1Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Oth

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Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other
Approaches
Caroline E Sam
NRNP 6645
Psychotherapy with Multiple Modalities
Assignment week 7
01/15/2022
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Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other
Approaches

Psychologists have developed various theories on human
psychology. The Humanist,
existential, and humanist existential models explain the
personality changes. The models are
central in therapies as they define how people perceive and
accept life challenges. The humanist
model emphasizes the innate goodness in people, while the
humanist-existential psychotherapy
model argues that personalities change, and people can develop
new attributes based on
circumstances.
Two models: Humanistic-existential psychotherapy and
Humanist psychotherapy
Humanistic-existential Psychotherapy
Humanistic Existential Psychotherapy (HE) postulates that the
human personality is
dynamic, and changes occur across the lifespan that defines
personality at each point
(Hounkpatin et al., 2015). The model integrates humanistic and
existentialist approaches. The
humanist perspective claims that human beings are good, while
the existentialist proposes that
people are neither good nor bad (Daei Jafari et al., 2020).

Integration of the two models creates a
dynamic person capable of actualizing based on situations and
strengths. The model is adopted as
a transition from the traditional conception of personality as a
stable element that remains
consistent throughout life. The HE models framework asserts
that individuals confront and
challenge a meaningless life as they transform their lives into a
personality they desire. The
person pursues self-rated health, self-efficacy, psychological
turning point, and life satisfaction
that involves a subjective evaluation of an individual’s
wellbeing (Hounkpatin et al., 2015).
These components keep an individual driven to improve their
lives. Notably, societal norms and
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the pursuit of authentic individual-based life goals contribute to
an individual’s personality
changes.
There is a constant drive to meet an expectation, which is
addressed in the social
investment theory- an investment in institutions such as work,
and marriage motivates
personality changes. Notably, the dynamic nature of life
situations indicates that circumstances
present new challenges requiring new solutions of different
perspectives. A person discovers
their needs, thereby creating a change in their personality.
The fundamental basis of the HE model is an individual’s
ability to respond to external
changes in adaptive personality changes. Robbins (2021) found
that participants faced with the
COVID19 pandemic challenge accepted their situation and
developed adaptive measures
propelling them into a joyful life. There is a transition from one
category of personality to
another.
Humanistic

The humanistic model provides a unique perspective of
personality. The model postulates
that people are inherently good, and that each person has a
subjective identity characterized by a
free will to make choices and exercise self-awareness (Locher et
al., 2019). The model implies
that human beings can make the right choices to maximize their
wellness and neighbors.
Therefore, they can form a meaningful relationship with others
and make healthy choices.
Moreover, the therapist works with the patient to understand
their inherent good and overcome
limiting perceptions. Notably, the therapist emphasizes self-
actualization and growth, contrary to
emphasizing symptoms alleviation and disease treatment
(Locher et al., 2019). Importantly, the
model emphasizes moving onwards rather than focusing on past
experiences, thereby
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challenging the client to positively perceive their lives. The
therapist works through a
relationship that encourages being one's true self.
Differences between the two models
The fundamental difference between the two models is their
position on the nature and
consistency of the human personality. The humanist perspective
postulates that human beings are
good, while the humanistic-existential model posits that
people's personalities fluctuate.
Understanding the differences is critical in application to
therapy. I would like my client to
understand themselves as dynamic and capable of manifesting
positive and negative
personalities.
The humanist model prevents individuals from recognizing and
accepting their
weaknesses or bad qualities inherent in the humanist-existential
perspective (Wolfe, 2016).
Therefore, the client is led towards denial of events, behaviors,

and personality traits defining
their lives. The humanist-existential model promotes
mindfulness, a critical practice that
constantly evaluates their attributes to achieve personal growth
and development (Daei et al.,
2020). The client exists in an interconnected world and is
impacted by external factors in the
social, economic, and political domains. The client exists in a
dynamic world and is faced with
diverse challenges through interaction with other humans and
objects. Therefore, their
personality can shift based on the challenges in their
environment. My client should accept the
reality of their society and accept the need to adjust to meet the
contextual needs.
Finally, while the humanist model is rigid, the humanist-
existential model asserts that
people are diverse, unique, integrated into reality through
personalized experience, and have free
will. The transformative nature of the humanist-existential
model is fundamental to growth and

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development. Notably, I expect my client to behave differently
as a child, youth, adult, an elderly
person due to the uniqueness of experience in these
dispensations.
Case Approach
James Bugantil highlights a humanist-existentialist perspective
of psychotherapy. He has
adopted the model due to his appreciation of the complex nature
and different life perspectives.
The clients have been driven to appreciate their limitations and
guided towards harnessing
strength and opportunity. I would adopt the same model due to
its appreciation of the multiple
dimensions of life and how this affects individuals. A humanist
method would be superficial,
while an existentialist method would overlook the need for a
consistent personality trait.

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References
Daei Jafari, M. R., Aghaei, A., & Rashidi Rad, M. (2020).
Existential Humanistic Therapy with
Couples and its Effect on Meaning of Life and Love Attitudes.
The American Journal of
Family Therapy, 48(5), 530-545.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01926187.2020.1770142
Hounkpatin, H. O., Wood, A. M., Boyce, C. J., & Dunn, G.
(2015). An existential-humanistic
view of personality change: Co-occurring changes with
psychological well-being in a 10-
year cohort study. Social Indicators Research, 121(2), 455-470.
https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11205-014-0648-0
Locher, C., Meier, S., & Gaab, J. (2019). Psychotherapy: A

world of meanings. Frontiers in
Psychology, 10, 460.
https://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2019.00460
Robbins, B. D. (2021). The joyful life: An existential-
humanistic approach to positive
psychology in the time of a pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology,
2878.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648600
Thinking Allowed TV. (2010). James Bugental: Humanistic
Psychotherapy (excerpt) -- A
Thinking Allowed DVD w/ Jeffrey Mishlove.
www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mjDNKGIvWPQ
Wolfe, B. E. (2016). Existential-humanistic therapy and
psychotherapy integration: A
commentary. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 26(1), 56–
60. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000023
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Based on the class lectures and discussions, videos we watched
in class and the articles
provided under this assignment develop a well-organized 2-3
page double spaced essay that
discussed the causes and impact (short-term and long-term) of
the Attica riots. Please make
sure to address the following issues in you essay:
• what caused the riot
• why the Attica riot is so well known and has become a "battle
cry" for prisoners
• what were the short-term impacts of the riot on prisons,
corrections offices and
the overall prison system
• what were the long-term impacts of the riot on prisons,
corrections offices and
the overall prison system
• what lessons were learned from the riots (if any)
• what was the successes and failures relate to the riot
• how does Attica of the 1970 compare with Attica of today
• what if anything still needs to be done today to fix things? Be
specific in your
suggestions.
MAKE SURE TO WATCH VIDEOS BELOW AND USE
INFORMATION FROM THEM !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBG1UkxrMG0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z-x1tYdOWc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXgP0lkqPNk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG1f7FzgXY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BOF3PO-t3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBG1UkxrMG0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z-x1tYdOWc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXgP0lkqPNk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG1f7FzgXY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BOF3PO-t3M

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