Journal of Humanistic Psychology

This article presents a textual analysis of the inaugural issue of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. The analysis culminated in the creation of a composite narrative that expresses the character of the humanistic vision for psychological science, a historical snapshot of the evolving humanistic revolution circa 1961. The analysis showed humanistic psychology to have proposed a nonreactionary, inclusive, integrative approach to psychology. This approach was anchored in a radicalized image of humanity, one that would not rely wholly on theories and methods of research designed for nonhuman beings. The findings further indicate that, from its inception, humanistic psychology was envisioned to be a unique amalgam of what would today be considered cultural psychology, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology, without being reducible to any one of these subfields. It was and remains an effort in earnest to do justice to a truer self, engaged in the process of becoming, operating within biological and cultural parameters.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the mental health field. The unique distress caused by the pandemic along with the need for many to transition their therapy practices to TeleHealth/Telepsychology modalities caught many therapists, including existential–humanistic therapists, unprepared to make the necessary adjustments to treat clients in a manner that is safe and effective. Existential–humanistic therapy often is neglected with trauma and disaster relief work, despite its relevancy and important contributions. All therapies must adjust in crisis situations, particularly when adjustments to how services are offered are disrupted; however, the impact of these changes varies by therapeutic orientation. As an approach that values genuineness, empathy, and presence, existential–humanistic therapy faces unique challenges when employed with disaster response. However, when these challenges are faced, existential–humanistic therapy has much to offer disaster response, including consideration of existential guilt, existential shattering, existential anxiety, and existential perspectives on self-care.

War is a type of trauma that humans have experienced for centuries. Today, the civil war in Syria affects millions of people’s lives deeply and is forcing civilians to migrate to other countries. The aim of the current study is to reveal how Syrian refugees cope with war trauma, what kinds of social support they get, and what posttraumatic growth experiences they have shown. Fifteen Syrian refugees who migrated from Syria to Turkey due to the war and witnessed the war participated in this study. Data were collected through interviews. In analyzing the data, a content analysis was used by creating themes and categories. Themes created include coping strategies, social support, learned pain experiences, relating to others, new possibilities, spiritual change, and changed priorities. These results show that after a traumatic experience, great changes can occur in people’s life. Findings are discussed and recommendations are given in line with the literature.

We make meaning of disease, suffering, and death through narrative, by telling a story. In a therapeutic narrative approach, this article explores the influence of shamanic intervention in psycho-oncology. This qualitative study seeks to present the narrative effects of detailed shamanic sessions (the use of the drum and telling and interpreting visions according to the shamanic mythology) in the context of psycho-oncological treatment. In particular, the narrative positions of a patient (Mrs. AA) are described (using a software linguistic analysis, T-LAB) as they occurred before and after shamanistic sessions. The authors suggested that the shamanism sessions enabled Mrs. AA to produce a larger and more singular narrative about her end-of-life experience: from the initial narrative position of feeling “the acute consciousness of finiteness” to an emergent narrative position based on “consciousness of an interdependence/interconnection in all human and spiritual relationships.”

“Positive” psychology has gained a dominant voice within and outside the field of psychology. Although critiques of this perspective have been rendered, including by humanistic psychologists, psychology scholars have offered minimum space for critical reflections of this movement in contrast to its critiques existing inside and outside the academia in other fields. Therefore, this contribution seeks to explicate emerging systematic critiques of positive psychology by scholars and practitioners from within mental health fields as well as from philosophy, medicine, education, business, and cultural studies and to highlight sociocultural discussions of positive movement by the culture critics. Last, we offer reflections on positive psychology as immigrant professionals from non-Western backgrounds with an emphasis on existential and humanities-based perspectives. We also highlight that the tenets and experiments based on “positive” psychological practices may have especially detrimental effect on marginalized individuals and communities. This contribution seeks to invite a critical dialogue in the field regarding positive psychology within and outside humanistic psychology and psychology in general.

We argue that human existential pain and threat may usefully be helped by a noncoercive educational approach that also resonates with many interpersonally focused psychological approaches, rather than by the widely touted current medical model of “mental health” treatment (using psychoactive drugs and supportive psychotherapy). First, the “progress” leading to the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is briefly reviewed, highlighting the scientific limitations of the medical model. Next, an educational model of self-understanding and change, based on Popper’s fallibilism, Freire’s critical pedagogy, and Miller’s feedback-informed treatment is explicated. Finally, some options for funding and testing the model are discussed. We hope this offers mental health clinicians another important alternative to conceptualize the helping encounter to ameliorate personal problems in living.