Humanistic psychology: what is it, pros and cons

The humanistic direction in psychology is one of the main trends that study a healthy, creative person. It arose in the 50s of the last century, and over the next ten years this direction received its development. In 1964, a conference was held for the first time on issues of a new psychological direction.

The principle of becoming

One of the most important principles of humanistic psychology is that a person is constantly in the process of becoming. For example, a final year university student will be different from a giggling, hip freshman. After a few more years, a young specialist in his field will also differ from a graduate. He will be able to master new life paths related to his career or, for example, family life.

Those people who consciously refuse their development actually refuse personal growth. They deny the fact that they have the potential for a full-fledged existence. According to humanistic psychology, a big mistake is to refuse opportunities to make every moment of your life as rich as possible. For a psychologist of this direction, such a view is nothing more than a perversion of what a person could potentially be. Life is an immutable value, and therefore a person must fill every moment of existence with meaning.

'Third Force'

However, the protest against behaviorism also took more radical forms. So much so that they also began to protest against psychoanalysis. “The third force”, this is what the scientist called the humanistic approach to personality psychology, to whom the glory of the founding father of humanistic psychology was firmly established. This is Abraham Maslow.

He can be understood very well.
Psychoanalysis focused all its attention on the sick, and behaviorism turned people into some kind of robots who all they need is a stimulus and a behavior control system. Gestalt did not take root in the USA. Yes, precisely because all the departments were occupied by supporters of behaviorism, and Jewish scientists who emigrated from Germany could only engage in private practice and publish from time to time in scientific journals. Abraham Maslow put forward clear and compelling concepts:

1. A person can only be considered as an integral system.
2. The analysis of one person has the same significance as that of many people due to the fact that each person is unique.
3. The basic psychological reality is the individual's experience of the world and himself.
4. Life is a single process.
5. A person is potentially open to development.
6. A person has a high degree of independence from external determination. One should not think that there is a contradiction here with Fromm’s opinion. He thought the same thing, only he emphasized that only a few enjoy this freedom.
7. The person is active and ready for creativity.

At one time, the so-called “Maslow’s pyramid” became quite widely known.
Someone invented a myth that Maslow created a hierarchy of human needs and depicted them in the form of a pyramid, and for some reason the pyramid turned out to be upside down, which is somewhat illogical. For some reason, this strange “invention” of human genius was actively shown to students of personnel management courses. The word “motivation” was mentioned most often. If we are talking about the fact that in order to motivate employees, it would be a good idea for companies to satisfy their needs for housing, daily bread and education, then the statement should be considered fair. But it gives a different impression. There they taught how to motivate, but not to satisfy needs, but to make them believe that an increase in labor productivity will make it possible to satisfy them someday later.

Maslow really systematized needs and divided them into basic and existential. He actually once said that a hungry person thinks first of bread, and a homeless person thinks of shelter, and then about more abstract values. True, we were talking about complete satisfaction and the lines were not so clear. Of course, a hungry person can pray to God very fervently, but he will ask for food, not the Truth.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is based on the fact that a person constantly wants something. If complete satisfaction of all desires is possible, then for a short period of time. You might think that the psychologist is too much of a materialist. However, even the Son of God had a desire - he wanted to save people from sin. Buddha, after enlightenment, also had a desire - he wanted to preach the Dharma, teach others how they too could become enlightened. So we can’t escape our desires.

According to Maslow, the hierarchy looks like this:

1. physical needs;
2. need for security;
3. need for love;
4. need for respect and recognition;
5. need for self-actualization.

He studied successful people and identified their qualities, analyzed their value system and developed a model of successful development, not just success.
True, not everything turned out to be as complete as we would like. If you look at the gradation of needs, you may get the impression that the highest of them are the lot of people who have already achieved everything, they no longer need to want things or money, and they can afford to meditate or think about God. This is far from true... Who in our country has seen bankers reflecting on the highest values, what kind of self-actualization in the spiritual sense can we talk about in relation to millionaires? We will not rush to label them, but there is plenty of narcissism and selfishness, greed and cruelty, suffering and fear in the highest echelons of society.

The search for Truth and God sometimes forces people not to build houses, but to take a knapsack and leave, at least try, as Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy did. He was probably safer in Yasnaya Polyana.

