Elements of Humanistic Approach to Psychotherapy

Humanistic Approach

This approach in psychology studies the whole person and the uniqueness of each
individual. Rather than look at environmental factors, this approach focuses on the
individual and emphasizes the role of individual factors in influencing behavior,
They believe that the individual is in a state of becoming, and thus should be
approached as a unique entity to be guided to a particular goal, decision or
outcome.

In the humanistic therapy it is believed that each individual has the power to make
healthy and life-enhancing decisions. Hence rather than influence the individual to
a particular route or path, the therapist may use empathy and non-judgmental
support (which is often referred to as unconditional positive regard) to help
individuals recognize their inner strengths and their innate capacity to meet their
own needs.

There are two main Humanistic Therapy techniques:

a. Person-centered Therapy
b. Gestalt Therapy

Person-centered Therapy

Person-centered Therapy which is also called Client-centered Therapy or Rogerian

Therapy is a humanistic therapy technique developed by Carl Rogers in the early
1940s. Rogers' method emphasizes reflective listening, empathy, and acceptance in
therapy rather than the interpretation of behaviors or unconscious drives.
Person-centered Therapy, as the name implies, is a non-directive humanistic
therapeutic technique where the therapist guides the individual towards making
self-discovery, finding solutions, or becoming conscious of their strengths and
innate capacity.

This therapeutic technique is hinged on the belief that clients are inherently driven
towards their own growth, and towards achieving healthy psychological
functioning.

Here, the client is believed to know him or herself better and thus leads the
direction of the therapy, while the therapist plays a non-directive role in the
therapeutic relationship.

The role of the therapist here is the provision of a conducive environment for the
client to explore their feelings and thoughts towards finding a clearer perception of
themselves and achieving profound psychological growth.

Techniques of the Person-centered therapy

i. Unconditional Positive Regard:

In the Person-centered therapy, the therapist needs to accept the client for who they
are and provide support and care no matter what they are going through.

ii. Genuineness:

A client-centered therapist needs to feel comfortable sharing his or her feelings

with the client. Not only will this contribute to a healthy and open relationship
between the therapist and client, but it also provides the client with a model of
good communication and shows the client that it’s okay to be vulnerable.

iii. Empathetic Understanding:

The client-centered therapist must extend empathy to the client, both to form a
positive therapeutic relationship and to act as a sort of mirror, reflecting the client’s
thoughts and feelings back to them; this will allow the client to better understand
themselves. Hence, It is important for the therapist to show clients that s/he
understands their emotions rather than just feeling sympathy for them.

iv. Nondirectiveness:

A cornerstone of client-centered therapy, non-directiveness refers to the method of

allowing the client to drive the therapy session; therapists should refrain from
giving advice or planning activities for their sessions.

v. Active listening:

In the Person-centered therapy, the therapist actively listens; that is, he doesn’t
passively listen but is engaged fully in everything the client is saying, hanging on
every single word uttered. Simple gestures like nodding, eye contact, and the
occasional “uh-huh” show clients that you are listening and engaged in the
therapeutic process.

The Person-centered therapy can be utilized to help those who are experiencing the
following mental disorders:

 Anxiety and psychosis

 Dementia
 Depression
 Mood disorders
 Negative thoughts related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Gestalt Therapy
 German psychiatrist Fritz Perls developed gestalt therapy in the 1940s in
response to a changing post-war climate.

The Gestalt therapy technique is a type of humanistic therapy technique that

focuses on the here and now. It tries to look at how the present condition of the
client can be used to help him or her. This means that rather than look at the past or
what had happened in the past, the explore what the client is feeling in the present
and how to help them.

Hence, instead of talking about past experiences, clients are encouraged to

experience them in the present and take responsibility for their feelings. Not
clinging to past conflicts and feelings is a fundamental requirement to grow and
actualize human potential.

Through this therapy, clients learn to become more aware of how their own
negative thought patterns and behaviors are preventing true self-awareness and
making them unhappy.

The basic idea behind the gestalt therapy is that everyone is a whole – made up of
mind, body and soul – and draws on the philosophical idea that the whole is other
than the sum of its parts. It emphasizes that to fully understand people, you must
look at their current situation as they experience it.

Furthermore, there’s no one way of conducting Gestalt therapy - each therapist will
bring their own style and presentation to the session. However, all Gestalt
therapists give a non-judgmental space and support you in becoming more self-
aware.

Individuals with the following disorders are more likely to benefit from the
Gestalt therapy technique:
  Anxiety
 Depression
 Low self-esteem
 Relationship difficulties
 Low self-efficacy

Some Basic Concepts of Gestalt Therapy

Self-awareness

Perls suggests that many people develop mental health symptoms because they
aren’t aware of their senses, emotions don’t have good recognition of their bodily
sensations, and have poor awareness of their environment.

