The most central characteristics of humanistic approaches to psychotherapy are defined. These are their focus on promoting in‐therapy experiencing, a commitment to a phenomenological approach, a belief in the uniquely human capacity for reflective consciousness, a positive view of human functioning, and the operation of some form of growth tendency. These approaches adopt a consistently person‐centered view that involves concern and real respect for each person. In this chapter the major approaches within this orientation, Person‐centered, Gestalt, and Existential are discussed. The emergence of contemporary experiential therapy, based on a neo‐humanistic reformulation of the above classic humanistic values, is presented. The traditional humanistic assumptions have been expanded to incorporate moder views on emotion, dynamic systems, constructivism, and the importance of a process view of functioning to help clarify the humanistic views of growth and self‐determination. Neo‐humanistic‐experiential therapy is based on the importance of the relationship as a stubborn attempt by two human beings to meet each other in a genuine manner and as involving the intention to promote the deepening of the client's experience. This is seen as leading to integrative self‐reorganization. Research results on the effectiveness of experiential therapy are reviewed.

To assess group participants' perceptions of therapeutic factors, we developed an extensive questionnaire of 155 items that was administered to 489 members of 78 psychotherapy and growth groups of client-centered/experiential, psychoanalytic, behavioral, Gestalt and drama- and bodily oriented orientations. Using multivariate analyses we found a model that reveals the structure and connections of therapeutic factors as they are differentiated in the experience of the group members. Our model encompasses three hierarchical levels of abstraction: 28 Basic scales that appeared to be structured into seven main scales (Group Cohesion, Interactional Confirmation, Cathartic Self-Revelation, Self-Insight and Progress, Observational Experiences, Getting Directives, and Interactional Confrontation) and two dimensions (Relational Climate and Psychological Work). Validity for these therapeutic factors was found in their grounded content, statistically analyzed constructs, importance ratings, and correlations to intermediate outcome measures.

This paper reports a pilot investigation of the perception of helpful events by the therapeutic team and the families in two family discussion groups (FDGs) of a psychiatric day clinic. All participants of the FDG, including therapists and observers, filled in questionnaires measuring events helpful for the individual, for the family and for the group after each FDG session. The results showed that the therapeutic team and the families diverged in their overall perception of which factors were important in family discussion group therapy. The therapeutic team saw the relational climate and the structural aspects of the group (including group involvement and support from the group), and specific therapeutic interventions as more helpful than the families. The process aspects in the group members (including the experiencing of communality and gaining insight) were, on the other hand, more frequently mentioned by the families than by the therapeutic team. The clinical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This study investigated helpful and disturbing factors in multi-family groups with hospitalized, depressed patients and their family members. Both patients and their partners reported the occurrence of different therapeutic factors such as the cohesion of the group, different observational processes, and guidance from the therapist. The frequency of the therapeutic factors seemed to increase for both the patients and their partners as the group sessions progressed and several differences in reported therapeutic factors were found between the patients and their partners. A number of therapeutic factors such as modelling and guidance from the therapist were found to be related with improvement of depressive symptoms of the patient. The results help to provide some insight into which processes are important in multi-family group therapy for depression.

38 positively experienced episodes in brief person‐centred counselling with six clients were analysed. The Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) method was used as the prime research tool. Clients were asked to identify positively experienced moments in the counselling session during a post‐session review interview. Clients and counsellors were invited to report on the feelings, perceptions and intentions they recalled experiencing during these moments. Three analyses were used to categorise the meaning and feeling quality of these moments, and a taxonomy of types of positively experienced episodes was also created. The most frequently reported positive client experiences were associated with empowerment, safety and insight. Other significant themes emerging from the analysis included: freedom in the relationship, shortcomings of the relationship, assurance of the relationship, unfolding of the client's personal meaning, and the importance of the counsellor's presence. Taxonomy of episodes revealed nine categories: four of them focused on the strengthening of the therapeutic relationship, and five focused on the empowerment of the client's self. These findings are discussed, and implications for theory and practice explored.