is possible that any client changes observed within
the therapy room represent adjustments to the
demands of the situation rather than changes that
will generalize beyond the confines of therapy.
Very often, descriptions of client-centered
treatment philosophies and procedures are unique
and involve a great deal of undefined terminology.
Such words asbeing,becoming,actualizing, andcon-
gruencyare not clearly defined or seem to carry a
surplus of meaning that is difficult to communicate
reliably. At other times, there is a grandiosity of
language that seems out of keeping with the mod-
esty that appears elsewhere. For example, Rogers
(1951) says,“Therapy is the essence of life”(p. x).
Although some may simply chalk this up to
jargon, there is nevertheless a marked tendency
for Rogerians to use language that is emotionally
tinged in such a way as to almost serve a propa-
ganda function. Such words as nondirective and
client-centerednot only seem to convey something
distinctly positive but by implication also seem to
depict other approaches as directive or therapist-
centered. A terminology that includes words such
asfreedom,democratic,genuine,warm, andauthenticis
likely to put advocates of other approaches at an
immediate disadvantage. Before such advocates
can explain what their approaches really are, they
may have to answer implicit charges of being
authoritarian, technique-centered, controlling, and
without common humanistic values.
Finally, the client-centered approach grew and
came of age on college campuses. The clients of the
1940s and 1950s were college students who were
being seen at campus counseling centers. As often as
not, the therapists trained in the Rogerian tradition
in these centers became staff members at other col-
lege counseling centers. It is worth noting that,
compared with people in the general population,
college students as a group are brighter, better edu-
cated, and less severely maladjusted when they do
develop problems, and they have a stronger arsenal
of coping methods. The so-called nondirective,
client-centered methods would probably be more
effective with such a population than with, for
example, those with psychosis, with poor verbal
skills, or from a limited educational background.
The Humanistic-Existential Movement
The strands of phenomenology, humanism, and
existentialism in psychology are inextricably
woven together. In the preceding section, we
have seen the importance that Rogers attached to
immediate experience. This is basic phenomenol-
ogy. At the same time, client-centered approaches
stress the worth, uniqueness, and dignity of the cli-
ent. This is basic humanism. Before we proceed to
discuss existential therapies, logotherapy, and
Gestalt therapy, let us pause to acknowledge the
humanistic tradition that pervades those therapies.Humanism
Although humanistic psychology is a fairly recent
development, its origins extend far back into philos-
ophy and the history of psychology. When one
speaks of humanism, one thinks of psychologists
such as Allport, Goldstein, James, Murray, and
Rogers. The values that humanism contributes to
psychology are not rooted in the determinism of
either psychoanalysis or behaviorism. From a
humanist perspective, people are not products of
the past, the unconscious, or the environment.
Rather, they exercise free choice in the pursuit of
their inner potential and self-actualization. They are
not fragmented patchworks of cognitions, feelings,
and aspirations; rather, they are unified, whole, and
unique beings. To understand is to appreciate those
qualities, and this understanding can only be
achieved by an awareness of the person’sexperience.
So-called scientific constructs based on norms,
experiments, or data must give way to intuition
and empathy. The emphasis is not on sickness, devia-
tions, or diagnostic labels but on positive striving,
self-actualization, freedom, and naturalness. Bugental
(1965), Buhler (1971), Buhler and Allen (1971),
Jourard (1971), and Maslow (1962) have addressed
various aspects of these values. In one form or
another, humanism is expressed as a resistance to
the positivistic determinism of science and as an
active embrace of the essential humanity of people.PSYCHOTHERAPY: PHENOMENOLOGICAL AND HUMANISTIC-EXISTENTIAL PERSPECTIVES 381