The school of spiritual, humanistic and existential psychology

The value of seeking inner peace has been instilled in me by the school of spiritual, humanistic, and existential psychology. I gained a deeper knowledge of why people interpret things the way they do and the elements that influence human behavior. Meditation, I realized, is therapeutic and allows a person to connect with their inner self, which can help a person find solutions to the problems they are now facing. Finally, I learned the value of being objective while addressing a client in order to provide better therapy while also avoiding bias.  This field of psychology recognizes that a human being is a sum total of his experiences and the environment that he has been in (Batthyany& Russo-Netzer, 2014). In this case, to better understand a person, it would be better to observe their interpersonal relationship and their conduct in their comfort zone.

Spiritual Psychology

Spiritual Psychology recognizes that there is a higher being above human beings (Grof, 2008). Patients are thereby advice to meditate and seek their inner self which brings to a personal understanding.

Humanistic Psychology

The principle underlying humanistic psychology is the aspect of looking at situations through the eyes of the psychologists and the patient (Block, 2011). Thereby, the psychologists desire to understand the perspective of the patient without solely focusing on one’s preconceived thoughts.

Integral Theory

Human beings ought to recognize the presence of a superior being. Knowing that there is a power over human beings gives consolation to a person and accountability for their actions (Saiter, 2005). When one is stressed, for example, meditating and recognizing that they may not always have a say in their lives gives people a peace of mind. Whenever a person meditates for instance, they can see through their failures thus seeking for ways to be better people (Grof, 2008). Integral theory does align with the Christian perspective; Christians recognize the supernatural power above them, a person to whom they are accountable for their action. Saiter (2005) asserts that integrating spirituality in one’s life changes one’s way of looking at things and it also improves the overall personality since it is associated with a set code of conduct.

References

Batthyany, A., & Russo-Netzer, P. (2014). Meaning in positive and existential psychology. New York: Springer Science+ Business. doi, 10, 978-1.

Block, M. (2011). Humanistic Therapy. In Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development (pp. 765-766). Springer US.

Grof, S. (2008). A brief history of transpersonal psychology. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 27.

Saiter, S. M. (2005). A general introduction to integral theory and comprehensive mapmaking. Journal of Conscious Evolution, 1, 1-34.