Rigorously Respecting the Person: The Artistic Science of Experiential Personal Constructivism

Abstract

This article reviews humanistic critiques of traditional diagnoses, manualized treatments, and randomized controlled trial research. Humanistic psychology must more aggressively elaborate its alternatives to these mainstream approaches if it is to realize its potential as a human science capable of transforming the field. Humanistic alternatives to these approaches are explored in general and discussed specifically within the context of experiential personal constructivism, 1 theoretical approach to humanistic psychology. However, this research agenda could be applied across many humanistic approaches to clinical psychology and, in so doing, make for an intellectually (and empirically) rigorous defense of theories that respect human experience.