title: Humanistic psychotherapy assumptions and christian counseling.
abstract: This article examines eight assertions about the nature of humanistic psychotherapy which may be congenial with certain broad assertions or emphases of the Christian tradition (and, thus, Christian counseling). The humanistic assertions are that the focus of psychotherapy should be on the client's immediate experiencing which provides trustworthy self-knowledge, that freedom is real, that the proper therapist role is that of facilitator, that new ways of client thinking and acting are to be encouraged, that the body must receive therapeutic attention, and that honest mutual communication is critical. Christian emphases for which these are relevant include Old and New Testament understandings of the inner experience of God, the ongoing creative activity of God, individual responsibility before God, the unity of the individual, and how healing takes place.
authors.affiliation: Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Tisdale