How to Believe in Yourself: Carl Rogers and Humanistic Psychology

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Dr. Rick and Forrest explore humanistic psychology, the mid-20th century movement that redefined how therapists relate to clients. It challenged the pessimism of Freud and the mechanism of behaviorism, offering a more hopeful alternative: that our nature is fundamentally good, and our job is to let it shine through. They discuss Carl Rogers’ work, including self-actualization, conditions of worth, unconditional positive regard, trusting your experience, and the central role of the therapeutic alliance. Throughout, they focus on what you can take from these ideas into your life.

Key Topics:

00:00: Intro

03:40: Humanism as a response to psychoanalysis

09:53: Humanism’s core principles: inherent goodness, wholism, self-actualization, agency, and subjective experience

21:35: What does humanistic therapy actually look like?

32:46: Congruence, conditions of worth, and authenticity

40:54: History and context: post-WWII and the civil rights movement

56:09: Critiques of humanism

1:02:40: Lessons we can all take from humanistic psychology

1:13:41: Recap

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