Alston Yan

Social work theory · Volume A: Individual & Psychological

Humanistic, existential and phenomenological theories

Humanistic, existential and phenomenological theories place the person's subjective experience at the centre of understanding.

1. What it is

Humanistic, existential and phenomenological theories place the person’s subjective experience at the centre of understanding. They assume that people are active agents who seek meaning, have a capacity for growth and self-direction, and are best understood from within their own frame of reference (Rogers, 1951). These traditions emerged as an alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviourism, which humanistic psychologists saw as overly deterministic. Their values of dignity, self-determination and respect for the person’s own account are closely aligned with social work’s ethical commitments, and they underpin person-centred practice across health and human services (Payne, 2021).

Person-centred theory (Carl Rogers). Rogers (1951, 1961) proposed that every person has an actualising tendency, an innate drive towards growth and fulfilment. Psychological difficulty arises from incongruence between a person’s self-concept and their actual experience, often produced by conditions of worth, where acceptance by others was conditional on meeting their expectations. Rogers (1957) identified the core conditions for therapeutic change: the helper’s congruence (genuineness), unconditional positive regard and accurate empathic understanding, communicated to and perceived by the client.

Hierarchy of needs and motivation (Abraham Maslow). Maslow (1943, 1954) proposed that human motivation is organised in a hierarchy: physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation. Lower “deficiency” needs generally require some satisfaction before higher “growth” needs become motivating. Maslow described self-actualisation as the realisation of a person’s potential, and he studied people he considered psychologically healthy rather than only those in distress.

Existential approaches. Existential approaches draw on philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre. They focus on what Yalom (1980) called the ultimate concerns of human existence: death, freedom and responsibility, isolation, and meaninglessness. Anxiety is understood as a normal response to these conditions. Frankl (1946/1959), drawing on his experience of Nazi concentration camps, argued that the search for meaning is a primary human motivation and that people retain freedom to choose their attitude even in extreme circumstances. Thompson (1992) and Krill (1978) applied existential ideas to social work, emphasising authenticity, choice and the worker’s presence.

Phenomenology. Phenomenology, founded by Edmund Husserl, is the philosophical study of experience as it appears to consciousness (Husserl, 1913/2012). It asks practitioners and researchers to suspend, or “bracket”, prior assumptions in order to describe experience as it is lived. In practice and research it underpins approaches that seek to understand how a person experiences their situation, such as interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith et al., 2009). Phenomenology is both a theory of knowledge and a method, and it links this family to the interpretive traditions in G2.

Gestalt approaches. Gestalt therapy, developed by Fritz and Laura Perls and Paul Goodman, draws on Gestalt psychology’s principle that people perceive organised wholes rather than separate parts (Perls et al., 1951). It emphasises awareness of present experience, the contact between person and environment, and unfinished business from the past that interrupts present functioning. Techniques such as the empty-chair exercise help people express and integrate unacknowledged feelings.

2. Historical development

Period Development
1840s–1940s Existential philosophy (Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre)
1913 Husserl’s Ideas sets out phenomenology as a method
1943–1954 Maslow publishes the theory of human motivation and Motivation and Personality
1946 Frankl’s account of meaning in the concentration camps (Man’s Search for Meaning)
1951–1961 Rogers’ Client-Centered Therapy (1951), the core conditions (1957) and On Becoming a Person (1961); Perls et al.’s Gestalt Therapy (1951)
1958–1980 Existential psychotherapy develops (May et al., 1958; Yalom, 1980)
1960s Humanistic psychology is established as the “third force” in psychology
1978–1992 Existential social work (Krill, 1978; Thompson, 1992)

Humanistic psychology emerged in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s as a “third force” beside psychoanalysis and behaviourism. Maslow and Rogers argued that both existing schools neglected what was distinctive about human beings: consciousness, choice, values and the search for meaning. Existential and phenomenological ideas came from European philosophy and entered psychotherapy through writers such as May, Angel and Ellenberger (1958) and Frankl.

These approaches became an independent tradition because they rested on a distinct view of the person as self-directing and oriented towards meaning. Rogers’ insistence that the client, rather than the expert, knows what hurts and where to go was a significant departure. His commitment to recording and researching therapy sessions also helped found psychotherapy research. In social work, person-centred values were absorbed into the profession’s practice principles, and the term “person-centred” is now used in disability, aged care and health policy (Payne, 2021).

3. Practical guidance

4. Critical evaluation

Strengths. These approaches affirm dignity, agency and the value of the person’s own account, which aligns with social work ethics. The empirical evidence for the relationship conditions is strong: an updated meta-analysis found that therapist empathy has a moderate and consistent association with client outcome (Elliott et al., 2018). Person-centred principles have shaped service design well beyond counselling.

Limitations. Critics argue that humanistic theory is individualistic and culturally specific, assuming a Western ideal of the autonomous, self-actualising self (Payne, 2021). Maslow’s hierarchy has received limited empirical support for its strict ordering: Wahba and Bridwell (1976) found little evidence for the hierarchy, and Tay and Diener (2011) found that needs were associated with wellbeing in many cultures but were often fulfilled out of order. Rogers’ claim that the core conditions are “sufficient” for change is contested, and non-directive approaches may not suit people in crisis or statutory contexts where workers hold power. Existential and phenomenological concepts can be difficult to operationalise and evaluate.

Overall importance. The humanistic family provides the relational and ethical foundation of much social work practice. Even where workers use structured or directive methods, the core conditions remain central to engagement. Its main risk is neglect of structural constraints, which is why it is often combined with ecological and critical perspectives.

5. References

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