The Potential of the Humanities in the Professional Education: A Perspective of Practicing Psychologists
https://doi.org/10.31992/0869-3617-2025-34-10-147-168
Abstract
The article examines the importance of the humanities in the educational professional program from the point of view of practicing specialists. The ambivalent attitude toward the humanities in professional education requires clarification of the positions of all “stakeholders”, including practicing specialists. The paper describes various positions regarding the inclusion of humanities in non-humanities professional education and examines the main reasons for dissatisfaction with them. It investigates the relevance of humanities to professional practice as viewed by practicing psychologists and psychotherapists and identifies the most relevant disciplines within this domain. In addition, it analyses the factors that most significantly influence their selection. For this qualitative study, 22 interviews were conducted (14 psychologists, 6 psychotherapists, 2 specialists working as both psychologists and psychotherapists). The spe- cialists represent different therapeutic traditions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The work with the interview results was based on deductive qualitative analysis; thematic analysis was used to evaluate the transcribed interviews. The findings underscore the importance of humanities for the respondents. An analysis of disciplines mentioned by respondents indicates that the most relevant humanities subjects are those that enhance the ability to work with phenomena of a person’s inner world through symbolic forms, as well as those that support the development of mental operations and communication skills.
About the Authors
L. G. Ilivitskaya
Samara State Medical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Larisa G. Ilivitskaya – Dr. Sci. (Philosophy), Associate professor of the department of philosophy and bioethics
89, Chapaevskaya str., Samara, 443099
Yu. A. Kuzovenkova
Samara State Medical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Yuliya A. Kuzovenkova – Cand. Sci. (Cultural studies), Associate professor of the department of philosophy and bioethics
Researcher ID: ABG-6686-2021
89, Chapaevskaya str., Samara, 443099
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