Humanism as a common factor in psychotherapy

Abstract

There are many forms of psychotherapies, each distinctive in its own way. From the origins of psychotherapy, it has been suggested that psychotherapy is effective through factors that are common to all therapies. In this article, I suggest that the commonalities that are at the core of psychotherapy are related to evolved human characteristics, which include (a) making sense of the world, (b) influencing through social means, and (c) connectedness, expectation, and mastery. In this way, all psychotherapies are humanistic.