Maslow understood that he had come to a crisis in the process of cognition. This does not mean that the entire direction of humanitarian psychology turned out to be wrong. There were no necessary components in order to come to an understanding of the highest forms of spiritual development. General observations showed that at a certain moment a person begins to erase his own boundaries, the boundaries of his “I”, his personality.

The descriptions of the experiences of people who were able to come into contact with the light of Truth are similar, despite the fact that they may belong to different religions, views, schools and directions of philosophy. Therefore, Maslow is again among the innovators and takes an active part in building a new system, which is called transpersonal psychology. Now it is difficult to say that he is still engaged in science, since only the British scientific community recognized it as science.

Subjectivity of perception

Another of the fundamental concepts of the humanistic direction of psychology is that the only “reality” that is accessible to a particular individual is subjective. Such a view can also be characterized as phenomenological. Theoretical constructs, together with external behavior, occupy a secondary position in relation to the direct experience of the individual, as well as the unique meaning of this experience for him. As Maslow wrote about it: “Nothing can replace experience, absolutely nothing.”

Advantages and disadvantages

The humanistic concept in psychology meets both its followers, who note its strengths, and is criticized by specialists from various schools.

pros:

1. Giving a person a huge role in self-management of their own mental health.
2. Taking into account external factors in shaping a person’s personality, rather than focusing on internal qualities.
3. Really making an impact on therapy, as well as the fields of health and education.
4. Considering a healthy person as an object of study, rather than judging a mentally healthy person based on observed deviations in the behavior of others.

Minuses:

1. Considering communication between two people as equals, which in reality is often not confirmed.
2. Since the subjects of research are healthy people with satisfied basic needs, this theory is poorly suited to explain the behavior of people with mental disorders, as well as those in poor social conditions.
3. A person is too responsible for his own actions.

Integrity concept

One of the most important ideas of humanistic psychology is to consider the individual as a unique whole. Already Maslow saw that psychologists for a very long time focused on a detailed analysis of individual events in a person's life, neglecting his integrity. They studied the trees, not the entire forest. In fact, the theory that was first developed by Maslow and developed by his followers was a protest against such views, originating from behaviorism. The principle of the whole, which is always greater than the sum of its parts, is accurately reflected in many theoretical works of researchers in this direction.

The Goal of Humanistic Therapy

The overall goal of humanistic therapy is to provide a holistic description of the person. Using certain techniques, the psychologist tries to see the whole person, and not just fragmented parts of the personality.

Such therapy also requires the integration of the whole person. This is called self-actualization according to Maslow. Humanistic psychology states that every person has built-in potential and resources that could help create a stronger personality and increased self-esteem. The mission of a psychologist is to guide a person towards these resources. However, to realize the latent possibilities, he may have to give up the security of a certain stage of personality in order to embrace a new and more integrated stage. This is not an easy process as it may involve considering new life decisions or redefining your outlook on life. This type of psychology views psychological instability and anxiety as normal aspects of human life and development that can be worked through in therapy.

The humanistic approach to psychology is unique because its terms and its concepts are based on the assumption that all people have their own view of the world and unique life experiences.

Inner nature of man

Freud hinted quite clearly that man is at the mercy of unconscious forces that control him. The founder of psychoanalysis also emphasized that if a person does not control unconscious impulses, this will lead to the destruction of other people or himself. It is difficult to judge how fair such a point of view is, but Freud had little faith in the fact that people are driven by a bright beginning.

Personality in humanistic psychology is viewed from a point of view radically opposed to psychoanalysis. Adherents of this direction argue that if a person is not good internally, then at least his nature is neutral.

Of course, this opinion may well be challenged by the person who is attacked by robbers on a dark evening. But Maslow argued that the destructive forces operating in people are a direct result of frustration, the inability to satisfy one's own needs. By nature, everyone has positive opportunities for achieving self-realization. Maslow maintained this positive view of man throughout his life.

Abraham Maslow

One of the main representatives of humanistic psychology, who is also its founder, is Abraham Maslow. It was they who proposed the concept of a holistic personality. Maslow's theory was opposed to the then dominant teachings of behaviorism and psychoanalysis. Maslow assumed that the essence of every person is exclusively positive and strives for continuous development. In this case, the goal of psychology is to help the individual find in himself what is already inherent in him. These features, according to Maslow’s humanistic psychology, exist in the form of innate capabilities. They can be updated by external factors. Maslow's ideas served as the foundation for the further development of the humanistic direction.

