Humanistic, Psychodynamic and Structuralism

Running head: Humanistic, Psychodynamic and Structuralism James Price AIU PSY206 06 February, 2009 Humanistic, Psychodynamic and Structuralism I am going to discuss Humanistic theory, Psychodynamic theory and Structuralism. I will attempt to compare and contrast these three theories. The humanistic theory was headed by two psychologists, Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers (Humanistic Theory, 2002). Their goal was to understand the personality and to improve the overall happiness of their patients. This theory is one of most sought out as far as self help is concerned. There are four basic beliefs held by humanists. The first belief is that you must focus on the present, not to dwell upon the past or to look toward the future. The second is that one must accept their actions and consequences alike, whether good or bad. The third is to hold understand that one is not perfect and that their mistakes do not mean they are a bad person. The fourth states that the only way you can be happy is to attain personal growth and understanding. Then next theory I am going to discuss is one of the oldest theories, psychodynamic. This focuses on treating patients who have a mental illness and focusing on that to determine what may or may not be lacking. Those who believe in this theory base ones actions on their childhood and the parental effect on them. Psychotherapists tend to believe that an adult’s traits are due to whether or not the patient was able effectively getting through the psychosexual stage of childhood development (Depression-doctor.com, 2004). With their beliefs, mental illness is caused by their upbringing and their inability to get through their childhood. They feel that when this happens a person that has unresolved conflicts they form subconscious tendencies, such as OCD or being a perfectionist. There are treatments for these type of mental issues, or illnesses. Since these therapist are considered the best at listening and interpretation, they can see

References: {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Depression-doctor.com. (2004, May 15). Psychodynamic Theory. Retrieved February 04, 2009, from Depression-docotor.com: http://www.depression-doctor.com/psychodynamic-theory.html Humanistic Theory. (2002, September 23). Retrieved February 4, 2009, from Allpsych.com: http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/humanistic.html Murphy, M. D. (2001, October 22). Structuralism. Retrieved February 03, 2009, from Anthropological Theories: http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/struct.htm If you need to type anything after the reference list then start it on this page