In_What_Ways_Are_the_Basic_Principles_of_the_Humanistic_Framework_Applied_in_Contemporary_Counselling_Practice_

In what ways are the basic principles of the Humanistic Framework applied in contemporary counselling practice' Critically evaluate two Humanistic approaches to counselling in light of your understanding of the Humanistic Framework, your personal philosophy and your experiences. Humanistic psychology dates back to 5th Century Greece. It saw a revival in the mid 20th Century and is one of several counselling models in contemporary counselling practice. Although not a new concept, Humanistic models of counselling were further developed in the 20th Century as a reaction to psychoanalytical and behavioural therapies, which had, until then, dominated psychological thinking. The Humanistic approach is existential, experiential, phenomenological, holistic, and at its heart has a profound trust in humanity. I believe that the essence of the Humanistic approach is the quality of understanding of the client that is important, not an analysis of the client’s experience. There are a number of Humanistic counselling models but I will restrict the discussion to my understanding of the basic principles and assumptions of Humanistic psychology, and the evaluation of just two Humanistic counselling approaches, Person Centred and Gestalt therapies. After a brief look at the Humanistic theoretical framework, I will look at my own experience in counselling and how theory shapes and informs counselling practice. I will briefly discuss the Humanistic therapeutic approach to diversity and the range of clients and issues which therapists encounter, and the power dynamics in the therapeutic relationship. The essay will demonstrate my belief that Humanistic counselling is an extremely effective therapy and I strongly believe that when people are respected, trusted, and given the right conditions, they will reach their full potential. Humanistic psychology rose in the 1940’s America, with an approach that focuses on positive ways of looking at humans. It asserts that we are all unique individuals with unique experiences and have the potential to become more aware of our feelings and experiences in the here and now of therapy. It assumes that human beings have an inbuilt capacity to attain growth and development in the right environment. People have an awareness of their existence and themselves in relation to others, and have the right to be self-governing. The Humanistic therapist is existential, interested in how the client makes sense of her experiences, getting a deep understanding of the client. It’s phenomenological, seeing how things appear to the client, describing the client’s experience rather than interpreting it. The approach is also experiential, looking at what it’s like to be a human being in this world. Rogers stated that: “I do not react to some absolute reality but [rather] to my perception of this reality. It is this perception which for me is reality.” (Rogers, 1951, p.484). Humanistic therapists assert that we are our own agents in life, are responsible for our actions, and have the capacity to heal our own psychological problems. We acknowledge the influences of the past, and we know that the future will unfold, but all we have is the here and now. Humanistic therapists believe that people are fundamentally good. The United Kingdom Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners states that ‘People are assumed to be good rather than bad’. http://www.ahpp.org/about/core.htm Core Beliefs statement – some principles of therapeutic practice. [online] Accessed [07/12/10]. Gestalt therapy is an experiential approach developed in the 1940’s and 50’s by Perls and Goodman. Gestalt looks at how the client is being, verbal and non verbal body language and what they choose not to focus on. It looks at figure and ground, paradox of change, fixed patterns, field theory and cycles of experience, and may also suggest experiments as a way of learning. The Person Centred approach informed in the by Carl Rogers in the 1950s asserted that there are six necessary and sufficient conditions for therapeutic change, (Rogers, 1957). He also described seven stages of process (Rogers, 1961). With a positive view of humanity, and a non-directive approach, he believed that humans could reach actualisation given the right conditions: ‘..the urge to expand, extend, develop, mature – the tendency to express and activate all the capacities of the organism, or self. (Rogers. 1961 p351). Gestalt therapy may not be effective for clients who don’t wish to experiment or be challenged. The Gestalt therapist is more vocal than in the Person Centred approach. Person Centred therapy may not work for clients needing to learn a skill, those who are unmotivated, those seeking advice, or those who find it hard to make psychological contact. It may not work for the therapist if they felt unable to offer the client unconditional positive regard, when they would need to refer the client on. My personal experience of Gestalt therapy has helped me to be self-aware. I now understand how my self-concept was influenced with conditions of worth from childhood and understand that only ‘I’ am responsible for myself. The importance of the therapeutic dialogical relationship is shared between both therapies. Both emphasise growth, change, autonomy and the here and now. Both are existential, experiential, and phenomenological, neither analyse or interpret. In my view, both Gestalt and Person Centred approaches are firmly under the umbrella of Humanistic psychology and are extremely effective therapies. My Gestalt therapist works in a phenomenological way, trying to understand my experience from my perspective. She acknowledges that she is not an expert but that I am the expert on myself. Recently I talked to my therapist about my childhood. I felt sad but wasn’t good at allowing my therapist to see that, nor did I know how to articulate