Maslow made great contributions to the development of psychological science. It was he who switched attention from working on neuroses to studying the characteristics of the psychology of a healthy person.

Concept

Humanistic psychology is a direction that analyzes concepts that are unique to humans - creative activity, self-actualization of the individual and its development, highest human values, love, freedom.

The basis is the humanistic qualities of the individual, which distinguish a person from an animal, and also contribute to his improvement throughout his life.

Humanistic orientation is the moral qualities of an individual that determine his behavior in accordance with humanistic ideas. First of all, this is recognition of the value of the human person, its exclusive rights to development and well-being.

These qualities mean a complex of character traits such as a person’s tolerance for others, the desire to help them, kindness, respect for another person, and understanding.

Rogers' concept of self-concept

The fundamental element of the personality structure in Rogers’ humanistic psychology is the “Self-concept,” which is formed through the constant interaction of a person with the outside world. If there is a discrepancy between the self-image (“I-concept”), real experience and the ideal “I,” the personality puts into action various psychological defense mechanisms. They manifest themselves either in selectivity of perception or in distortion of experience. In some cases, this leads to psychological maladjustment.

Victor Frankl

Another prominent representative of humanistic psychology is Viktor Emil Frankl, a psychologist and psychiatrist from Austria. It was Frankl who created the concept of logotherapy. According to her, the driving force behind personal development is the desire to find meaning in life. A person may not ask this question directly, but answer it with his own real deeds and actions. The role of meaning for each individual person is played by values. Viktor Frankl in his writings describes three categories of such values:

• The value of creativity (labor is of primary importance).
• Experiences (for example, love).
• Life attitude (a position consciously chosen and developed by the individual, which he adheres to in critical life circumstances).

In the process of realizing meaning, a person comes to self-realization, self-realization. Conscience is that internal authority that helps a person determine which of the potential meanings is true.

In one of his major works, Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl writes about his personal experience of surviving the terrible conditions of a concentration camp. In the same book, he outlines his experience of finding the value of life, its meaning, even in such a terrifying environment. Researchers classify Frankl's method as existential therapy. His works became a source of inspiration for many representatives of the humanistic movement. Frankl himself came to the conclusion that the main stressor for a person is the lack of meaning in life. According to the psychologist, existential neurosis is essentially identical to the crisis of a meaningless existence.

General characteristics of humanistic psychology and its development

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Humanistic psychology is a direction in Western, mainly American, psychology, the subject of study of which is the whole person in his highest manifestations, specific only to humans, including the development and self-actualization of the individual, its highest values ​​and meanings, love, creativity, freedom , responsibility, autonomy, experiencing the world, mental health, deep interpersonal communication, transcendence, etc.

The G.P. formed as a current in the beginning. 1960s, opposing itself, on the one hand, to behaviorism, which was criticized for its mechanistic approach to human psychology by analogy with animal psychology, for considering human behavior as completely dependent on external stimuli, and, on the other hand, to psychoanalysis, which was criticized for the idea of ​​human mental life as completely determined by unconscious deep drives and complexes. G. p., which united a large group of psychologists, already in the 1960s. gained great weight and was called the “third force” in Western psychology.

Its foundation as an independent direction dates back to the early 60s. In 1961, the Journal of Humanistic Psychology was founded and the Association for Humanistic Psychology was created. In 1964, a conference took place that marked the beginning of humanistic psychology. The leading figures are G. Allport, S. Buehler, K. Rogers, A. Maslow, R. May. The immediate prerequisites were research on personality psychology in the late 30s. (G. Allport, G. Murray). The emergence of humanistic psychology as a third force coincided with the emergence of counterculture and hippies as a social phenomenon in the 60s. the individual as a central value, an affirmation of the value of self-disclosure. as a subject of study, understanding the healthy creative personality is a task that no other school has posed. The goal of such a personality is not the need for homeostasis, as psychoanalysis believes, but self-realization, self-fulfillment (S. Bühler), self-actualization (K. Goldstein, A. Maslow). Of the philosophical influences that humanistic psychology has experienced, we should point out primarily existentialism. Addresses human abilities: love, creativity, self, growth, satisfaction of basic needs, self-actualization, higher values, being, becoming, spontaneity, play, humor, efficiency. meaning, honesty, psychological health. There was a practical orientation to this direction -> it became widespread. Much credit for this direction of development of humanistic psychology belongs to K. Rogers (1902-1987). K. Rogers developed the theory of a fully functioning creative personality and the corresponding person-oriented psychotherapy, known as “client-centered therapy.”

