What Is Humanistic Therapy?

Sometimes, life’s biggest questions, like “Why am I here?” are most prominent inside our minds. If you feel weighed down by ideas around purpose and life’s meaning, you may have heard of humanistic therapy as something that can help you work through these thoughts.

Humanistic therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on each person as an individual. It’s considered a more holistic approach to therapy that utilizes paths for self-growth, homes in on the present moment, and puts less focus on treating specific symptoms or problems.

According to psychologist Ramone Ford, PhD, a lot of therapists today do take notes from this type of client-centered treatment. But that may not necessarily mean that your therapist is using a fully humanistic approach.

Dr. Ford further explains what humanistic therapy is, how it’s applied and how to know if it’s right for you.

What is humanistic therapy?

Humanistic therapy is a type of therapy that was developed in the 1950s and was intended to create a less structured form of counseling. The idea was that it puts the client first by focusing less on their past experiences and more on the present.

For example, you may have heard that many forms of therapy involve working with your past experiences and trauma to help you heal. But humanistic therapy takes a different approach. “It mostly focuses on the here-and-now,” explains Dr. Ford, “not necessarily on your history or what happened in childhood.”

Dr. Ford also highlights that if someone is performing therapy with a completely humanistic lens, they may not center the sessions around diagnosing, managing specific symptoms or having a traditional structured plan. In general, the sessions may be looser and have you (the person “on the couch”) lead the way.

“If you’re diagnosed with major depression, then we’re going to have a treatment plan for major depression,” he illustrates. “Whereas humanistic therapy isn’t necessarily driven by diagnoses.”

Examples of humanistic therapy

If “humanistic therapy” sounds like a broad term, it’s because it is. It includes several different types of therapies and techniques. You may also encounter therapists or counselors who use certain practices or exercises from humanistic therapy, while still using more structured forms of therapy.

Here are some examples of the different types of humanistic therapies and the common techniques used for each.

Client-centered therapy

One of the cores of humanistic therapy is that it puts all the focus on the client, in other words: you. 

Specifically, this may usually involve focusing on your present self, rather than, again, diving into your childhood or history. “During traditional therapy sessions, you often look back to childhood or some other time when a pattern has been developed,” Dr. Ford explains. 

During a session like this, your therapist may ask questions like:

• How are you feeling today?
• What’s going on with you today
• How can I benefit you today?
• What’s going on with your relationships right now?

Part of this approach includes unconditional positive regard, where the therapist creates a comforting environment that focuses on the needs of the person receiving the therapy. This also means that the therapist often uses empathy to act as a sounding board for the client to talk about what they want.

Existential therapy

Another form of humanistic therapy is existential therapy. This is where a primary focus is on the question: “Why are we all here?”

Existential therapists work with you to examine your values, beliefs and assumptions about yourself and the world around you. Generally, this type of therapy focuses on developing better self-awareness and authenticity. It may not always be driven by certain conditions like depression or anxiety, but they can certainly be involved.

Overall, Dr. Ford stresses that this approach is usually helpful if you’re someone who’s grappling with questions of identity, your purpose in life or other existential concerns. This can often tie in with topics like death, freedom and isolation.

Some techniques used in this kind of humanistic therapy include:

Empathetic reflection

This approach involves a therapist accurately understanding your thoughts, feelings and experiences, and reflecting them back to you with empathy. This technique is often used to help you feel heard and foster a sense of validation and trust in the relationship between them and the therapist.

Example: If you feel overwhelmed at work, your therapist might reflect, “It sounds like you’re feeling a lot of pressure in your job right now.”

Socratic questioning

This technique involves a therapist asking thought-provoking questions in the session. These questions are meant to explore your beliefs, thought patterns and assumptions about the world more deeply. Instead of providing direct answers, the therapist may guide you through a process of discovering the answer yourself. 

Example: If you feel self-doubt about your abilities, your therapist might ask, “What evidence do you have to support that belief? Are there any alternative perspectives to consider?”

Active listening

Of course, every therapist is taught to listen. But the active listening technique takes it a step further by fully engaging with you and demonstrating empathy. Your therapist provides nonverbal cues (such as nodding or eye contact) to show you they’re present and attentive. This can help if you’re still developing the confidence to talk about your experiences. 

