Humanistic Psychodynamic Research

Humanistic psychology surfaced in middle of the 20th century in response to the predominant views about human behavior at the time. Humanistic psychology argued against the notion that the subconscious drives human behavior and therefore rejected theories of psychoanalysis and behaviorism, both deterministic in nature. Humanistic psychologists regarded both these theories as pessimistic because they highlighted only on painful emotions and that personal choice was not taken into consideration. Humanistic psychology has holistic view of the individual and emphasizes basic humans needs of fulfillment and happiness. Positive psychology is a more recent area of psychology that studies how to encourage individuals and communities to succeed. The

Theoretically, humanistic psychology is more inclined to qualitative research while positive psychology is more inclined to quantitative research (Waterman 2013). However, humanistic and positive psychology can be seen as parallel in their content because they both aim to understand and develop human growth (Waterman 2013). One of the premises of humanistic psychology is a total view of a person in regard for their value and dignity. The goal of a humanistic psychologist is to establish the fundamental potential for growth in every individual. This relates to positive psychology because it also has a concern with personal growth of character strength and virtues. In A Therapist’s Response to Alan Waterman, Serlin (2014) reflects on the application of humanistic psychology in therapy. Serlin (2014) says that in practice, she combined qualitative and quantitative methods of research in order for the individual to generate awareness of the self and others. Serlin also emphasizes how humanistic psychology examines both the client’s experiences of joy and existential dilemmas (2014). Positive psychology and humanistic psychology relate to each other in their existential roots and their roles against pessimism. Both are concerned with human welfare and the main expected outcomes of positive psychology are

These latter tend to focus on human being' relationship with their psychology, behavior and cognition but rarely on their fuller experience of living" (Schneider 2014). Schneider encompasses here how humanistic psychology challenges the assumption that the scientific method is not the only way to gain data or insight into the human psyche. In its study of man, humanistic psychology focuses on one person and what the person is experiencing in the moment. Waterman (2013) argues a difference between humanistic and positive psychology because of the incorporation of mindfulness in the latter. Serlin (2014), a humanistic psychologist, said that she incorporated mindfulness and imagery in therapy. Mindfulness is the capacity to consciously think about what you are experiencing. Carl Rodgers incorporated this in his client-centered therapy because it deals with clients observing themselves willfully instead of the therapists analyzing their unconscious thoughts. Friedman (2014) argues that mindfulness techniques in positive psychology are roughly the same as the focus on the experiencing person in humanistic psychology. It studies and understands the whole person throughout the course of life.