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Guiding Theory and Research in Counseling Paper
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One can trace back the general history and development of counseling to tribal times. Back then, people used to group and share their dreams and experiences. Religion-based counseling evolved with the development of civilization, which was taken up by the priests who would advise and listen to punishers on their problems. A theory was developed in the 1890s by German neurologist Sigmund Freud, later called psychoanalysis. The approach enabled people to share their concerns with ‘psychoanalysts’ who specialized in ‘subconscious’ interpretations. The subconscious mind was considered the part of the psyche that one is unaware of, but it influenced every human behavior. Although Freud played a significant role in the history of counseling, the word ‘counseling’ came to be used in an everyday language only after the 1960s.
Post the Second World War, and counseling took off as an expression in America in the 1950s. However, only a handful of psychiatrists and psychologists can be attributed to most theories and techniques, referred to as ‘schools’ of therapy.
The inference of ‘school’ in counseling does not mean the physical building of an actual school, but instead, it means psychologists’ beliefs developed by humans. It represented their view of the world they live in and their coping mechanisms. The three schools of therapy are Behaviorist, Humanistic, and Psychoanalytical. Since the 1950s, various development in counseling has been observed. Further research took place to devise the multiple ways in which the human brain functions and human beings act. However, the fact that each human being is unique and there have been no significant developments made in finding out what makes each human being unique still persists.
The rapid development of counseling has been worth considering since Freud’s time. His idea worked as an approach that emerged from the 1800s till the present day. (Sheeley, 2011)
Counseling History – Timeline
Counseling emerged as a profession in the 1900s, with medical professionals and psychologists trying to understand the causal factors behind depression and low mod and how they could be treated.
Milestones in the history of psychotherapy and counseling are as follows:
• 1886 – The practice of psychotherapy was started in Vienna by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis was developed in the process.
• 1951 – Carl Rogers outlined a Person-centered approach in his book, Client-Center Therapy.
• 1951 – Gestalt therapy was included in the book Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality by Paul Goodman, Ralph Hefferline, and Fritz Perls.
• 1954 – Humanist Psychology was founded by Abraham Maslow, and the famous Hierarchy of Needs was further developed.
• 1955 – Albert Ellis began the first form of cognitive-behavioral therapy, and he called it Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
• 1959 – English edition of book Man’s Search for Meaning was published by Viktor Frankl in which his experience as a Nazi prisoner during World War II was provided in the form of existential account. Logotherapy was displayed as an existential approach for counseling.
• 1967 – Cognitive behavior therapy was developed by Aaron Beck, which suggested that depression contributes to our emotional well-being by thinking. (Aubrey, 1977)
Humanist Counseling theory:
The philosophy of humanism was born, back in the Middle Age, when humanistic psychology came into existence. The theory states that every person has their wort and the right to achieve self-realization with the help of rational reasoning. In the mid 15th century, the humanism movement began in Europe. It commenced in protest against narrow-minded dogmas of philosophers and church scholars. Reading people’s overt behavior, behavioristic psychologists studied that people are unconcealed by punishment and rewards for acting in a particular manner. The behaviorists used the appropriate reinforcement for the manipulation of human behavior. The school of psychoanalysis understood the internal instinct and the unconscious motivation causing a behavior. Freud expounded this view, believing that people are creatures of death and life. The primary instinct of life involves propagation and survival. The inclusive under the primary instincts are thirst, sex, and hunger. The pessimism of human kinds is reflected through death instincts.
However, the holistic view of individuals was not included in psychoanalysis and behaviorism even though it made a significant contribution towards the development of understanding about human behavior. The focus on the individual as a whole person was an outcome of Humanistic psychology which emerged in the mid-1950s.
The growth of humanistic psychology continues into the second half of the 20th century as well. Some of the critical points in its development included:
• “Motivation of Personality” was written by Abraham Maslow in 1954.
• “Humanistic Psychology,” written by John Cohen in the year 1954, was also the first book on humanistic psychology.
• “Journal of Humanistic Psychology” was written and edited by A. J. Sutich in 1961.
• The first position paper on humanistic psychology in the United States was presented in 1963 by James F. T. Bugental.
• In Sonoma State College, the first humanistic psychology graduate program was presented in 1963.
• Humanistic Psychology, a subdivision of the American Psychology Association, was created in 1970. In the same year, an international organization named the Association of Humanistic Psychology was also expanded from the American Association of Humanistic Psychology. A conference was also organized in Holand by the Americal Psychology Association for the first time. (Schneider et al. 2015)
Counseling process and therapeutic relationship of Humanistic Psychology:
The counseling process taken up under Humanistic Therapy includes group talks on principles of humanism. Human nature and potential have a deep association with this process. Under this process, the prime focus is the individual and not his challenges. Individuals under this process are perceived as unique, high valued, and with the potential to achieve their goals. The prime role of the therapist under this process is not the diagnosis. But instead, it is to create a meaningful partnership with the individual to facilitate their growth.