Humanistic psychology, especially in the variants of its best representatives, attracts with its focus on a specific holistic personality with its real problems, Rousseauian belief in the kindness and personal strengths of a person, taking into account the reality of feelings, values, intentions of the individual, emphasizing the uniqueness of the individual. The experience of unity that has developed in humanistic psychology: theory and practice has a positive significance.

The basic methodological principles and provisions of G.P. come down to the following: a) a person is integral and must be studied in his integrity; b) every person is unique; c) a person is open to the world, a person’s experience of the world and himself in the world is the main psychological reality; d) human life should be considered as a single process of human formation and existence; e) a person has the potential for continuous development and self-realization, which are part of his nature; f) a person has a certain degree of freedom from external determination due to the meanings and values ​​that guide him in his choice; g) man is an active, intentional, creative being. The origins of these ideas are in the philosophical traditions of the humanists of the Renaissance, fr. Enlightenment, German. romanticism, the philosophy of Feuerbach, Nietzsche, Husserl, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, as well as in modern existentialism and Eastern philosophical and religious systems.

The general methodological platform of GP is implemented in a wide range of different approaches. The problem of the driving forces of the formation and development of personality, human needs and values ​​was revealed in the works of A. Maslow, W. Frankl, S. Bühler and others. F. Barron, R. May and W. Frankl analyzed the problem of freedom and responsibility. Man's transcendence of his being is considered as a specifically human essential feature (Jurard, Frankl, Maslow). The problems of interpersonal relationships, love, marriage, sexual relationships, self-disclosure in communication are considered in the works of K. Rogers, S. Jurard, R. May and others.

The main area of ​​practical application of GP is psychotherapeutic practice, in which many of the ideas that form the theoretical foundation of GP today were born and developed. The works of Maslow and Rogers developed ideas about a mentally healthy, fully functioning personality. Rogers' non-directive psychotherapy and Frankl's logotherapy are among the most popular and widespread psychotherapeutic systems. Dr. An important area of ​​practical application of pedagogy is humanistic pedagogy, which is based on the principles of non-directive interaction between teacher and student and is aimed at developing the creative abilities of the individual. The third area of ​​practical application of GP is socio-psychological training, one of the founders of which was Rogers. The successes of GP in these applied areas largely determined the social platform of GP, based on the utopian idea of ​​improving society through the improvement of individuals and interpersonal relationships (Maslow). Today, psychology occupies an important and stable place in Western psychology; There have been trends toward its partial integration with other schools and directions, including psychoanalysis and neobehaviorism. (D. A. Leontyev.)

The center of this trend was the USA, and the leading figures were K. Rogers, R. May, A. Maslow, G. Allport. The development of humanistic psychology was facilitated by the situation that developed in society after the Second World War. If the First World War demonstrated the unconscious cruelty and aggression of man, which horrified public opinion and shook the foundations of humanism and enlightenment, then the Second World War, without disproving the presence of these qualities, revealed other aspects of the human psyche. It showed that many people in extreme situations show resilience and maintain dignity in the most difficult conditions. These facts, as well as the data obtained by personality psychology in the 30-50s, showed the limitations of the approach to a person, explaining the development of his motivation, his personal qualities only by the desire to adapt. This desire of man to preserve and develop his spiritual uniqueness was impossible to explain in terms of old psychology and only natural scientific determination, ignoring philosophical postulates. That is why the leaders of humanistic psychology turned to the achievements of philosophy of the 20th century, primarily to existentialism, which studied the inner world, the existence of man. This is how a new determination appeared - psychological, explaining human development by his desire for self-actualization, the creative realization of his potential.

