A Critical Review Of Humanistic And Existential Psychology

Humanistic and Existential Psychology are influential of each other, both include the “meaning of our existence, the role of free will, and the uniqueness of each human” (Burger, 2015) This paper will review three articles written by influential psychologists of their time, Maslow, Rogers, and Frankl. The review of each will include a summary, how well the contents connects to the humanistic or existential psychology, and if their ideas still have a relevant application in today’s environment.
The first article for review by Viktor Frankl, an existential psychologist, Logotherapy and Existentialism, was written in 1967. Existentialism approach emphasizes the individual as being responsible for their actions and destiny by way of exercising
In the article, Frankl also present existential therapy not in opposition to Freud’s psychoanalysis but in addition to Freud’s working, stating that “psychoanalysis promotes the self-understanding of man” (Frankl, 1967). As Frankl expresses in the paper, “there are just as many existential therapies as therapist” (Frankl, 1967) but in the textbook Burger shares that Frankl is so aligned with existentialism that he would be labeled as an existential psychologist (Burger, 2015). The article confirms the existential calling on Frankl as he describes that a man’s purpose cannot
The article’s title, The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions of Therapeutic Personality Change, is almost a summary in itself. In the article Rogers tries to answer the question he proposes, “Is it possible to state, in terms which are clearly definable and measurable, the psychological conditions which are both necessary and sufficient to bring about constructive personality change?” (Rogers, 2007). Rogers proceeds to describe the relationship and interaction between the client and the therapist that must be in place in order for positive personality change to take place. He condensed the psychological conditions needed down to six conditions and proceeds to explain each of them in more detail. Along with the detailed description Roger also includes clinical examples for emphasis. The conditions the Rogers describe align with the humanistic approach in that Rogers determines that empathy and positive regard by the therapist towards the clients is necessary for the psychotherapy to be effective. The therapy as described by Rogers is relevant today, nine years after the article was written. Clients more than ever today want to know that their therapist understand and has compassion for them and their condition. Clients was therapist who care and what better way to show compassion and caring then by being empathetic and positive