Perls explained that ‘awareness in itself is healing.’ Thus, Gestalt therapy sessions
focus on helping people learn to become more self-aware and to accept and trust in
their feelings and experiences to alleviate their distress.

During therapy, some experiential exercises may be used to help increase the
client’s awareness. By building self-awareness, Gestalt therapy helps clients to
better understand themselves and how the choices they make affect their health and
their relationships.

With this understanding, clients can begin to comprehend how their emotional and
physical selves are connected and not separate parts. Through this, they can
develop more self-confidence to start living a fuller life and more effectively deal
with problems.

‘Here and now’

Gestalt therapy focuses on the present moment rather than on past experiences or
future possibilities. Focusing on the present doesn’t negate the past or future. In
fact, the past is intricately linked to one’s present experience.

The idea is to avoid swelling on the past or anxiously anticipating the future. The
idea is that if it’s a current problem, it can be dealt with. If it is in the past, it has
already happened and cannot always be resolved.

Clients are urged to discuss their memories and concerns in the present tense.
Experiences of the past that are brought up can be explored as to what factors made
a particular memory come up in that moment or how past experiences impact the
present moment.

Once clients become aware of the present, they can confront past conflicts or
unfinished business – what Perls refers to as incomplete Gestalts.

Experiences can influence perception

In the Gestalt Therapy technique, the therapist recognizes that a client’s

experiences can influence their perceptions, understanding that in this way, no one
can be fully objective.

The therapist allows a space for clients to share their truth without imposing their
own judgments, which are also influenced by their own experiences.

Predominantly, Gestalt therapy is the holistic view that people are intricately linked
to and influenced by their environments and that all people strive towards growth
and balance.

It emphasizes the therapist’s use of empathy, understanding, and unconditional

acceptance of the client’s experiences to enhance therapeutic outcomes.
Gestalt Therapy Techniques

Empty chair

The empty chair technique is a popular roleplaying exercise that allows the client
to imagine and participate in a dialogue with another person or part of themselves.

This Gestalt therapy technique involves the client sitting in front of an empty chair
while the therapist encourages them to imagine that either another person or a part
of themselves (such as an angry, critical, or past part) is sitting in the chair.

The client will then engage in a dialogue with whoever they imagine is in the
empty chair.

This exercise is thought to engage the person’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
It can be useful for helping people to become more mindful of the whole situation
and forget or disengage pieces of themself.

This self-dialogue is a very popular technique and can be used by many therapists
outside of Gestalt therapy.

Two-chair

The two-chair technique is similar to the empty chair technique in that the client is
encouraged to have a dialogue with an empty chair positioned next to them.

However, after speaking to the metaphorical person or part of self, the client can
respond to themselves by taking up the role of the other person or self.

The client will physically sit on the other chair and have a dialogue with
themselves as if they are the other person or part. The client can go back and forth
between the two chairs while the therapist observes and encourages meaningful
dialogue.
This can be useful for gaining perspective and awareness of other people’s
experiences. It can also help someone to come to decisions that were previously
hard to make, as well as help them to have better interpersonal conversations with
the person they may have experienced conflict with.

Body language

During therapy sessions, the therapist will pay close attention to the client’s body
language and movements, such as hand gestures, posture, and facial expressions.

The therapist will likely mention their observations to the client and ask them what
is happening for the person at that moment. They could say, ‘I notice you put your
hand on your chest when speaking. Why do you think you did that?’

Incorporating language, the Gestalt therapist may even ask the client to give their
body parts or facial expression a voice and speak from that place.

The technique of noticing body language helps to make the client more aware of
what they are doing and what it means.

‘I’ statements

The language a client uses and their tone are important in Gestalt therapy. As
clients are encouraged to learn and accept responsibility, they learn to use language
that reflects personal ownership rather than focusing on others and outside
experiences.

Clients are encouraged to use ‘I’ statements to learn personal responsibility. For
instance, instead of saying, ‘It made me feel angry,’ they could say, ‘I feel angry.’

Labeling an emotion as an ‘it’ makes it seem that the emotion is a separate entity
to the individual. However, taking ownership and recognizing the emotion as a part
of the self improves awareness.
 REFERENCES

McGrath, E. (2023). 8+ Effective Person-Centered Therapy Techniques. Quenza.

Retrieved from: https://quenza.com/blog/person-centered-therapy-techniques/

Mcleod, S. (2023). Gestalt Therapy: Definition, Types, Techniques, and Efficacy.

Simply Psychology. Retrieved from: https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-
gestalt-therapy.html

Bacp. (n.d.) What is Gestalt therapy?. Bacp Counselling Services. Retrieved from:
https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/gestalt/

Cherry, K. (2024). How Client-Centered Therapy Works. Verywell mind. Retrieved

from: https://www.verywellmind.com/client-centered-therapy-2795999

Langmaid, S. (2024). How Does Gestalt Therapy Work? WebMD. Retrieved from:
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-gestalt-therapy