Humanistic and Psychodynamic Approaches in Understanding Psychological Distress

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Psychological distress is a feeling or emotion which arises when external events or circumstances exert demands on an individual, who is unable to manage and is overwhelmed. Unpleasant thoughts and feelings influence a person’s level of functioning, which can lead to unfavorable opinions on his or her surroundings and daily activities. Unhappiness, anxiety, being distract, etc., are symptoms of psychological distress.

The humanistic and psychodynamic approaches are fundamental in understanding human behavior. Psychodynamic theory, mostly associated with Sigmund Freud, explains the unconscious thoughts, feelings and emotions, where an individual is able to understand oneself which is vital in molding adult personality. Whereas, the humanistic perspective is the study of the whole person and its uniqueness. The following write-up will offer a study of the discoveries made from the humanistic and psychodynamic approaches and how these two perspectives explain the behavior of Nick and his psychological distress.

Concept of Humanistic Perspective

The humanistic perspective emerged during the mid-20th century and became well known through Abraham Maslow during the humanistic movement, as some psychologists like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers saw some limitations in behaviorist and psychodynamic theories. This is the reason why the humanistic approach is also referred to as the ‘third force’ in psychology.

The humanistic approach explains that as human beings we respond and interpret things according to our past experiences. Theorists pointed out the idea that a man or a woman has free will and can select their actions. The humanistic concept focuses primarily on the character of humans, not animals or plants.

Maslow’s Theory

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was an American psychologist who made a hypothesis of self-actualization that depends on emotional encounters and free will, which an individual is accomplishing at their most elevated level of ability, called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory explaining five stages of human needs. He developed a pyramid to express that when an individual reached the highest point of the five levels, he or she has arrived at self-actualization. The five levels of hierarchy of needs are: 1) physiological needs (food, water, shelter, etc.); 2) safety needs (security, health, etc.); 3) belonging needs (intimate relationships with loved ones and having friends); 4) esteem needs (feeling of accomplishment and respect); 5) self-actualization needs (realizing one’s full potential). Self-actualize is the final goal of the hierarchy of needs that not everyone is able to attend.

In the above study of Maslow’s approach, he argued that every person has the free will and ability and desire to progress up the ladder toward self-actualization. Unfortunately, family problems, financial instability, heartbreak or divorce are examples of life events that might lead a person to move up and down the ladder. As a result, not everyone will go through the different stages of life in a single direction, but instead will switch back and forth between the different categories of hierarchy needs.

This is how Nick is experiencing psychological distress as he is trying hard to find a way to level up his standard of living, i.e., reaching his highest protentional (self-actualization): he was going to party living a high standard life to be able to form part of the society. Sadly, he is unable to reach his goal and sees himself in a place where he is not comfortable, which leads to unpleasant feelings thus, mental imbalance.

Carl Rogers’ Theory

Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987) was considered one of the main founders of humanistic theory and an influential psychologist who acknowledged Maslow’s basic assumptions. However, he added that to ‘grow’ one requires an environment that encourages truthfulness (openness and self-disclosure), acceptance (unconditional positive regard) and empathy (being listened to and understood). He stipulates that relationships and healthy character traits will not grow as they should without unconditional love, affection, and acceptance to reach self-actualization. He even expressed the depth of this feeling with the quote (Rogers, 1967): “Early emotional ignorance in a child can result in a number of negative outcomes, including poor stress management, a reduced sense of self-worth, negative views of relationships and the self (low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence). Hence reaching adulthood, this can develop into harmful behaviors, such as weight gain or excessive drinking”. However, if a child is raised with unconditional positive regard, he or she will be better able to resist and recover from tough situations, which indicates they have unconditional self-positive regard. For example, Susan Boyle auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent in 2009 with her unruly curling hair and crooked teeth, the 46-year-old scarcely resembled a conventional music star. The audience laughed at Boyle’s looks before she sang but the judges were astonished as she sang out. “I know what they were thinking, but why should it matter as long as I can sing? It’s not a beauty contest” – Boyle proudly told reporters when questioned about the audience’s immediate critique. In other words, Boyle refused their criticism as she has unconditional positive self-regard and a strong self which bring back her self-confidence.

