Day One Continued: Maslow's Hierarchy of Need and Grief Counseling

Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Need applied to Grief Counseling. 

Abraham Maslow

• Humanistic Psychologist - focus is on the potential of human beings
• Developed theory of personality - theory of motivation - hierarchic theory of needs - FIVE basic needs - humans are motivated by unsatisfied needs
• One must satisfy each level of basic need before the next - the higher up the pyramid, the more complex, social and psychological the needs become. It is important to satisfy the most basic need (i.e. physiological need) first so that one can reach self-actualization without unpleasant or unhealthy feelings or consequences.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has FIVE levels:

1. Psychological Needs - most basic needs of survival: water, food, air, sleep
2. Safety Needs - safety and security: shelter, employment
3. Social Needs - belonging, love, and affection: friendships, romantic, family, work
4. Esteem Needs - self-esteem, esteem from others: accomplishment, recognition
5. Self-Actualization - need to be and do what a person was "born to do" or reaching your full potential: being self-aware

Picture Info

Maslow's Hierarchy of Need is useful in grief counseling because it helps to address the basic need of physiological concerns before attempting to work on the social and psychological needs. Using the triangle (see below) redesigned by The Center for Grief Care and Education, the FIVE basic needs are applied to grief counseling.