fei75766_ch08_242-270.indd 259  02/06/20 12:02 PM
Chapter 8    Fromm: Humanistic Psychoanalysis259
Psychotherapy
Fromm wastrained asanorthodox Freudian analyst butbecame bored withstandard 
analytic techniques. “With timeIcame toseethatmyboredom stemmed from the
factthatIwasnotintouch withthelifeofmypatients” (Fromm, 1986, p.106). He
thenevolved hisownsystem oftherapy, which hecalled humanistic psychoanalysis. 
Compared withFreud, Fromm wasmuch more concerned withtheinterpersonal 
aspects ofatherapeutic encounter. Hebelieved thattheaimoftherapy isforpatients 
tocome toknow themselves. Without knowledge ofourselves, wecannot know any
other person orthing.
Fromm believed thatpatients come totherapy seeking satisfaction oftheir
basic human needs—relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, asense ofidentity, and
aframe oforientation. Therefore, therapy should bebuiltonapersonal relationship 
between therapist andpatient. Because accurate communication isessential tothera -
peutic growth, thetherapist must relate “asonehuman being toanother withutter
concentration anduttersincerity” (Fromm, 1963, p.184). Inthisspirit ofrelated -
ness, thepatient willonce again feelatonewithanother person. Although transfer -
enceandevencountertransference mayexistwithin thisrelationship, theimportant 
point isthattworealhuman beings areinvolved withoneanother.
Aspartofhisattempt toachieve shared communication, Fromm asked patients 
toreveal theirdreams. Hebelieved thatdreams, aswellasfairytalesandmyths, 
areexpressed insymbolic language—the onlyuniversal language humans havedevel -
oped (Fromm, 1951). Because dreams havemeaning beyond theindividual dreamer, 
Fromm would askforthepatient’s associations tothedream material. Notalldream 
symbols, however, areuniversal; some areaccidental anddepend onthedreamer’s 
mood before going tosleep; others areregional ornational anddepend onclimate, 
geography, anddialect. Many symbols haveseveral meanings because ofthevari-
etyofexperiences thatareconnected withthem. Forexample, firemaysymbolize 
warmth andhome tosome people butdeath anddestruction toothers. Similarly, 
thesunmayrepresent athreat todesert people, butgrowth andlifetopeople incold
climates.
Fromm (1963) believed thattherapists should nottrytobetooscientific in
understanding apatient. Only withtheattitude ofrelatedness cananother person be
trulyunderstood. Thetherapist should notviewthepatient asanillness orathing but
asaperson withthesame human needs thatallpeople possess.
Fromm’s Methods of Investigation
Fromm gathered dataonhuman personality from many sources, including psycho -
therapy, cultural anthropology, andpsychohistory. Inthissection, welookbriefly 
athisanthropological study oflifeinaMexican village andhispsychobiographical 
analysis ofAdolf Hitler.
Social Character in a Mexican Village
Beginning inthelate1950s andextending intothemid-1960s, Fromm andagroup of
psychologists, psychoanalysts, anthropologists, physicians, andstatisticians studied Final PDF to printer