Holism (from the Greek όλος, olosI) indicates the totality, the globality of something and, in this case, of the human being. It is a theoretical, philosophical-scientific approach, based on the idea that the properties of a system cannot be explained exclusively through its individual components. In the field of health and well-being, the holistic approach allows a greater variety of strategies and provides more skills to the psychologist, but above all it refers to the relationship as built by “people”, a fact that helps a lot in the process of “wellbeing recovery”, which becomes more effective. In this Psychology-Online article we will discover together what is holistic psychologywhere you study and how you work.
What is holism in psychology
In the psychological realm, the term “olism” suggests that the individual, understood as a whole, is much more than the sum of its parts. Holistic psychology focuses its observation on how these parts work together., not being able to dissociate the functions in certain processes. For holistic psychology, unlike reductionism, the individual is considered much more than the sum of its parts, which adds more complexity to assessment and intervention, but offers more positive results than other approaches.
The holistic approach is born from a precise attitude of each human being towards himself, towards other living beings and towards the environment that surrounds him. It is expressed through a state of consciousness that knows how to capture the unity of each phenomenon. In the clinical field (in medicine as in psychology), the holistic approach is, above all, a way of being of the psychologist, the patient and their relationship. It is done when the psychologist and patient know how to grasp the unitary process together. who sees them as “waves of the same ocean” and when they become capable of observing with clear eyes; observe, that is, themselves, their relationship and the “symptoms”, in a broad, open way, free of preconceived schemes and strictly diagnostic conjectures.
Holism in the history of psychology
The holistic psychology It is particularly interesting for its ability to provide solutions that other approaches cannot. Evaluate how our past has affected us, how we live our present and how we face the future. In the history of psychology we find several schools of thought that have adopted a holistic approach:
- The , which firmly maintains that human behavior must be observed as a whole.
- The , born as a partial response to the reductionism of the behavioral and psychoanalytic school.
- The , which incorporates this approach, taking into account the environmental, social, emotional and group aspects as a whole.
What holistic psychology studies
To understand the reasons that drive us to think or act in a certain way, holistic psychology, instead of focusing on one aspect of the problem, studies the individual as a whole. There are several factors that interact and interfere with each other, influencing or conditioning, and that is what olism takes into account to understand a problem. A very clear example is found in the brain: we know that it contains millions of neurons, but observing each one separately will never tell us what the brain as a whole is capable of doing.
A holistic approach is taken when the different factors that act and interact together are taken into account and how this set can influence the behavior or emotional state of the individual. In this sense, the variables that must be managed are quite heterogeneous: they range from the place where the individual lives, to their work, to their professional and educational training, to their social ties, to their group interactions, to their health and to their perception of well-being and stress. Therefore, observation of the individual is not relegated to the analysis of symptoms.
Why choose holistic psychology and why not
Compared to other more reductionist approaches, holistic psychology has several aspects that make it one of the best intervention approaches. Including several factors in the case study increases the possibility of finding the source of the problem; The counterpart is that, often, as the spectrum of analysis increases, the demand for resources to allocate it also increases. However, this approach helps to find more precise and potentially better solutions, working at different levels of intervention.
As with almost all approaches, holistic psychology is also not immune to some disadvantages: for certain disorders, it is better to focus on a specific aspect in order to find a solution. In this sense, holistic psychology may present obstacles to this type of intervention.
In particular, when working in a research field, the variables that must be managed must be clearly defined; That is why holistic psychology is not always compatible with the scientific method. Holism is a complex approach that can lead to the design of assessments and interventions that can be challenging due to their complexity, which can make the holistic approach difficult to manage in some cases, as well as not all professionals are able to apply it.
There are many schools and specialties in psychology. Find out about them here.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Darecchio, S. (2018). Il “new” bio-psycho-social paradigm: l’approccio olistico. Retrieved from: https://psicologia-benessere.org/2018/01/21/approccio-olistico/
- De Lorenzo, G. (2021). Il passo oltre lo specchio. Alla scoperta delle scienze olistiche. Tricase: Youcanprint.