Humanistic psychology focuses on individual uniqueness and stresses the potential for individuals to control their behavior and achieve success in life. Humanistic psychology rejected the view of innate selfishness of humans that psychoanalytic psychology espoused but also objected to the view of behaviorism that humans are just a passive product of their environment and without the freedom to change themselves and their behavior. The theoretical and therapeutic approaches of Carl Rogers (1902-19) and Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) form the basis of humanist psychology.

American psychologist Carl Rogers developed the “person-centered” approach to therapy that stressed that the most important factor of self-fulfillment was the trust of an individual in one’s experiences and one’s self. The distrust that people have in their experience results in a distorted view of the self and abnormal behavior. The goal of person-centered therapy is, by conveying empathy, to help clients gain self-acceptance and self-understanding.  American psychologist Abraham Maslow believed that people are innately inclined to achieve “self-actualization.”  Maslow developed his theory of „Hierarchy of needs“, which states that human needs have to be satisfied in a specific tiered sequence for a person to achieve self-actualization. This hierarchy of needs is the same for all humans and the sequence of needs is as follows: 1) physiological needs; 2) personal safety; 3)  sense of belonging; 4) self-esteem needs; and 5) self-actualization. Psychological problems are caused by difficulty in fulfilling the need for self-esteem and self-actualization. To achieve self-actualization in patients therapists need to correct inaccurate views of themselves and improve the self-esteem of patients.

Books:

Maslow, Abraham. Motivation and Personality (1954);

Rogers, Carl. Counseling and Psychotherapy: Newer Concepts in Practice (1942);

     -     Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory (1951); 

     -     On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy (1961).