The discipline or disciplines of various schools of psychology are continually evolving, and contrary to the idea that psychology looks to find excuses for behavior, psychology seeks to find ways to make life, and behaviors better. New therapies like Dialectical-Behavior Therapy (DBT), which stresses the replacement of negative coping mechanisms with positive coping mechanisms demands not extensive excavation of the past, one of the critiques of therapy, but aims to decrease patient behaviors that destroy the quality of their life such as self-harm. It helps the patient not focus on the past and live in the "present moment," with an almost Zen Buddhist like orientation of mindfulness (Sanderson, 1997). But it is also focused on setting practical life goals, and the therapy often has a fixed duration, in contrast to the assumption that psychotherapy is only available to the wealthy who have a great deal of free time. DBT offers positive solutions, not depressing rumination -- although, contrary to the view that all soul-searching is negative, "particularly conscientious children" rather than happy-go-lucky children, according to one study by Terman suggested "lived longer, healthier lives on average" (Winerman, 2006) as "on average the most cheerful children" have a "more careless attitude toward their health -- they were somewhat more likely to drink, smoke and take other risks" (Winerman, 2006). Regardless of what one thinks of the conclusion of this study, it highlights another...

The ailments that affect human beings that are classified as psychological often have a very different array of genetic, neurological, and environmental causes, and there will always be a different treatments to heal their ailments -- humanistic psychology alone cannot provide a cure, even if all psychologies may have a humanistic aim of healing and helping the person reach achievable life goals, including becoming part of a community.
Works Cited

Goldberg, Carl. (2000). "A Humanistic Psychology for the New Millennium."

Journal of Psychology. 134 (6). 677-682.

Marano, Hana. (2002). "Wrestling with bipolar disorder." Psychology Today.

Last reviewed Jun 2002. Revised 2005. Retrieved 16 Mar 2007 at http://psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-20&page=2

Sanderson, C.J. (1997). Dialectical Behavior Therapy Frequently Asked Questions.

Behavioral Tech. Retrieved 16 Mar 2007 at http://behavioraltech.org/downloads/dbtFaq_Cons.pdf

Winerman, Lea. (Nov 2006). A healthy mind, a longer life. APA Online. 37 (10). Retrieved 16 Mar 2007 at http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov06/healthy.html