Individual values, choice, and freedom is the prime emphasis of humanistic therapy as it helps people find their purpose and fulfillment. The idea centered is living a meaningful life in the present, which is also the basic concept of mindfulness and helps people recover from their pastor from the worries of the future. It further enables people to act with passion and purpose for their own benefit and the benefit of society as a whole. A few of the types of humanist counseling processes are Existential Therapy, Logotherapy, Constructive Therapy, Narrative therapy, and Person-centered therapy. (Rostami, 2010)
Humanist theory and personal beliefs:
Non- directive approach under this approach, which I believe is the best way to go about with anything concerning mental health. The issues associated with mental health are often time more complicated than they actually seem. This means there is a need to better understand the situation, do the required analysis, and proceed accordingly with the treatment. No fixed path can be followed to address such issues. Helping people realize the essence of their lives and bringing their focus back to the present is a good way to proceed, but it can get complicated as the present often has some connections with the past and reminds them of the future. But again, the present is happening in continuity, and one can overlook those hitches and focus on living if the right kind of guidance is provided to them. The main aim is to make people realize that they are responsible for everything in their lives. They should be mentally prepared to take the same responsibility, henceforth consciously. Fous should be towards the present life experience of the individuals rather than their choices in the past. The past influences the current knowledge in many ways we are not even aware of. Therefore, it is imperative to work towards perceiving the present with a new set of beliefs that are not influenced by the past or the future but are entirely based upon the choices taken at present. Accordingly, correct meaning should be provided to those experiences. At the end of the day, people should be able to achieve the correct meaning of their life and should have the required perseverance to walk on the same path without being distracted by the past in any manner.
This can be achieved by making people realize that their problem is not a part of them but instead a separate entity. The humanist theory believes in providing individuals with the right skills and values based on their personal experiences and stories. People should be helped in every way possible so that they come to a realization that they are not their problems but instead the problem is a separate entity outside them.
Demonstration of growth of Humanist Approach:
Accommodating diversity is often challenging, and the same is faced under the Humanist approach. In the cases where multiculturalism is easily adjusted under the Humanist approach, the depth is usually not considered, which means there are a lot of other factors that have not come to light yet. One such example can be individual bias, an integral part of the multicultural issues that are often overlooked in most cases. Personal preference persists in all cases and conditions. However, it comes to light only when the suitable emphasis is made, and the concern is scrutinized based upon the bias-bassed decisions.
Pluralistic trends:
Under pluralistic trends, the fact that different people are treated differently was has been highlighted. There is a range of various activities that help each individual in a different manner. The timing of therapy also affects each people in a different manner. Therefore, client engagement is the best way to proceed forward as that would help in the realization of the best therapeutic setting for that particular individual. This would also help the client in obtaining a realization that the therapist is committed to providing the care.
Ethical arguments for digital counseling:
Digital counseling has some ethical concerns. Although the practice is excellent to reach out to and cater to a large audience, it still has many issues. The ethical problems associated with psychotherapy are related to privacy, security, and Confidentiality. The situations like lack of therapist competency and the need for further training still persist. Technical issues of all sorts, including communication issues based upon technological limitations, also persist. (Stoll, 2020)
Application of humanist approach:
Two application of the humanist approach of counseling involves:
Gestalt therapy: Where the thaught based approach. Thought and feeling are the main areas of concern under this approach. It deals explicitly with present thoughts and feelings rather than focusing on its root cause.
Client-Centered Therapy: Under this approach, a supportive environment is provided to the client. Clients are encouraged to create a new identity that they want to embody and are accordingly asked to reestablish it over their present self. Their true identity then changes to the identity they wish to manifest, and, therefore, the role of the environment is quite imperative under such settings. (Lumen, 2022)
Strengths and Weakness of the Humanist approach:
Strength: The emphasis on individual responsibilities and choices is one of the best aspects of the Humanist approach. The idea of most people about being human is taken into consideration under the humanist approach. The reason behind it is that the Humanist approach values personal ideals and self-fulfillment.
Weakness: The Weakness of the humanist approach is its lack of treatment effectiveness against various mental health conditions. The other limitation is that it makes a generalization about human nature, which is not valid in many cases. It further completely rejects some of the critical behaviorist and psychoanalytical concepts. Those concepts are of great value to humans’ understanding of their psyche. (Lannone, 1971)
The References:
Aubrey, R. F. (1977, Feb) Historical Development of Guidance and Counseling and Implementation for the Future. Journal of Counseling and Development.
Lanone, R. V. (1971, Dec 1) A Humanist Approach to Teacher Education. SAGE journal.
Lumen, (2022) Approaches to Psychotherapy. Boundless Psychology.
Rostami, K. and Khadjooi, K. (2010) The implications of Behaviorism and Humanism theories in medical education. RIGLD 2010, 3(2):65-70.
Schneider, K. J. et al. (2015) The handbook of humanistic psychology. SAGE. Pg. 1-41.
Sheeley, V. L. (2011, Dec 23) American Counselling Association: The 50th Year Celebration of Excellence. Wiley Online Library.
Stoll, J. et al. (2020 Feb 11) Ethical issues in online psychotherapy. Frontiers in Psychiatry.
