With the internet sneaking off with our attention, while AI devours our culture, as civil liberties are under assault, and the gap between the rich and poor grows, and governments aggress against their neighbors and their own people — standing up for humanistic values is more important than ever.

Empathy, reason, equality, non-reductionism, creativity, holism, the recognition of the dignity and worth of all people.

These values are crucial for social justice, but they are also — according to psychological humanism — essential foundations of mental health.

People are basically good (a humanistic belief), but all of us are subject to the infections of fear, shame, selfishness, despair, criticalness and coerciveness. Sometimes we’re losing the fight, which causes suffering in ourselves and others.

The antidote is a gradual deepening of understanding and acceptance of ourselves and others. Returning to our humanistic values, again and again, fosters this deepening.

This is much more complicated and difficult — and also much more powerful and healing — than anti-humanistic ideologies would have you believe.

It’s the heart of humanistic counseling.