Humanistic & Integrative Psychotherapy
“Between
stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our
freedom and our power to choose our response. In our response lies
our growth and our happiness.”
Victor Frankl
There are many different approaches and schools of Psychotherapy.
Its roots go back all the way to W. Reich, C.G. Jung and S. Freud(Psychoanalyses) but Humanistic & Integrative Psychotherapy (HIP) is a much more friendly and personal, non-pathologizing approach ( A. Maslow) further integrating Person Centred (C. Rogers) as well as Gestalt ( F. Perls) ideas and values.
Even Behaviourism had some influence and has also been integrated, perhaps to a smaller degree.
Humanistic Psychology sees the individual as a whole being, not just the parts. It takes a more holistic view of the person within her/his family, social and cultural background and even their religious and spiritual beliefs and experiences.
HIP integrates the research and techniques of most schools of Psychotherapy to deliver a more personalized experience for the client.
But Integrative also points to the desired therapeutic outcome of human experience:
to integrate ones own experiences into a meaningful whole. Needless to say that when it comes to some of the most challenging and overwhelming experiences - this can be a difficult task to achieve without the right kind of support.
Respectful listening, empathy and mindfulness are the most important aspects of Humanistic therapy.
While it is based in the same principles as mindfulness with its non-judgemental presence, it won't be completely non-directive.This means that the experienced therapist will discern when to offer some guidance or even Psycho-education.