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Definition
The human-potential movement is a term used for humanistic psychotherapies that first became popular in the 1960s and early 1970s. The movement emphasized the development of individuals through such techniques as encounter groups, sensitivity training, and primal therapy. Although the human-potential movement and humanistic therapy are sometimes used as synonyms, in reality, humanistic therapy preceded the human-potential movement and provided the movement's theoretical base. Humanistic therapy flourished in the 1940s and 1950s. Its theorists were mostly psychologists rather than medical doctors. They included Gordon Allport, Abraham Maslow, Everett Shostrom, Carl Rogers, and Fritz Perls.
The human-potential movement and humanistic therapy is distinguished by the following emphases:
- A concern for what is uniquely human rather than what humans share with other animals.
- A focus on each person's open-ended growth rather than reshaping individuals to fit society's demands.
- An interest in the here-and-now rather than in a person's childhood history or supposed unconscious conflicts.
- A holistic approach concerned with all levels of human being and functioning—not just the intellectual—including creative and spiritual functioning.
- A focus on psychological health rather than disturbance.
Description
Humanistic approaches to individual treatment usually follow the same format as other forms of outpatient counseling. Therapists may be medical doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, or clergy. Humanistic group treatment formats are flexible, and a wide range of treatment methods are used, ranging from encounter groups and therapy groups to assertiveness training and consciousness-raising groups. In addition, the humanistic tradition has fostered the publication of self-help books for people interested in psychological self-improvement.
— Rebecca J. Frey
