Don't Fall Into Those Stereotype Traps: Women and the Feminine in Existential Therapy
The current work examines some notable women in existential psychology, with a discussion of their contributions to the field and how they incorporated the work of previous existential philosophers and clinicians. The analyses are based on their own writings, dating back to the 1950s, as well as some secondary source material that reviewed their work. What the research reveals is first that there are many more women in the history of existential psychology than most people currently know about—especially from the 1950s and 1960s. Second, the "feminine" version of existential psychology really stresses the emphasis on...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - February 21, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Kass, S. A. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Adventure Racing: The Experiences of Participants in the Everglades Challenge
There has been little research devoted to understanding the sporting experience of Adventure Racing (AR) participants. Given the possible psychological benefits of AR participation, this investigation was undertaken to obtain additional insight into these competitors’ experience of participating in the Everglades Challenge. Existential phenomenological interviews were conducted with 10 participants ranging in age from 34 to 64 years who took part in the 2011 Everglades Challenge. Qualitative analysis of the transcripts revealed a total of 498 meaning units that were further grouped into subthemes, majors themes, and ...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - November 26, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Simpson, D., Post, P. G., Tashman, L. S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Ernest Becker at Simon Fraser University (1969-1974)
The cultural anthropologist and humanist Ernest Becker spent the final four and a half years of his life at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in British Columbia, Canada. During these years, Becker’s thought and work underwent a profound transformation that resulted in the publication of the Pulitzer Prize–winning book, The Denial of Death, and a highly praised companion book, published posthumously, Escape From Evil. However, surprisingly little has been known about Becker’s final years at SFU. In this biographical essay, based on Becker’s papers and letters, university records and documents, and inter...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - November 26, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Martin, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
An Update of Murrayan Needs: A Pilot Study Among American College Students
Much research work on motives has been based on the taxonomy of psychogenic needs originally proposed by Murray and his colleagues in 1938. However, many of these needs have received little attention, and some of them may be less relevant now than they were 70 years ago. Two studies were conducted to investigate current motives. In Study 1, we used the Striving Assessment to elicit the personal strivings of 255 undergraduate university students. Murray’s taxonomy was unable to account for 50% of the 2,937 strivings. These strivings were thematically groups into 11 new categories and combined with 7 Murrayan needs to ...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - November 26, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Xu, X., Mellor, D., Xu, Y., Duan, L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Advocating Student-Within-Environment: A Humanistic Approach for Therapists to Animate Social Justice in the Schools
The authors present an overview of a therapeutic perspective for school therapists (counselors, psychologists, social workers) based on humanistic and social justice principles called Advocating Student-within-Environment (ASE). An ASE-influenced school therapist is directed by the assumption that the student has to be a participant in any social change that is proffered on that student’s behalf. To operate on this assumption, an ASE school therapist is concerned with maximizing student agency by supporting the development of the student’s regulatory and connectedness skills, while advocating for that student w...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - November 26, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Lemberger, M. E., Hutchison, B. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Do Korean Immigrant Adolescents Experience Stress-Related Growth During Stressful Intergroup Contact and Acculturation?
Asian immigrant adolescents have a difficult time adapting to unfamiliar customs and cultural values as well as interacting with other ethnic groups. During intergroup contacts and acculturation, Asian immigrant adolescents have negative experiences such as discrimination experiences, intergroup anxiety, interracial tension, and limited social support. In spite of such stressful and negative life experiences, some research has shown that individuals may develop the ability to thrive or grow from stressful life events. Using grounded theory, we explored the characteristics of positive psychological changes that occurred as ...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - November 26, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Kim, J., Suh, W., Heo, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
From Death to Life: Female Veterans, Identity Negotiation, and Reintegration Into Society
Experiences of 17 female Iraq War veterans were explored to understand the challenges of reintegrating into civilian life and the impact on mental health. All respondents completed preliminary electronic surveys and participated in one of two focus groups. High levels of distress exist among veterans who are caught between military and civilian cultures, coping with war experiences, feeling alienated from family and friends, and attempting to negotiate gender and identity. Narrative is identified as a means of resolution. Recommendations include development of social support and transition groups; military cultural compete...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - September 12, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Demers, A. L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Cultivating the Therapeutic Moment: From Planning to Receptivity in Therapeutic Practice
A popular model of psychotherapy as a rational, linear, and instrumental treatment that can be mastered and planned by the therapist is critiqued as an idealized fantasy. This model, which often underpins cognitive behavioral therapy and a medical approach to therapy, is contrasted with an alternative model based on attentiveness to the therapeutic process defined as an emergent and unpredictable thirdness between therapist and client. Three principles of a process-oriented therapy are described and illustrated through case vignettes. Each of these principles is shown to contradict the assumptions of a rational/planning ap...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - September 12, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Molbak, R. L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Egoism, Altruism, and the Ethical Foundations of Personhood
Most contemporary theorizing in psychology rejects the possibility of genuine altruism by endorsing explanations that assume psychological egoism. We seek to reframe psychological inquiry on the question of altruism by exploring an alternative, nonegoistic conceptual framework, within which genuine altruism is possible and whereby the meaning and moral dimensions of altruism can be more fruitfully explored. Two central features of our analysis are (a) the conceptual necessity of human agency for the preservation of the possibility of meaning in human affairs and (b) an examination of the ontological necessity of a genuinel...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - September 12, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Gantt, E. E., Burton, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Humanistic Psychology: Alive in the 21st Century?