Scientist	Driving forces of development and personality structure	Main achievements
G. Allport	Basic and instrumental features, the set of which is unique and autonomous	Openness of the person-society system, questionnaires
A. Maslow	Hierarchy of needs, priority of existential or scarcity needs	The need for self-actualization, mechanisms of identification and alienation
K. Rogers	“I-concept”, in the center of which is flexible and adequate self-esteem	Congruence, person-centered therapy

Thus, both the logic of the development of psychology and the ideology of society necessarily led to the emergence of a new, third way in psychology, which humanistic psychology sought to formulate. Humanistic psychology saw the inferiority of other psychological trends in the fact that they avoided confrontation with reality as a person experiences it, and ignored such signs of personality as its integrity, unity, and uniqueness. As a result, the picture of personality appears fragmented and is constructed either as a “system of reactions” (Skinner), or as a set of “dimensions” (Guilford), agents such as the Ego, It and Superego (Freud), and role stereotypes. In addition, the personality is deprived of its most important characteristic - free will - and appears only as something determined from the outside. Her own aspirations boil down to attempts to defuse (reduce) internal tension and achieve balance with the environment.

The main provisions of the new direction were formulated by Gordon Allport.

G. Allport (1897-1967) considered the concept of personality he created as an alternative to the mechanism of the behavioral approach and the biological, instinctive approach of psychoanalysts. Allport also objected to the transfer of facts associated with sick people, neurotics, to the psyche of a healthy person. Although he began his career as a psychotherapist, he very quickly moved away from medical practice, focusing on experimental studies of healthy people. Allport believed it was necessary not just to collect and describe observed facts, as was practiced in behaviorism, but to systematize and explain them. One of the main postulates of Allport's theory was that the individual is open and self-developing. Man is, first of all, a social being and therefore cannot develop without contacts with the people around him, with society. Hence Allport’s rejection of the position of psychoanalysis about the antagonistic, hostile relationship between the individual and society. Thus, he sharply objected to the postulate generally accepted at that time that development is adaptation, the adaptation of man to the world around him, proving that man is characterized by the need to explode the balance and reach more and more new peaks. Allport was one of the first to talk about the uniqueness of each person. Each person is unique and individual, as he is the bearer of a unique combination of qualities and needs, which Allport called trite - trait. He divided these needs, or personality traits, into basic and instrumental. Basic traits stimulate behavior and are innate, genotypic, while instrumental traits shape behavior and are formed in the process of life, i.e., they are phenotypic formations. The set of these traits constitutes the core of personality. The child’s features are still unstable and not fully formed. Only in an adult who is aware of himself, his qualities and his individuality, traits become truly autonomous and do not depend on either biological needs or social pressure. This autonomy of a person’s traits, being the most important characteristic of his personality, gives him the opportunity, while remaining open to society, to preserve his individuality. Thus, Allport solves the problem of identification-alienation, which is one of the most important for all humanistic psychology.

Allport developed not only his theoretical concept of personality, but also his methods for systematic research of the human psyche. For this purpose, he creates multifactorial questionnaires. The most famous is the University of Minnesota Questionnaire (MMPI), which is currently used (with a number of modifications) to analyze compatibility, professional suitability, etc. Over time, Allport came to the conclusion that an interview provides more information and is a more reliable method than a questionnaire, because it allows you to change questions during the conversation and observe the state and reaction of the subject. The clarity of the criteria, the presence of objective keys for decoding, and consistency distinguish all the methods of personality research developed by Allport from the subjective projective methods of the psychoanalytic school.

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) His theory, developed. by the 50s of the 20th century, appeared on the basis of a detailed acquaintance with the basic psychological concepts that existed at that time (as well as the very idea of ​​​​the need to form a third way, a third psychological direction, alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism). During the last years of his life, he also served as president of the American Psychological Association. The most valuable thing in the psyche is its selfhood, its desire for self-development. Maslow believed that human nature must be explored by “studying its best representatives, and not by cataloging the difficulties and errors of average or neurotic individuals.” Only in this way can we understand the limits of human capabilities, the true nature of man, which is not fully and clearly represented in other, less gifted people. The group he chose for the study consisted of eighteen people, nine of them were his contemporaries, and nine were historical figures (A. Lincoln, A. Einstein, W. James, B. Spinoza, etc.). These studies led him to the idea that there is a certain hierarchy of human needs, which looks like this:

physiological needs - food, water, sleep, etc.;

need for security - stability, order;

need for love and belonging - family, friendship;

need for respect - self-esteem, recognition;

the need for self-actualization - development of abilities.

