Similarities between cognitive and humanistic approaches to psychotherapy

Abstract

It is suggested that humanistic and cognitive therapies share some similar goals. Both see the employment of rigid absolutistic “shoulds” as generative of dysfunctional behavior. Both value “self-acceptance,” in the form of discouraging the client from forming negative overgeneralized trait-like self-judgements. Both value viewing one's failures and mistakes as part of a process of exploration and coping. Hypothesis-testing and “holding constructs tentatively” is also valued. At the level of practice some of Beck's cognitive strategies appear to help the client learn to stick to his/her “moment to moment experiencing,” and to be more phenomenological. Similarly Rogers' client-centered interventions appear to lay bare the client's negative self-statement process, and to counter and correct overgeneralized negative cognitions.