High School

A male who seeks help for depression is told that the way to overcome the depression is to improve his self-esteem and self-expression, seek out peak experiences, and achieve self-actualization. This approach is most similar to that of ________ psychology.

Answer :

Final answer:

A male seeking help for depression and advised to improve his self-esteem and self-actualization is being guided by principles of humanistic psychology, closely associated with humanistic psychologists like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.

Explanation:

The approach to overcoming depression by improving self-esteem and self-expression, seeking out peak experiences, and achieving self-actualization is most similar to that of humanistic psychology. Theories of humanistic psychologists like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, which emerged in the mid-20th century, focus on these aspects. Contrasting with psychoanalytic models, humanistic psychology emphasizes free will, the growth potential of healthy individuals, and their drive towards self-actualization, underlining that mental health problems may arise from incongruence between patients' behavior and their true personal identity. Humanistic therapy, also known as person-centered therapy (PCT), aims to create conditions for individuals to discover their self-worth, explore their identity, and alter their behavior to reflect it more accurately.

Carl Rogers's notion of congruence, where an individual's self-regard and positive regard are closely related, supports a fully functioning person. In turn, Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs culminates in self-actualization, describing it as a state where individuals fulfill their potential. These concepts tie closely to person-centered therapy and the broader humanistic approach, which also finds reflections in positive psychology today.

The answer would be Humanistic Psychology.

The achievement of self-actualization was first discussed by Abraham Maslow as part of his hierarchy of needs, and it represents the completition of the highest level of the hierarchy and the emergence of the "fully functional person". Self-actualization is basically the achievement of meaning in one's own life.