The next question which arises from the previous post on Divine Humanism is that of practicality. How can this theology of Divine Humanism be used in a clinical setting for spiritual health clinicians? In order to accomplish this, we must understand which psychotherapeutic lens we are using. Humanistic Psychology is “an orientation to the whole discipline” of psychology that emphasizes the “conscious human experience as a necessary starting point” for counseling and therapy. It is existential, focusing on how the individual experiences life by treating him/her as a dignified human being. This differs from other psychotherapies due to this emphasis on the human as a person, full of experiences, moving toward a sense of self that is sustaining and life giving.

“[Humanistic Psychology] does not see behavior as largely determined by past events and takes seriously human values and freedom… It also charges that traditional scientific psychology has too often chosen its research topics to fit available traditional techniques, instead of developing techniques to fit important topics.”

In other words, Humanistic Psychology treats the care seeker as a person rather than a case to be fixed. And, because it is not fixed rigidly to a certain set of techniques used to ‘treat’ an individual, but rather is rooted in a philosophy and theology of human experience. Humanistic Psychology--connected to Divine Humanism--allows for the clinician to respond in tandem with the care seeker’s needs and wants. From here, let us examine two characteristics of Divine Humanism through this lens of Humanistic Psychology. First, Divine Humanism must be understood as focusing on the (w)holistic person. Second, it must be understood as teleological in nature.

Wholistic/Holistic

Regarding the first, DH is both wholistic and holistic when dealing with a person. There are three aspects or characteristics closely associated with being human--physical, mental, and spiritual--and each one must be taken into consideration when providing spiritual health support. In a hospital or clinical setting, a care responder will predominantly be confronted with the physical self of an individual. The body is in need of continued care, treatment, and/or support throughout life. Divine Humanism is aware of the physical needs in order for that person to survive. Abraham Maslow addresses many of these physical needs for an individual to feel safe, secure, and seen. Examples of physiological needs addressed by Maslow’s hierarchy are food, water, and security. Humans need these essentials in order to live and breath--to simply survive. A clinical approach rooted in DH, brings an awareness of humanity’s need for the physical support of life saving and life sustaining measures. However, it doesn’t stop with simply addressing the physical needs.

Humans are also conscious beings: thinking creatures. We experience mental states both consciously and unconsciously. Again, Maslow addresses these mental experiences in his third level of needs such as the need to feel belongingness, love, esteem, self-respect, etc… Mentally, humanity processes experiences differently; yet there are patterns of experiences that spiritual health clinicians can utilize in order to help individuals feel safe and open to an encounter. For example, care seekers needing to process their sickness or recent diagnosis will experience their hospitalization differently. Spiritual health clinicians must include and address the mental and existential experience of a care seeker so as to provide care and support to the mind as well as the body.

Finally, a (w)holistic view of humanity includes the spiritual. This is where some clinicians, who only focus on the body or mind, may look to spiritual health clinicians for support. Humans have souls. The spirit of a human is that which dwells within our mental and physical bodies. Most religious traditions express the idea of a ‘self’ that is separate--but a part of--the human experience. Whether it’s the western traditions expression of spirit or the eastern religions teaching about ‘atman’, humans have used the idea of a higher self, or a self that is not material, for millennia. Including the spirit in a clinician’s care offers the care seeker an outlet for their expression of meaning. In other words, spirituality or religion is the lens through which humans understand the world--it is the meaning to their experiencing. As a spiritual person experiences life in all its joys and sorrows, that person understands their experiences as connected to their understanding of Divinity. Each religion or spirituality can be expressed differently depending on the faith, denomination, and practice. Including the care seeker’s spirituality helps the care provider understand and address how the seeker, patient, or client experiences their situation. In total, Divine Humanism includes all of the human: physical, mental, and spiritual. Meaning that the wholeness incorporates these three characteristics creating a holistic human experience that is divine.

Teleology

To what means is this approach useful? If one incorporates the teaching of Divine Humanism in one’s clinical work, what is the end goal? The teleology of Humanistic Psychology can help us better understand what is the ultimate result one is seeking. Teleology is a principle rooted in causality and results. In religious and spiritual thought, teleology is the end result of either one’s journey or a collectivized union. Normally attributed to eschatology, teleology is a thought phenomenon expressing humanity’s need for a goal, answer, meaning, or reality realized. For some religious traditions, the teleological goal is Christ’s return to earth to rein in and reign over God’s Kingdom come. For others, it is the stripping away of all karmic accumulation in order to achieve nirvana. In the mystical traditions, it is the soul’s union with the Divine, also known as theosis. For Humanistic Psychology, however, teleology is primarily expressed as a fuller experiencing self.

Carl Jung describes this as the Undiscovered Self; whereas Abraham Maslow understood it as the Self-Actualizing person. Carl Rogers developed this idea as the Fully Functioning Self. Simply put, each of these teleological experiences of the self are expressions of continued growth during and after therapy and counseling. For example, Jung understands the Undiscovered Self as the whole psychic experience of a human being dwelling within the unconscious; thus, it is up to the therapist/psychologist to help an individual--through dream interpretations and religious symbolism/archetypes--to discover this true sense of self. Maslow’s Self-Actualizing self represents those “thought to be in a state of exemplary psychological health” and “having characteristics such as self-acceptance and acknowledgements of others, openness, autonomy and independence, and compassion with strong moral and ethical convictions.” Finally, Rogers understood this end result as being the Fully Functioning Self, meaning that one is fully able to function as an independent person that experiences--and is open to--his/her emotions immediately: i.e. self-acceptance and self-realization. Each understanding of the teleological self listed above can be summarized as:

“...the person who symbolizes his or her own experiencing accurately and therefore lives in a way that most fully expresses and develops his or her potential as a human being while mutually supporting such growth in others.”

Therefore, the teleology of Divine Humanism and Humanistic Psychology is the fully realized, fully understood, fully deconstructed and reconstructed, full actualized, fully unionized selfhood that we humans intuitively seek. It is part of the human experience that we care called to live, to find meaning, to find ourselves. And, I believe, the closer we get to this sense of self, the closer we get to understanding how God sees us.