Humanistic Approaches to Counseling Essay

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Grief Work: Humanistic TheoryHumanistic theories of counseling in the model of Carl Rogers stress the need to offer unconditional positive regard for the client’s sense of self-worth. Rather than the therapist providing intensive direction for each session, and impressing emotional or goal-directed homework upon the client, the focus is upon validating the client’s feelings and sense of self-empowerment (Five counseling theories, 2015).For example, one client going through a major depressive period after the death of her mother said that without her mother to care for, she felt as if she was worthless. Instead of stressing the irrational belief thought patterns behind the client’s thinking like a cognitive therapist, a humanistic therapist will validate that the client is experiencing these emotions. Then, the humanistic therapist will identify positive aspects of the client’s life, such as the compassion and fortitude the client showed to her mother at the end of her mother’s life. Instead of invalidating the client’s grief as negative, the therapist might stress how the intensity of her emotions reveals her empathy and connection with others, while still devising strategies to move on from depression.

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One creative approach might be to ask the client to write a letter to her mother who had passed, explaining to her mother how grateful she was to be able to care for her mother at the end of her mother’s life, and also detailing a plan of how she intended to change and grow in the future, while still cherishing the lessons she had learned. One concern about incorporating humanistic approaches into counseling patients experiencing intense grief is that the unconditional validation of the humanistic approach might unintentionally validate the grief and failure to come to terms with death, versus stressing the need for rational thinking in cognitive approaches. On the other hand, humanistic therapy’s emphasis on self-actualization can be very empowering for a client who feels as if she has lost control over her life because of the loss of a loved one......

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