervision.

However, for humanistic therapy, your expectations should go far beyond qualifications. These therapy modalities require a strong therapist-client relationship as their very foundation. It is therefore crucial that you look for someone with whom you can build a connection. When speaking with them for the first time, how you feel is as important as what you discuss. If you find you struggle to connect with them, they are probably not the right therapist for you.

When looking for a therapist through Octave, you are guaranteed a highly-experienced candidate with expertise in their chosen approach. Octave requires more than just the right certification. Each therapist is vetted with comprehensive assessments, including interviews with experts, as well as complete background checks.

Questions to Ask a Humanistic Therapist

When meeting a humanistic therapist for the first time, consider asking them the following questions:

• Which humanistic therapy approach do you use?
• How does a typical session look?
• What do you view as the primary goal of therapy?
• Can you describe the kind of results your clients have achieved?

Explore Other Therapy Modalities with Octave.