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As a doctoral student, I was an ardent existential-humanist, and I will never forget the time, during my dissertation oral exam, that my chair, asked me: “Can a behaviorist be a humanist.” Understanding the theoretical distinctions between the two, I quickly and strongly said, “No,” and explained the different theoretical underpinnings of the two philosophies. I was quite proud of myself, as was my chair.

A few years later I was living in New Hampshire and heard that B.F. Skinner was going to give a talk at [1]��a Unitarian Church, about two hours away. He was in his mid-80s, and I was excited to hear this icon talk. I drove to the church and keenly listened to his eloquent talk about behaviorism. Afterwards, I managed to work my way to the front of the room, and ask him, “Dr. Skinner, can a behaviorist be a humanist.” He looked at me and with this erudite and warm stare and said, “Well, I don’t know about that, but he can sure be humane.” That short sentence cut through my rigid understanding of behaviorism and humanism (bad vs. good) and I came to see that all theories can be driven by a benevolent force within each of us.

Skinner's talk changed my life, and surprisingly, so did Carl Rogers' talk.��

For a second time, I heard Carl Rogers speak in front of a large audience. Previously, I heard him talk about the importance of globally becoming [2]��more humanistic, or we might see the end of our existence. So, I decided to ask him if he still believed this. I raised my hand, and lo and behold, he called on me immediately. I posed my question, at which point he looked at me and said he did not understand the question and asked me to repeat my It.

I tried to repeat my question, but admittedly, I was quite nervous talking in front of this huge crowd. After, blurting something out, he said, with a rather curt voice, something like, “I’m not sure what you’re saying,” and left me standing there embarrassed and without an answer. I thought he was supposed to be “Dr. Empathy,” but he certainly wasn’t with me. I was crushed. It was then that I had to come to grips with the notion that none of us, even our heroes, would live up to our expectation of them!

My experiences meeting Rogers and Skinner helped me move from a dualistic perspective on life, to the realization that we are complex human beings. It enhanced my understanding that we are each made up of many parts. Indeed, when getting to know someone, we should be open to all aspects of who they are—whether they are clients, family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, or famous theorists.

And thus, the development of IIACT. My hope is that the Institute will offer a complex understanding of ourselves and some of the theories to which we adhere. As time goes on, I hope that we continue to expand the knowledge of different theories on our website. Meanwhile, want to hear more stories or find other information about theories? Visit us at: .

With kind regards,��