Humanistic psychologists believe that people have an innate tendency towards self-actualization, meaning that they are always striving for self-fulfillment and self-development.
The goal of humanistic psychology is to help people find meaningful ways in which they can live up to their potentials — both personally and socially.
The term “human process” was first introduced by Carl Rogers in 1951 as he developed his theory of personality development. He argued that people have the ability to grow throughout their lives; this idea has since been supported by research showing positive changes in individuals over time (e.g., Caspi et al., 2000).
Rogers believed that all people are inherently good; however, they may become less aware of this goodness when they experience difficult circumstances or negative emotions such as anxiety or anger. These experiences can lead to negative thoughts about oneself (“I am bad”) or others (“you are bad”).
Human process intervention can take many forms but typically involves an individual or group counseling session in which the counselor helps clients address their problems through discussion.
Human process interventions focus on helping clients identify their core values and beliefs, which are often referred to as “processes” because they are central to understanding how people think, feel, behave and interact with others. Human-process interventions also emphasize the importance of identifying the ways in which clients contribute to their own problems or difficulties in living.
