Humanistic Integrative Therapy

In humanistic and integrative psychotherapy there is an emphasis on the active exploration of human experience. A therapist uses techniques to explore the client’s experiences rather than simply understanding events. It is important to understand how a client feels after an event rather than explore the event itself.

In situations where life experiences or a particular event in a person’s life impede growth, the aim of the therapist is to promote a smoother integration of life stages. A person’s development can get stuck at a particular stage due a trauma and an integrative approach aids movement toward growth.

A major source of a person’s anxiety is the gap between the individual’s real self-the way you see yourself, and the ideal self the way you would like to be. Resolving this difference is an important goal of Humanistic Integrative Therapy. The therapeutic relationship is vital to the process. “The Therapist should be a real person not hiding behind professional status, be accepting of the client, and be sensitive and understanding of the client’s experience. (1)

By demonstrating a positive regard for the client, the therapist serves as a sympathetic bystander, offering neither praise nor blame but accepts whatever is said. The client is helped to clarify his or her own reactions in a nondirective manner. No specific advice is given. No judgments are expressed. By talking about their problems to a sympathetic listener, clients are able to bring into their awareness attitudes and experiences they didn’t even know they had.