One of the weaknesses of Maslow's theory was that he argued that these needs are in a once and for all given rigid hierarchy and higher needs (for self-esteem or self-actualization) arise only after more elementary ones are satisfied. Not only critics, but also Maslow’s followers showed that very often the need for self-actualization or self-esteem was dominant and determined a person’s behavior despite the fact that his physiological needs were not satisfied, and sometimes prevented the satisfaction of these needs. Subsequently, Maslow himself abandoned such a rigid hierarchy, combining all needs into two classes: the needs of need (deficit) and the needs of development (self-actualization).

Self-actualization is not a one-time act, but a process that has no end; it is a way of “living, working and relating to the world, and not a single achievement.” Maslow identified the most significant moments in this process that change a person’s attitude towards himself and the world and stimulate personal growth. This can be an immediate experience—a “peak experience”—or a long-term experience—a “plateau experience.”

Describing a self-actualizing personality, Maslow said that such a person is characterized by acceptance of himself and the world, including other people. These are, as a rule, people who adequately and effectively perceive the situation, centered on the task, and not on themselves. At the same time, they are also characterized by a desire for solitude, autonomy and independence from the environment and culture.

The scientist believed that it was conscious aspirations and motives, and not unconscious instincts, that constitute the essence of human personality. However, the desire for self-actualization, for the realization of one’s abilities, encounters obstacles, lack of understanding of others and one’s own weaknesses. Many people retreat in the face of difficulties, which does not leave its mark on the individual and stops his growth. Neurotics are people with an undeveloped or unconscious need for self-actualization. Society, by its very nature, cannot help but hinder a person’s desire for self-actualization. After all, any society strives to make a person its stereotyped representative, alienates the personality from its essence, makes it conformal.

Optimal, Maslow believed, are identification on the external plane, in communication with the outside world, and alienation on the internal plane, in terms of the development of self-awareness. It is this approach that gives a person the opportunity to communicate effectively with others and at the same time remain himself. This position of Maslow made him popular among intellectuals, as it largely reflected the views of this social group on the relationship between the individual and society. He was one of the first to explore the achievements of personal experience, revealing ways for self-development and self-improvement of any person.

Carl Rogers (1902-1987) In his personality theory, Rogers developed a certain system of concepts in which people can create and change their ideas about themselves and their loved ones. Therapy is also deployed in the same system, helping a person change himself and his relationships with others. As with other representatives of humanistic psychology, the idea of ​​the value and uniqueness of the human person is central to Rogers. He believes that the experience that a person has in the process of life, which he called the “phenomenal field,” is individual and unique. This world created by man may or may not coincide with reality, since not all objects included in the environment are conscious of the subject. Rogers called the degree of identity of this field with reality congruence. A high degree of congruence means that what a person communicates to others, what is happening around him, and what he is aware of is more or less the same. Violation of congruence leads to an increase in tension, anxiety and, ultimately, to neuroticism of the individual. Neuroticism also leads to a departure from one’s individuality, a rejection of self-actualization, which Rogers, like Maslow, considered one of the most important needs of the individual. Developing the foundations of his therapy, the scientist combines the idea of ​​congruence with self-actualization.

Speaking about the structure of the self, Rogers attached particular importance to self-esteem, which expresses the essence of a person, his self.

Rogers insisted that self-esteem should not only be adequate, but also flexible, changing depending on the situation. At the same time, Rogers not only talked about the influence of experience on self-esteem, but also emphasized the need for openness to experience. Unlike most other concepts of personality, which insist on the value of the future (Adler) or the influence of the past (Jung, Freud), Rogers emphasized the importance of the present. People must learn to live in the present, to be aware of and appreciate every moment of their lives. Only then will life reveal itself in its true meaning and only then can we speak of full realization, or, as Rogers called it, the full functioning of the personality.

