Brenda Flores
PSY 201-G/A20
November 17, 2013

Essay

Humanistic therapy is based on a positive, constructive view of human beings and the individual’s substantial capacity to be self-determining. The humanistic approach at treating depression is client-centered. Humanistic therapy focuses on the present. This therapy helps the patient understand how past experiences contribute to who the patient is today. Humanistic therapy emphasizes a non-judgmental approach. It encourages the patient to explore his/her thoughts, emotions, and feelings. One of the primary objectives and benefits of humanistic therapy is that the process encourages a self-awareness and mindfulness that allows patients to transition from a pattern of reactionary behaviors into a healthier and more productive practice of self-aware and thoughtful actions. The basic motivating idea behind the humanistic approach is that patients are active and responsible in their therapy and they participate in creating or at least in maintaining their mental illness states. As active participants in maintaining their own problems, patients could chose to undo some or all of their problems under the right conditions. Because the humanists see patients as active and powerful creators and maintainers of their own problems rather than as passive victims of those problems, they took a different approach to therapy than previous therapists did. The goal of the humanistic therapy is to set up the conditions that would enable patients to choose to help themselves, rather than to require a doctor to administer interventions. The therapy became person-centered, respecting the power of the person in therapy to choose to change or not, rather than technique-centered as previous therapies had been. The humanistic therapy also has more focus more on helping patients to achieve better general mental health and wellness