This article makes the argument that humanistic psychology remained a vibrant movement even after it lost much of its high-profile reputation and sociopolitical power toward the close of the 1970s. More specifically, the author makes an argument for the contemporary relevance of humanistic psychology, demonstrating how humanistic psychology has been having a quiet, yet notably significant influence on the diverse areas of the field since the 1990s. In addition, this article demonstrates that there are recent developments occurring in psychology that are highly commensurate with a humanistic viewpoint, even if these develop...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - September 12, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: DeRobertis, E. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
What's It All About? A Qualitative Study of Undergraduate Students' Beliefs About Meaning of Life
Ten undergraduate students from psychology classes were interviewed regarding their beliefs about the meaning of life (definition, goals, limitations to goals, sources of meaning, and development of meaning). Interviews were analyzed using consensual qualitative research. These interviewees all indicated that meaning differs across people and time. Typical sources of meaning were relationships, altruism, career, personal growth, pursuit of happiness, and religion. Participants indicated that parents and life-changing experiences triggered changes in their thinking about meaning of life. Specific changes involved shifting f...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - May 27, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Hill, C. E., Bowers, G., Costello, A., England, J., Houston-Ludlam, A., Knowlton, G., May, M., Moraff, E., Pinto-Coelho, K., Rosenberg, L., Sauber, E., Crook-Lyon, R. E., Thompson, B. J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Using Socrates to Teach Psychology: A Humanistic Approach to Psychology 101
This article presents a lively and accessible course outline for using Platonic dialogues and the ancient figure of Socrates to teach modern psychology. Socrates is among the world’s most engaging and effective teachers. He is also regarded as one of the founding figures of humanistic psychology who would have had serious problems with the didactic teaching methods and sterile textbooks of today’s college classrooms. The article shows how encountering Socrates and engaging Plato’s dialogues can help professors achieve many of the laudable humanistic goals they have for their students. (Source: Journal of ...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - May 27, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Dillon, J. J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The Experience of Becoming a Therapist in a Foreign Culture
This phenomenological study explores the experience of becoming a therapist in a foreign culture. The purpose is to better understand the issues adjusting to a new culture and give voice to the lived experience of immigrant therapists. Few studies explore the experience of foreign therapists. Most focus on the experience of mainstream mental health professionals dealing with populations from specific cultural backgrounds. A total of eight therapists, who emigrated from another country to the United States, were asked to describe situations when practicing was challenging because of cultural differences. The descriptive phe...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - May 27, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Barreto, Y. K. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Maurice Friedman: A Professional and Personal Tribute
This is a professional and personal tribute to the late Maurice Friedman. His explication of Martin Buber’s philosophy of dialogue and his profound understanding of the dialogical in human interaction is discussed. Friedman’s understanding of how to apply this dialogical philosophy to psychotherapy is explored. There is a review of some of his innumerable contributions to existential and humanistic psychology, as well as his many interactions with some of its major leaders. The reflections of the author’s personal and professional relationship with Maurice Friedman are presented as a specific example of h...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - May 27, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Hycner, R. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Maslow's Intellectual Betrayal of Ruth Benedict?
During the summer of 1938, Abe Maslow was engaged in a field study of the Northern Blackfeet. He received a grant-in aid from the Social Science Research Council under the sponsorship of Ruth Benedict to study the "security needs" of the tribe. This project reflected Benedict’s long-term interest in her concept of synergic and nonsynergic societies, which culminated with her publication of Patterns of Culture in 1934. It was Benedict’s thesis that synergic societies, such as Zuni, had most of their psychological security needs met, whereas low synergic societies, such as the Dobu, did not. Initially, Maslow as ...
Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - May 27, 2013 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Smith, R. A., Feigenbaum, K. D. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