Based on Rogers’ theory above, in the case of Nick’s is mentally unhappy as he is experiencing low self-esteem, his self-image has been affected. Maybe he wanted to enjoy life to the fullest and have a chance to climb the social ladder while partying, but if he starts comparing himself to his peers or others who are more successful, richer, happier or more attractive than him, he would acquire a negative self-image. It’s also plausible that other people’s looks and criticism towards him generate a sense of vulnerability in him, destroying his confidence and goal of achieving self-actualization. Nick’s low self-esteem, his low self-regard and his depression can also be explained by the fact that Nick has experience ignorance during his early childhood, he did not receive unconditional love from his parents or surroundings as Rogers’ theory demonstrate.

Psychodynamic Approach

The psychodynamic method is a psychological theory developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and his followers to explain human behavior. The psychodynamic perspective covers human functioning, the interaction of unconscious and conscious impulses and forces within a person, as well as between the various personality structures. Typically, psychodynamic therapy would be treating the patient for depression or anxiety.

Freud’s Structural Theory

As seen by Freud, human personality emerges as a result of interactions between the three main aspects of human mind are: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the basic and impulsive (what I want right now) part of the mind that is preoccupied with immediate satisfaction of fundamental physical needs and impulses. To balance between the unrealistic id and the external real situation, the ego emerges. The superego is made up of social values and morals that one learns from someone else’s parents and others.

According to Freud, the id and superego are part of the unconscious mind, they are always on conflict with the conscious mind (the ego). This clash causes stress, which the egos may be able to handle through defense mechanisms. Some defense mechanisms are: denial, repression, projection, displacement, regression, sublimation, rationalization, reaction, formation, and identification with the aggressor.

Anna Freud sees denial defense mechanisms as unconsciously designed psychological techniques to prevent an individual from feelings of fear or guilt that emerge when we feel unsafe or when the id or superego becomes over-demanding. Denial can make it difficult to cope with circumstances that demand immediate attention. For example, it may be simpler to overlook the negative consequences of excessive drinking than it is to reduce alcohol consumption. This explains why Nick usually did not hold himself accountable for anything, he refused to accept the reality and started to question everything around him as an excuse.

Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erikson, who first proposed his theory in the 1950s, thought that personality evolved in phases. According to him, there are eight stages in a human life that influences human development and growth when there is social contact and within relationships. Nevertheless, people go through a struggle at each stage that acts as a turning point in their development. Eight stages of life and their age conflicts are:

Infancy (birth to 18 months): trust vs. mistrust;
Early childhood (2 to 3 years): autonomy vs. shame and doubt;
Preschool (3 to 5 years): initiative vs. guilt;
School age (6 to 11 years): industry vs. inferiority;
Adolescence (12 to 18 years): identity vs. role confusion;
Young adulthood (19 to 40 years): intimacy vs. isolation;
Middle adulthood (40 to 65 years): generativity vs. stagnation;
Maturity (65 to death): integrity vs. despair.

Erikson pointed out that one’s identity must be strong and has to be partially sacrificed in order to fit the identity of someone else. If enabled to do so, the person lacks a strong identity to sustain the flow. Alternatively, adults who fail to develop the basis for personal relationships become alone in an isolation state. One can have a lot of friends and be very social, but there is like a kind of wall that protects one’s ego vulnerability. The individual can develop this position and create a life that does not have intimate ties with other individuals, thus experiencing psychological distress. Similarly, in Nick’s case, he may be a fun-loving person and always want to party, but he is unable to make significant commitments to others as he lacked a positive ego identity and a good sense of social interaction. He may exhibit characteristics of open judgment towards everyone, this is why he might not have a positive to have intimate relationships or close friendships and familial bonds.

Conclusion

This assignment contributes to understanding the humanistic approach, where Maslow argued that individuals are motivated by a hierarchy of needs, and Nick was unhappy as he was unable to reach self-actualization. Rogers put forward the unconditional positive regard and unconditional positive self-regard theory, and we evaluated that Nick had a negative unconditional self-regard. On the other hand, the psychodynamic approach emphasizes the interaction of unconscious and conscious impulses. We see that Freud’s structural perspective explain the id, the ego and the superego, where his defense mechanism theory explained why Nick refuses to see him responsible in any context. While Erikson points out that, there are eight stages in a human life that influences human development and growth, and the fact that Nick tends to be vulnerable towards judgement. The common point between these two approaches is that they were able to demonstrate why Nick is experiencing psychological distress.

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