Example: If you share a difficult experience, your therapist might respond with, “It sounds like that was a really challenging situation for you. Can you tell me more about how it made you feel?”

Gestalt therapy

Gestalt therapy focuses on helping you increase your awareness of the present moment. In a session, your therapist would encourage you to explore your experiences directly instead of just talking about them intellectually. So, for example, a Gestalt therapist would refrain from having you use “textbook” or medical terms to describe yourself and instead go back to basics: “I feel bad” or “I feel scared when this situation happens.”

“If you’re a Gestalt therapist, you help create the here-and-now atmosphere by asking what you’re currently aware of and how certain emotions make you feel,” explains Dr. Ford.

This approach often involves using different techniques and exercises while focusing on body sensations. He also notes that Gestalt therapy does involve analyzing the past by focusing on the idea of “unfinished business.” In other words, what are unresolved conflicts from the past that continue to affect your present?

Some of the techniques of this kind of humanistic therapy include:

Empty chair technique

Dr. Ford points out that this approach can be used not just for conflict resolution but also to help release emotions you may be having trouble with. An empty chair technique is where your therapist has you imagine someone you want to talk to — maybe a family member, a boss, someone you’re in a conflict with or even someone who has passed away.

Then, your therapist has you speak to the person as if they were there. Examples of questions asked during this technique could include:

• What would you share with them?
• What words would you use?
• What do you feel after imagining them here?
• What are you thinking about them in this moment, today?

Role-play 

Similar to the empty chair technique, role-play involves you and your therapist taking on different roles or personas to create real-life situations that you need help with. It allows you to explore new behaviors, thoughts and emotions in a safe and controlled environment.

Role-play can help you practice things you may feel nervous or inexperienced about. Your therapist might have you try being more assertive, improving communication or resolving conflict while you’re in a safe environment.

Example: If you’re feeling nervous about a job interview coming up, your therapist may set up a role-play job interview scenario where they play the role of the interviewer. This can be a way to help improve communication and coping strategies.

Body awareness

Body awareness in therapy involves helping you feel more in tune with your physical sensations. Our bodies often send us a message about how we’re feeling mentally, and this technique can help us better recognize those sensations. 

Your therapist may use mindfulness exercises, relaxation techniques or deep guided breathing to help you develop greater awareness of how your body feels. This can also help you better regulate your emotional responses.

Example: Your therapist might guide you through a body scan meditation where you focus on every part of your body from your head to your toes. This can help you and your therapist notice areas of tension or discomfort and explore the emotions associated with those sensations.

Dreamwork

Do you keep seeing red in your dreams? Are you always having a dream where you’re falling and it jolts you awake? Dreamwork is a therapeutic technique for exploring dreams and gaining insight into your unconscious thoughts, emotions and conflicts.

Often, dreams have symbolic themes that tell you more about your unconscious mind. Analyzing them can provide valuable information about unresolved issues you may be having. By exploring these deeper meanings, you may learn more about your deeper emotions and help resolve certain inner conflicts or issues in your life.

Example: Your therapist may encourage you to keep dream journals, discuss recurring themes or symbols in your dreams, and explore the emotional significance of dream imagery.

Who can humanistic therapy help?

Humanistic therapy may be most helpful for someone trying to find their overall purpose in life, contemplating existential questions or needing help to feel more satisfied in life.

In some cases, humanistic therapy can also be used for conditions like anxiety, panic disorder or depression. These conditions can often put someone in a place of sadness or dread or feeling a lack of control. Some of the strategies of humanistic therapy may be able to assist with relieving those feelings.

But Dr. Ford notes that these conditions most likely need a combination of treatments (such as cognitive behavioral therapy), rather than humanistic therapy alone.

Humanistic therapy may also help round out other treatment plans, if the less structured and direct approach works well for you.

The bottom line

A lot of techniques found in humanistic therapy are used by many therapists, as it’s common to use a mix of different techniques to help create a well-rounded treatment plan.

Humanistic therapy can be beneficial, especially if you want to explore personal development and self-discovery. But it’s important to recognize that while humanistic therapy can be transformative for many, it may not be the best fit for everyone.

If you’re curious about these approaches and want to learn more, you can always talk about it with a therapist or counselor to help guide you.