it. After a silence, she said she noticed how I was hunched up in my chair, that I looked sad to her. When she mentioned my body language and sadness that was apparent to her, I began to cry. I told her how hard it was for me to cry in front of her, and how I was never allowed to express emotions whilst growing up. She helped me to see that I was operating from a fixed pattern of the past. My ‘self’, the part of me that is ‘I’, was being influenced by past experiences, and my self-concept learnt that it is not ok to show emotions in front of other people. We discussed that now that I was aware of it, I could choose to change, adapt and be more authentic. ‘Gestalt aims to investigate and uncover how these patterns are still active and affecting a person’s present life’. (Joyce, Sills, 2007 p7) My therapist had real presence with me, which helped me to get in touch with my here and now experience, and to become more self-aware. I am drawn to the Gestalt concept that effective awareness involves accentuating present experience by noticing thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations in the moment. Humanistic therapists aim to be real and genuine and be who they are when with a client, they are not putting on an act. It’s important that the congruent therapist communicates with the client as honestly and genuinely as she can. The therapist will look at her own values and assumptions and be curious about those of her client; neither is judged to be right or wrong. A Humanistic therapist will not lead a client in any way. ‘…. That it is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go in, what problems are crucial. (Rogers, 1961a: pp11-12). When a therapist is non-judgemental, offers a client unconditional acceptance and empathy and genuinely wants to understand on a deep experiential level how the client feels about being themselves, the client will sense this and be encouraged to let down their defences, and will feel safe enough to trust and feel vulnerable with the therapist, able to share shameful and difficult emotions. Therapy can be a slowing down of the client’s story. Therapists look for clues in the client in a very gentle way giving the client permission to open up and differentiate what they are saying. For example the client may have no sense of ‘I’. The therapist would gently work with that, whilst being aware that the client’s sense of being an ‘I’ is very different to her own. Therapy is about being in the moment and the therapist must ask herself if she can trust her intention and philosophy as her attitude, intent, trust and respect for the client will picked up by the client. I think there can be a power differential in therapy from the client’s perspective as the client is in psychological distress, and it is the client who goes to see the therapist. Whatever the gender, age, sexual orientation, cultural background, or religion the client is, the Humanistic therapist will not judge, or clients may get a sense that is not ok to be themselves. The therapist will treat clients as individuals in a phenomenological way, but it is how the client feels that is important, whatever the facts may be. One difficulty may occur if the therapist thinks that the client is the same as her, she may be in danger of being deaf or blind to an issue and may miss something. If the therapist has strong values on a particular issue, and the client picks it up, clients may get a sense that it is not ok to be themselves, or to talk about a particular issue. The therapist must not stereotype but be sensitive to the different issues that client brings, without getting in the position of being an expert in the client’s culture. A client in distress may not be able to respond to a request from her therapist, therefore there would be a power differential, the therapist may be in a one up position. My view would be that this is the starting point of therapy and the aim of the work is that the therapist no longer becomes the expert, the client reclaims their power, although the client may at times invite the therapist back to that position of expert. The resurgence of Humanistic psychology in the mid 20th Century shifted the focus of therapy from the client’s behaviour to a holistic view of the client. Humanistic psychology is optimistic about human beings, having a sense that people are ok, and that people have the innate resources for growth in the right environment. The Humanistic therapist tries to understand the client from their perspective. Person Centred and Gestalt therapies are two of the effective Humanistic approaches in contemporary counselling practice. A clear link emerges between the two, with their emphasis being the importance of the dialogic, therapeutic relationship. Both are existential, experiential and phenomenological, focusing on the here and now, believing in client autonomy with the client having their own answers. Three of the main differences between them are that Gestalt therapy can firstly be creative, suggesting experiments to clients as a learning opportunity, secondly the therapist has more of a voice, and thirdly, is an approach which can be challenging. My Gestalt therapist enabled me to see how I operate from fixed patterns of the past, by working in the here and now, as an extremely powerful way of achieving self-awareness and change. The Humanistic belief is that therapists should simply be who they are, with no façade and provide a safe environment within which their client can lower their defences. Therapists will be aware of a wide range of cultural issues, and any resultant potential blind spots. I have learnt how strongly I believe in Humanistic psychology and how well it sits with me. At its heart is a deep understanding of the client; an optimistic view of human beings, that they are inherently good and can reach their potential for growth and change given the right conditions. For me these are the hallmarks of Humanistic therapy. 1917 words