Rogers, accordingly, had his own special approach to psychocorrection. He proceeded from the fact that the psychotherapist should not impose his opinion on the patient, but lead him to the right decision, which the latter makes independently. During the therapy process, the patient learns to trust himself more, his intuition, his feelings and impulses. As he begins to understand himself better, he understands others better. This increases congruence and makes it possible to accept yourself and others, reduces anxiety and tension. Therapy occurs as a meeting between a therapist and a client or, in group therapy, as a meeting between a therapist and several clients. The meeting groups created by Rogers are one of the most widespread technologies of psychocorrection and training today. The ideas of client-centered therapy are used in counseling and SBT. Anonymous groups, helplines. “client”, “meeting”, “meeting groups”, “empathy”.

One of the most popular types of psychotherapy was “logotherapy”, developed by the Austrian psychologist W. Frankl (1905 – 1997). Many provisions of Frankl’s existential theory make it similar to humanistic psychology. V. Frankl is the founder of the “Third Vienna School of Psychotherapy” (the first is Freud’s psychoanalysis, the second is A. Adler’s individual psychology). “According to logotherapy, the struggle for the meaning of life is the main driving force of man. “Striving for meaning” as opposed to the principle of pleasure (“striving for pleasure” and also as opposed to “striving for power.” Frankl spent 3 years in fascist death camps. How he will behave depends not on the conditions, but primarily on the person himself. According to Frankl, it is necessary for a person to discover the meaning - the logos - of his existence, for it is the search for meaning that is a sign of truly human existence. The absence or loss of meaning creates an existential vacuum: a person loses the content of his "existence, he experiences boredom, indulges in vice or experiences difficult experiences, similar to the crisis of older people. The source of the existential vacuum, according to Frankl, is the modern social world (in line with the thoughts of E. Fromm). Meaning has specific content, it is individual and constitutes the essence of existence in relation to each person. Finding meaning makes a person responsible for his life At the same time, meaning cannot be found within oneself - in one’s body or soul, but only by turning to the world around us. Human existence, therefore, is not self-actualization, as Maslow believes, but there is self-transcendence, i.e., exit into another, in contrast to the somatic and mental determinants of existence, its spiritual dimension, which is meaning. Meaning is achieved, firstly, by performing activities; Secondly, a person finds meaning in caring for other people, in loving people. Thirdly, a person gains meaning by developing clear positions in relation to various life situations.

Frankl's theory is presented in several books, the most famous of which is, perhaps, Man's Search for Meaning (published in the late 50s and reprinted several times around the world). This theory consists of three parts - the doctrine of the desire for meaning, the doctrine of the meaning of life and the doctrine of free will. Frankl considered the desire to understand the meaning of life to be innate, and this motive to be the leading force in personal development. Meanings are not universal, they are unique to each person at each moment of his life. However, an essential feature of Frankl's theory is the idea that the acquisition and realization of meaning is always connected with the external world, with the creative activity of a person in it and his productive achievements. At the same time, he, like other existentialists, emphasized that the lack of meaning in life or the inability to realize it leads to neurosis, giving rise to a person’s state of existential vacuum and existential frustration. At the center of Frankl's concept is the doctrine of values, i.e. concepts that carry the generalized experience of humanity about the meaning of typical situations. He identifies three classes of values ​​that make a person’s life meaningful: the values ​​of creativity (for example, work), the values ​​of experience (for example, love) and the values ​​of attitudes consciously formed in relation to those critical life circumstances that we are not able to change. The meaning of life can be found in any of these values ​​and any action generated by them. It follows from this that there are no circumstances and situations in which human life would lose its meaning. Frankl calls finding meaning in a specific situation awareness of the possibilities of action in relation to a given situation. It is precisely this awareness that logotherapy is aimed at, which helps a person see the entire range of potential meanings contained in a situation and choose the one that is consistent with his conscience. In this case, the meaning must not only be found, but also realized, since its realization is connected with a person’s realization of himself. In this realization of meaning, human activity must be absolutely free. Logotherapy considers its task to help the patient find the meaning of his life. It is addressed to any person to convince him that life has meaning in any situation and to help him mobilize his resources.

When assessing humanistic theories of personality, it should be noted that their developers were the first to pay attention not only to deviations, difficulties and negative aspects in human behavior, but also to the positive aspects of personal development. The works of scientists of this school explored the achievements of personal experience, revealed the mechanisms of personality formation and ways for its self-development and self-improvement. This direction has become more widespread in Europe.

