Humanistic therapy

What is humanistic therapy?

The humanistic approach is based on the belief that we all have the capacity for goodness and self-fulfilment. While life challenges may temporarily block our ability to reach our potential, with the right support, we all have the inner resources to achieve our goals.

A humanistic therapist can create a safe, supportive space for you to explore your thoughts, emotions, and aspirations. This process encourages personal growth on mental, emotional, and spiritual levels.

In this video, counsellor and supervisor Ben Wrigley explains more about humanistic therapies, what to expect from sessions and how to find the right counsellor for you.

How does humanistic therapy work?

Humanistic therapy focuses on the relationship between you and your therapist. This trusting bond creates a space for open and honest conversations. Together, you can:

• clarify your values and desires
• understand your emotions without judgment
• build self-awareness and self-acceptance

This process helps you manage challenges and supports long-term growth and resilience.

Benefits of humanistic therapy

Humanistic therapy is particularly beneficial if you:

• feel lost or lack direction
• struggle with low self-esteem 
• want to improve their overall well-being

This approach can also help with specific mental health challenges, including:

• addiction
• anxiety and panic disorders
• bipolar disorder
• depression
• obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• schizophrenia

Additionally, humanistic therapy can help with relationship issues, including difficult family dynamics.

Humanistic therapy allows you the chance to be present week after week with someone you trust. The relationship between the two of you can offer important information about your relationship with other people in your life.

- Ayndrilla Singharay, The power of the present: Understanding humanistic therapy.

Humanistic therapy approaches

Humanistic therapy encompasses various approaches, each tailored to specific needs and goals. Below are nine key types of humanistic therapy.

For more details about each therapy, visit the relevant fact sheets.

Existential therapy

Existential therapy explores life’s deeper meanings through a philosophical lens, helping you navigate questions of purpose, freedom, and responsibility.

Gestalt therapy

Gestalt therapy focuses on the whole of your experience - thoughts, feelings, and actions. It emphasises self-awareness in the present moment, fostering integration and balance.

Human Givens psychotherapy

This modern approach identifies basic human needs (or ‘givens’) and works to address unmet needs that may be affecting mental well-being.

Person-centred therapy

Also known as client-centred therapy, this approach emphasises self-worth and values. It helps individuals reconnect with their true selves in a non-judgmental, accepting environment.

Psychosynthesis

Psychosynthesis integrates psychological and spiritual development, aiming to help individuals access a higher level of consciousness and self-awareness.

Reality therapy

Reality therapy is an approach to therapy that focuses on the here and now rather than issues from the past. Developed by William Glasser in the 1960s, the theory behind the therapy is that an individual in mental distress is not suffering from a mental illness; instead, they are suffering from a socially universal human condition as they have not had their basic psychological needs met.

Solution-focused therapy

Also known as solution-focused brief therapy or brief therapy, this approach predominantly looks at what the individual wants to achieve rather than historical problems. The therapist asks questions to help the individual uncover their own strengths and resources. Solution-focused therapy can be especially helpful to those who are goal-orientated and have a desire to change.

Transactional analysis (TA)

Transactional analysis is based on the theory that we each have three ego states: parent, adult and child. By recognising ego-states, transactional analysis attempts to identify how individuals communicate, and how this can be changed.

Transpersonal psychology

Transpersonal psychology means "beyond the personal" and seeks to discover the person who transcends an individual's body, age, appearance, culture etc.