Citation

Davidson L. Self Soc. 2014; 41(2): 8-12.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, ©2018 - The Author/AHP, Publisher Association for Humanistic Psychology)

DOI

10.1080/03060497.2014.11084337

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this essay, I argue that for psychologists to dare to become the change agents Rogers envisioned 40 years ago, several significant challenges must be met. These include developing partnerships not only with other social scientists and health care practitioners (e.g. psychiatrists, nurses, social workers), but also with the expanding network of 'peer' staff and the people themselves whom we are trying to help, whether they be 'service users' or their loved ones. Within the context of these collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships, I suggest three principles for developing what Rogers called for as a 'new and better way' to improve the human condition. These are: 1) Adopting a public health perspective through which we offer our assistance and support to those persons most in need, and in ways that build on and promote the further development of their own resources; 2) Accepting that the world has been, and continues constantly to be, shaped by human actions, and so appreciating the collective responsibility we have to address the root causes of the suffering we encounter; and 3) partnering with the people who have the most intimate knowledge of the nature of these problems, as they most likely possess the strengths needed to overcome them, and in doing so will likely actualize their own human potential. I illustrate these principles with examples drawn from my own work in the behavioral health field, which is currently undergoing a transformation process led primarily by persons in recovery from mental illnesses and addictions

Language: en