If you want to live in a world of possibilities, inspired by people taking positive action for what they believe in, welcome to the Association for Humanistic Psychology, AHP.

AHP nurtures people's ability to use their conscious minds, to choose, to grow, to actively create their lives and their world. It is an international non-profit association of people committed to exploring and furthering the evolution of the human spirit. The association was formed in 1962 by Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Charlotte Buhler, Rollo May, Virginia Satir and other founders of the personal growth movement, to foster the ability of each person to find and express their maximum potential as human beings. This emphasis on consciousness, human dignity, and the capacity to direct our own destinies has come to be known as Humanistic Psychology.

We are educators, doctors, nurses, human service workers, community activists, organizational development professionals, students, writers, musicians, artists, health and social workers, counselors, scientists, architects, business people, politicians, spiritual leaders, homemakers, trades people, anyone who shares humanistic values and wants to make a difference. While it has humanized and revolutionized psychology with its emphasis on our conscious ability to choose and create, AHP is not just for psychologists.
President's Message
Carroy U. Cuf Ferguson
Path of the Bridger: AHP's Role in Co-Creating A New Reality For Human Togetherness and the Evolution of Consciousness

AHP is a forum for sharing ideas and inspiring community through a full Calendar of Conferences and Events.

It's hard to hold on to humanistic ideals in a world so fearful, so violent and increasingly rigid. In this society driven by production and consumption, sometimes it may seem like you are the only one who is standing up for humanity.

Today it seems there is an endangered values list -- the ones we've worked so hard for: Idealism. . . Consciousness. . . Integration. . . Spiritual Awareness. . . Diversity. . . Environmentalism. . . Community Empowerment. . . Wholistic Healing. . . Experiential Learning. . . If you feel some trepidation when you utter these phrases AHP may be for you.

What makes AHP different from other organizations focused on spirituality, environmentalism, community activism, health, psychology, or relationships? Our special point of view is the individual human psyche, the mind and soul of each of us, and everything it embraces. We look at what issues mean to you, and how your lives make a difference. We explore the frontiers of experience -- help you push your own envelope.

What draws people back year after year though, is our heart. People can share a smile, a word or a chuckle, or can make deep connections through AHP that can change their lives instantaneously and forge enduring friendships.

One way members connect and pursue common interests is through self-generated communities and projects (called "Communities"), which offer personal and professional support and carry out activities and projects on specific issues. Embracing the Peace, Feminist and Ecology movements, AHP supports Energy Centers such as Women For Change, Somatics and Wellness, Professional Affairs, and International Programs including conferences worldwide and professional exchanges with Russia and Eastern Europe. Regional groups operate in Oregon, the Boston and Seattle areas, The Southeastern U.S., Northern Mexico, and Iran. Groups are forming around the topics of Education and Humanizing Technology. A new Student Coalition is on the front burner too.

AHP shares ideas and information about the latest developments in personal, professional and social change through AHP Perspective, our dynamic bimonthly member magazine. AHP Perspective includes exclusive articles, interviews, book reviews, current international news about member activities, and a Calendar of AHP-sponsored events. Recent themes and articles include "Voice, Breath, Movement and Touch", "Psychology and the Sacred", Human Potential and the Economy", "A Wake-Up Call for Humanistic Warriors", "Client-Centered Therapy", "Health Care Reform", and an exclusive preview of former AHP President Jean Houston's new book, "Manual for the Peacemaker: An Iroquois Legend to Heal Self & Society".

More in depth, scholarly information on the quality of human experience can be found in our esteemed Journal of Humanistic Psychology. The Journal offers the very best in personal, interpersonal, social and philosophical subjects. Recent issues address "Psychotherapy and Spirituality", "Intimacy and Isolation", and "The Aesthetic Experience" with humanistic analysis, current psychological research, humor, and integrity. Open these pages to the vision of possibilities in human growth and spiritual development.

AHP's Directory of Humanistic Professionals is a yearly publication listing members from many fields, humanistic professionals who direct their lives and work by values which respect and support human dignity and the capacity to make conscious choices. This international guide gives educators, therapists, consultants, social workers, health care practitioners, students and others an opportunity to describe their work, and it provides people a means for finding appropriate services and for networking in their communities.

Based in the United States, AHP has sister organizations in England, Russia, Lithuania, Japan, Germany, and many other countries. These organizations operate independently while pursuing the same goal of creating more humanistic societies. In May of 1996 we convened the second International Summit of AHP organizations at the 4th International Conference on Conflict Resolution co-sponsored by AHP in St. Petersburg, Russia.

BECOME INVOLVED IN AHP

AHP offers lots of innovative avenues for involvement. Of course, we warmly invite you to join us as a Member. You can sample our ambiance by attending one of the events listed on our Calendar, or you can answer a Call for Proposals (published in Perspective) and be selected to present your work. You can write an article or review a book for AHP Perspective. You can check out one of our Communities, or get our support to form one of your own. Any way you choose to participate, you'll find warm and creative people and the inspiration, challenge and support to explore and express the best of yourself. E-mail us for more information, including a free copy of AHP Perspective,, or call us at (415) 864-8850.

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AHP is a member of the Consortium for Diversified Psychology Programs (CDPP), which includes virtually all of the accredited M.A. and Ph.D. programs in humanistic, existential, or transpersonal psychology. Their names and addresses are here.

A Bibliography of Humanistic Psychology: From Maslow to the 21st Century.