What It’s Like to Heal with Heather: Understanding Humanistic Therapy

Nacho de la Cruz
Oct 20
4 min read

Clients and peers often ask me, “What’s therapy like with you? What kind of techniques do you use? Which psychologists or psychotherapists have influenced your style?”

The truth is, my approach can’t be captured by a single technique or label. I consider myself a humanistic therapist, and while that might sound like a textbook term, what it really means is simple:

I believe you already hold the potential to heal, and my job is to help you reconnect with it.

Let me explain what that means, why it matters, and how it might feel for you inside a session.

So, What Is Humanistic Therapy?

Humanistic therapy grew out of a movement in psychology in the 1950s, led by deeply compassionate minds like Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and Rollo May.

At the time, psychology was dominated by two extremes: psychoanalysis, which focused heavily on the past and the unconscious, and behaviorism, which measured human behavior without considering emotion or meaning.

Rogers and his colleagues believed something vital was missing…the human experience itself: our emotions, choices, values, and search for meaning.

Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with this person?” they asked, “What happened to this person, and what conditions do they need to grow again?”

That belief became the foundation of humanistic therapy: when we’re met with empathy, authenticity, and acceptance, we naturally move toward healing and wholeness.

The Pioneers Who Shaped This Approach

Carl Rogers developed Person-Centered Therapy, emphasizing unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness as the essential ingredients for change.

Abraham Maslow introduced the Hierarchy of Needs and the idea of self-actualization, our innate drive to become our fullest selves.

Rollo May and Irvin Yalom expanded these ideas into Existential Therapy, exploring meaning, freedom, and authenticity.

All of them shared one radical idea:

People don’t need to be fixed. They need to be understood.

What Therapy Feels Like With Me

In my practice, I blend this humanistic foundation with modern integrative approaches, but the essence is relational.

Therapy with me feels collaborative, non-judgmental, and deeply present. You won’t find me interrupting to diagnose or overanalyze. Instead, we slow down together, notice what’s happening in the moment, and explore what your emotions are trying to communicate.

For example, a client might say, “I always mess everything up.” Instead of jumping into logic or problem-solving, I might say,

“It sounds like that belief has been with you for a long time. Where do you feel that in your body right now?”

That simple question often opens something deeper. When a person feels safe enough to sit with their experience rather than fight it, genuine healing begins.

Why It Works

Decades of research show that the therapeutic relationship itself, not the model or technique, is the strongest predictor of positive outcomes in therapy (Norcross & Lambert, 2018; Elliott et al., 2013).

What heals isn’t clever interpretation; it’s being truly seen and accepted. When that happens, the nervous system relaxes, insight grows, and change follows naturally.

Many clients tell me, “I didn’t realize how much I needed to just be understood without being told what to do.”

That’s the power of the humanistic approach, it helps you rediscover trust in yourself.

The Pros and Cons

Strengths:

Humanistic therapy is empowering because it honors authenticity and autonomy. It’s adaptable to trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, and identity work. It’s also relational, helping you learn what safe connection really feels like.

Limitations:

It can feel slower for those who want fast, directive solutions. It takes courage and emotional openness from both therapist and client. And because it focuses on presence and relationship rather than rigid technique, it can seem abstract until you experience it.

Yet for many, that’s what’s been missing, a space where they’re not told what to change, but invited to rediscover who they are.

When Humanistic Therapy Is Right for You

This approach is a good fit if you:

Feel disconnected or unsure who you are.
Want to explore emotions without judgment.
Value authenticity, depth, and self-growth.
Prefer collaboration over rigid structure.

It’s especially healing for those recovering from addiction, anxiety, self-criticism, and trauma, because it helps restore self-trust.

What It Looks Like in Practice

Every session at Healing with Heather starts from this humanistic foundation and adapts to your needs.

Sometimes we might use something called Gestalt dialogue, or “chair work.” This means exploring two parts of yourself that are in conflict. For instance, one chair might represent your critical inner voice, and the other the part that feels hurt or unseen. By giving each part a voice, you start to understand what each is protecting and find balance instead of inner war.

Other times we might use Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), which means actually feeling emotions safely in the room rather than only talking about them. If you often suppress anger or sadness, I might guide you to notice where it lives in your body, a lump in your throat, heaviness in your chest, and help you express it gently. When emotions are processed instead of buried, they lose their grip.

I also integrate mindfulness and somatic awareness, which simply means learning to listen to the body as part of therapy. That could be grounding techniques, breathwork, or noticing sensations that appear as you share.

For clients facing life transitions, existential reflection might come into play, asking questions like “What truly matters to me now?” or “What kind of person do I want to become?” These reflections often bring clarity and peace where anxiety once lived.

Every session is shaped around your pace, your personality, and your goals. The therapy is never something done to you, it’s something we build together.

Final Thoughts

Humanistic therapy reminds us that healing isn’t about perfection or erasing pain. It’s about meeting ourselves honestly and finding meaning in the process.

At its core, this approach says:

You are not your past. You are not your symptoms. You are a whole human being becoming more of yourself.

That’s what I believe. That’s what Healing with Heather is about.

If this approach resonates with you and you’d like to experience what humanistic therapy feels like in practice, you can book a free 15-minute consultation or contact me directly through the Healing with Heather website. Together, we’ll explore what’s possible when you’re finally met with compassion instead of judgment.