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Techniques in humanistic psychology: client self-report

Any methods in this direction do not presuppose the experience that a person has received during his life. That is why therapists of this psychological school pay great attention to self-reports provided by subjects. This allows the client's individual perception of himself to be taken into account. Other methods of research, considered traditional, should only add subjective ones.

Many authors emphasize that for a full and comprehensive study of personality, it is necessary to begin personal research with observation and projective techniques, and only after that use questionnaires and experiments.

Tests and other methods

A method of humanistic psychology, the purpose of which is an integral, holistic diagnosis of personality - the questionnaire “Feelings. Reactions. Beliefs”, developed by D. Cartwright. Another test that analyzes the characteristics of personality self-actualization was developed by E. Shostrom. Sjostrom's self-actualization questionnaire is based on the theory of Maslow, Perls and others. The “Test of Empathic Tendencies”, authored by E. Mehrabian, is also often used.

The number of techniques used in the humanistic direction is quite large. Back in 1971 in America, S. Peterson developed the so-called “Catalogue of Paths to Personal Growth,” which at that time listed about 40 methods used in humanistic psychology. Let's briefly list some of them:

• art therapy (drawing, music, dance);
• visualization;
• Eastern techniques (meditation, yoga);
• Gestalt therapy;
• psychodrama;
• transactional analysis;
• existential psychotherapy.

Non-directive method of psychological counseling

This method is one of the main ones in humanistic psychology. It was first proposed by K. Rogers, who called it client-centered therapy.

What is the application of this method? As already mentioned, the humanistic movement postulates the original goodness of every person. But positive qualities become visible only under certain conditions, when the individual is in an atmosphere of acceptance and attention. This is exactly what a psychotherapist does during a consultation.

The session thus takes place in the form of a dialogue. The therapist understands his client, does not judge him, and does not subject him to unnecessary criticism. This becomes one of the main conditions ensuring the rehabilitation of a person. The client realizes that he has a chance to freely and openly talk about accumulated difficulties and express himself. This allows you to more clearly understand the events of the surrounding world, increase self-esteem, and find a way out of a personal crisis.

Founder and representatives

One of the founders of this direction is the American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow , also known as the developer of a hierarchical model of motivation, at the top of the pyramid of which are aesthetic needs, and at the base are physiological ones.

Along with A. Maslow, the founder of this direction is the American psychologist K. Rogers .

Humanistic psychology, from his position, was the right approach, because every person has a desire for self-improvement.

A person independently determines for himself the values ​​and meaning of his life , and also determines the prospects for development and personal growth.

Erich Fromm is also a representative of humanistic psychology .

E. Fromm's humanistic psychoanalysis , in contrast to S. Freud's approach, considered not the instinctive needs of a person, but his connection with the outside world, as a key problem in psychology.

Interesting Facts

Let's look at some interesting facts about the humanistic movement.

• The ideas proposed by Maslow were criticized by the founder of psychoanalysis, S. Freud.
• Frankl invented the concept of “Sunday neurosis,” which characterizes the depressed psycho-emotional state that a person may experience at the end of the work week.
• Carl Rogers, one of the founders of the humanistic movement, planned to become a farmer in his youth.
• The school of positive psychology also belongs to the humanistic direction.
• Humanistic psychology relies on existentialism as its philosophical basis.
• This direction in psychology opposes the construction of psychological knowledge on the principle of natural sciences.

Practical Application of Humanistic Psychology

The main area of ​​practical application of Humanistic psychology is psychotherapeutic practice, in which many of the ideas that form the theoretical foundation of Humanistic psychology today were born and developed. In the works of A. Maslow, S. Jurard, F. Barron, K. Rogers, ideas about a psychologically healthy, fully functioning personality were developed. Non-directive psychotherapy by K. Rogers and logotherapy by V. Frankl are among the most popular and widespread psychotherapeutic systems.

Another important area of ​​practical application of Humanistic psychology is humanistic pedagogy, which is based on the principles of non-directive interaction between teacher and student and is aimed at developing the creative abilities of the individual. The third area of ​​practical application of humanistic psychology is socio-psychological training, one of the founders of which was K. Rogers. The successes of Humanistic psychology in these applied areas largely determined the social platform of Humanistic psychology, which is based on the idea of ​​​​improving society by improving individuals and interpersonal relationships (A. Maslow).