What is humanistic counselling?
Following the Second World War, an American physician and psychoanalyst called Carl Rogers developed an approach to working with individuals and groups which differed in tone from what had come before. He believed in being deeply interested in individuals, holding them in high regard and building a trusting, honest connection. He saw clients, not patients and he did not believe he had the monopoly on wisdom. It became known as a ‘Third Way’ in psychology. It felt very different from the cliched image of an inexpressive analyst interpreting the thoughts of a patient laying face-up on a sofa. Rogers described his work as Person-Centred, but over time, many related approaches developed under the general banner of Humanistic Counselling.
Humanistic Counselling became increasingly prominent in the second half of the twentieth century. Unlike Psychoanalysis (which grew out of the work of Freud) and Behaviourism (which was largely based on interpretations of observations of animal behaviours), Humanistic approaches did not present the therapist as the expert. The relationship between client and counsellor (Rogers’ choice of name) was one of equals. The client held the greatest knowledge of their own psychology whilst the therapist was skilled in facilitating, rather than in diagnosis and treatment. Instead of matching patients to categorised behaviours and states of mind and providing solutions, Humanistic approaches were focused on helping the client to make sense of their own unique narrative and to explore solutions to their ills. Clients made the choices and took responsibility.
Whilst they have over time developed distinct characteristics, all Humanistic approaches (and there are many!) still share a view of therapy that relies on, and feeds from, the experiences and feelings of the individual.
The origins of Humanistic counselling
The humanistic counselling approach has its origins in the European philosophy of phenomenology, where each person’s unique experience is believed to shape the way, they see their world. Perhaps the most influential academic psychologist for the humanistic tradition is Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). Maslow saw humans as having inherent biology and human nature which is neither good nor evil and a desire for safety, security and belonging. When all of these conditions were in place, he believed it was possible for people to achieve a position of ‘self-actualisation’, by meeting one's potential and achieving a form of personal enlightenment. Maslow represented his ideas in a famous Pyramid of needs, beginning with basic biological requirements such as food and drink, moving through to psychological needs such as belonging and self-esteem and reaching a pinnacle with self-actualisation. Where individuals were blocked on their journey towards self-actualisation because their needs were not being met, this for Maslow was the cause of anxiety. It follows then that the purpose of counselling/therapy is to help reduce anxiety by working with a client to remove the barriers to growth and self-actualisation.
From theoretical psychology to counselling
Carl Rogers built on and adapted Maslow’s thinking. He suggested that the basic desire and drive in humans was an ‘Actualising tendency’, so rather than self-actualisation being a goal, he redefined it as an ongoing process. As a metaphor, it’s rather like the difference between achieving a dream and having the ongoing ability to dream.
For Rogers, relationships were crucial to healthy development, and they had a significant effect on self-esteem. For a healthy self-concept (which is similar to the idea of self-esteem) to develop, an individual needs to experience positive regard with is not conditional on behaving a certain way or achieving particular goals. Where this is not present, the individual can end up feeling unworthy and rejected. Importantly, without a positive self-concept, the individual cannot truly express their actualising potential, so may end up feeling unfulfilled and directionless.
The solution to these problems, as Rogers saw it, was at once simple and difficult to achieve. He wrote that therapists should not be looking for any cure to emotional problems but to provide a relationship that can be used for the client’s personal growth. The role of a counsellor was to offer non-judgemental, unconditional positive regard to clients. They should listen and observe carefully to try to understand their client’s experience as best an outsider can and also demonstrate to the client that they empathise with their situation. Finally, the counsellor should be congruent, which is about being honest and consistent about feelings in the therapeutic relationship. This last point is really important, as Rogers saw that a product of living up to the conditions placed on receiving the regard and approval of others is that individuals often behave in a way that is not true to themselves. There is a disconnect between their inner feelings and outer expressions and behaviours. This is a source of anxiety and discomfort. The counsellor should model congruence, showing the client through the way they conduct themselves that such a state is possible, acceptable and desirable.
The core conditions
In many ways, Rogers took a solid understanding of psychology and psychotherapy and stripped it back to a very basic set of principles, which exist in most humanistic traditions to this day. He called this offering the ‘Core conditions’ to a client. He actually identified six conditions needed for effective counselling, but the three central conditions were and still are unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence.
Our Counsellor, Andrew, works with us in Humanistic Counselling.
