The reason why I chose Humanistic theory is because it is based on two philosophies, existentialism and phenomenology. Existentialism focuses on what is believed to be subjective like beliefs and religion, feelings and emotions like freedom, pain, guilt and regret as opposed to analysing objective knowledge, science or language. Phenomenology emphasizes on the study of conscious experiences. It involves the systematic reflection and analysis of the structure of the consciousness and all the phenomena which appear in acts of consciousness. Basically, humanists hold that the present is the most significant aspect of an individual and mentally healthy people takes responsibility for their actions; both positive and negative, simply by being each person is inherently worthy and the ultimate goal of living is to attain personal growth and understanding (Dermot 129).
The strengths of the theory include the fact that it focuses on the positivity and general goodness of humans. It also emphasizes on the free will in relation to change. This contrasts the biological approaches. The theory integrates with other schools of thought easily as compared to the biological approach. The theory also cuts across other professional fields like business, finance and economics, criminology, history and literature. An example is that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is studied in business. This aspect is missing in the other fields or at least is limited (Schneider, Bugental, and Pierson 97).
The theory has some weaknesses. The theory lacks specific approaches to address specific and precise problems. This is mainly because of the belief in free will of individuals. This complicates innovation of techniques for the treatment and the study of efficacy during a psychological research. It also fails to address people with severe personality and mental disorders (Elkins 143). The theory applies human generalizations which are widely believed to be incomplete. For example are all people good? Can Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs be applied to everyone universally, do all people have the same belief system?
The theory has helped me to modify my behaviour by taking responsibility of my actions; whether good or bad and also motivating me to live a self worthy life that is guided by conscious decision making.
Works cited
Dermot, Moran. Introduction to Phenomenology. Oxford: Routledge, 2000. Print.
Schneider, K., Bugental, J., and Pierson, J. The handbook of humanistic psychology: leading edges in theory, research, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001. Print.
Elkins, David. Humanistic psychology: A clinical manifesto. Colorado Springs: University of the Rockies Press, 2009. Print.
