Welcome to the

2005 AHP Directory of Humanistic Professionals

Joining the AHP Professional Directory

What is a Humanistic Professional?

Humanistic Professionals direct their life and work by the values of humanistic psychology. As you can see from these pages, many Humanistic Professionals are psychologists and/or psychotherapists.But not all. We are also educators, consultants, futurists, somatic practitioners, social workers, nurses, writers, organizational developers, international activists--including students in all of these professions.

It makes a positive difference in the world when people who stand for humanistic values declare themselves, together. Every profession represented here can be changed, needs to be changed, in the direction of offering more respect for the individual, basing relationships more on empowerment than on "power over," valuing honesty, vulnerability, and compassion. You hold in your hand a book of revolutionaries. Each of these people in his or her own way, lives and works by a set of values that are, unfortunately, still radical.

What are these values?

For myself, I try to approach each individual person with respect and fundamental equality. Even if our roles make us temporarily unequal in one context (as in teacher and student), I try to remember that we are both learning and growing.

I try to avoid putting people into categories and pigeonholes. If I must, I try to remember that the individual is always more than a category.

I try to operate with mutual honesty and mutual vulnerability. I am not a professional mask. My humanness is transparent.

I try to respect the differences between myself and others. When there are differences, I try to begin by listening.

I try to to give myself the same respect and honor that I want to give to another person.

I try to respect my need for personal time and personal space, and I lovingly stand up for myself when I need to.

I urge you, as a Humanistic Professional, to be proud of the values you hold. Live them boldly, know every time you treat a human being humanely, that behavior spreads by ripples through the whole society. Know that you are not alone: this Directory contains a community of support. Use this Directory–refer to each other, call each other up, draw upon your network.

If you know someone who should be in the Directory, but isn’t, urge them to join AHP. Students are welcome–we are proud of our special Student Professional Membership category.

The more we support each other in living our unique expressions of humanistic values, the more we make a positive difference in the world. Let’s do it!

–Ann Weiser Cornell, AHP Past President