Humanistic Psychology and Self-acceptance

Humanistic psychology, it could be maintained, was the first psychological theory that gave serious consideration to the value and implications of self-acceptance in psychology, at least in its more explicit and positive constructions. As will be discussed, humanistic psychology began by advocating for radical self-acceptance that embraced a view of oneself, and human nature, as essentially good. Over time, the understanding of self-acceptance became more nuanced, particularly with the introduction of existential psychology as a school of thought within the humanistic tradition. In this chapter, we provide an overview of important humanistic views on self-acceptance, emphasizing how these emerge from a particular understanding of human nature as well as the implications for psychotherapy.