Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy

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Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy

• MacDonald
• Existential Therapy

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Questions?

• What key concepts do you know in terms of
  existential therapy?
• What is the meaning or purpose of your life?
• What do you want from life?
• Where is the source of meaning for you in life?
• How do you work through a sense of no self and
  feeling alone?
• What are the possible reasons that people tend to
  blame others for their problems?
• What is the positive motivation of being anxious?
• If you only have 30 days left, whats your
  feelings? What will you do?

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Question

• What key concepts do you know in terms of
  existential therapy?

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Existential Therapy A Philosophical/Intellectual
Approach to Therapy

• View of Human Nature
• The capacity for self-awareness
• The tension between freedom responsibility
• The creation of an identity establishing
  meaningful relationships
• The search for meaning, purpose, and values of
  life
• Accepting anxiety as a condition of living
• The awareness of death and nonbeing

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The Capacity for Self-Awareness

• We can reflect and make choices because we are
  capable of self-awareness.
• Expanding our awareness in realizing that
• We are finite - time is limited
• We have the potential, the choice, to act or not
  to act
• Meaning is not automatic - we must seek it
• We are subject to loneliness, meaninglessness,
  emptiness, guilt, and isolation

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Question

• What are the possible reasons that people tend to
  blame others for their problems?

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Freedom and Responsibility

• We are free to choose among alternatives
• We are responsible for our lives, for our action,
  and for our failure to take action.
• Blaming others for their problems---
• Recognize how they allowed others to decide for
  them and the price they pay
• Encourage them to consider the alternative options

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Striving for Identity

• Identity is the courage to be
• We must trust ourselves to search within and find
  our own answers
• Our great fear is that we will discover that
  there is no core, no self
• Struggling with our identity
• Challenging clients---in what ways that they have
  lost touch with they identity and letting others
  to design their life.

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Question?

• How do you work through a sense of no self and
  feeling alone?

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Relationship to others

• Aloneness
• We are alone---So, we must give a sense of
  meaning to life, decide how we will live, have a
  relationship with ourselves, and learn to listen
  to ourselves.
• Relatedness
• We need to create a close relationship with
  others
• Challenging clients----What they get from they
  relationship? How they avoid close relationship?

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Question

• What is the meaning or purpose of your life?
• What do you want from life?
• Where is the source of meaning for you in life?

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The Search for Meaning

• Therapists trust is important in teaching clients
  to trust their own capacity to find their way of
  being.
• Meaninglessness in life leads to emptiness and
  hollowness (existential vacuum)
• Finding meaning in life is a by-product of
  engagement, which is a commitment to creating,
  loving, working, and building.

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Question

• What is the positive motivation of being anxious?

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Anxiety A Condition of Living

• Anxiety arises from ones strivings to survive.
• Existential anxiety is normal
• an outcome of being confronted with the four
  given of existence death, freedom, existential
  isolation, and meaninglessness.
• Recognize existential anxiety and find ways to
  deal with it constructively.
• Anxiety can be a stimulus for growth as we become
  aware of and accept our freedom
• If we have the courage to face ourselves and life
  we may be frightened, but we will be able to
  change

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Question

• If you only have 30 days left, whats your
  feelings? What will you do?

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Awareness of Death

• Death provides the motivation for us to live our
  lives fully and take advantage of each
  opportunity to do something meaningful.

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Therapeutic Goals

• To expand self-awareness
• To increase potential choices
• To help client accept the responsibility for
  their choice
• To help the client experience authentic existence

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Therapists Function and Role

• Understand the clients subjective world
• Encourage clients to accept personal
  responsibility
• When clients blame others, therapist is likely to
  ask them how they contributed to their situation.

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Clients Experience in Therapy

• They are challenged to take responsibility for
  how they now choose to be, decide how they want
  to be different, and take actions.
• Major themes in therapy sessions are anxiety,
  freedom and responsibility, isolation, death, and
  the search for meaning.
• Assist client in facing life with courage, hope,
  and a willingness to find meaning in life.

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Relationship Between Therapist and Client

• Therapy is a journey taken by therapist and
  client
• The person-to-person relationship is key
• The relationship demands that therapists be in
  contact with their own world
• The core of the therapeutic relationship
• Respect and faith in the clients potential to
  cope and discover alternative ways of being
• Therapists share their reactions to clients with
  genuine concern and empathy as one way of
  deepening the therapeutic relationship.

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Therapeutic techniques and procedures

• It is not technique-oriented
• The interventions are based on philosophical
  views about the nature of human existence.
• Free for draw techniques from other orientations
• The use of therapist self is the core of therapy

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Questions

• Which populations is existential therapy
  particularly useful?
• Which issues is existential therapy particularly
  useful?

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Areas of Application

• Grief work, facing a significant decision,
  developmental crisis, coping with failures in
  marriage and work, dealing with physical
  limitations due to age

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From a multicultural perspective

• Contributions
• Applicable to diverse clients to search for
  meaning for life
• Be able to examine the behavior is influenced by
  social and cultural factors.
• Help clients to weigh the alternatives and
  consequences.
• Change external environment and recognize how
  they contribute

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From a multicultural perspective

• Limitations
• Excessively individualistic
• Ignore social factors that cause human problems
• Even if clients change internally, they see
  little hope the external realities of racism or
  discrimination will change
• For many cultures, it is not possible to talk
  about self and self-determination apart from the
  context of the social network
• Many clients expect a structured and
  problem-oriented approach instead of discussion
  of philosophical questions.

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Summary and Evaluation

• Contributions
• Stress self-determination accepting the personal
  responsibility along with freedom
• View oneself as the author of ones life
• Understand the value of anxiety and guilty, the
  positive meaning of death, the positive aspects
  of being alone and choosing for oneself
• Enable clients to examine how their behavior is
  being influenced by social and cultural
  conditioning.

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Summary and Evaluation

• Limitations
• Lacks of a systemic principles and practice for
  therapy
• No empirical research validation yet
• Limited to apply to lower-functioning clients,
  clients who need directions, are concerned about
  meeting basic needs, and lack of verbal skills

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Case 1

• I find myself terrified when I am alone. I need
  people around me constantly, and if Im forced to
  be alone, then I run from myself by watching TV.
  Id like to learn how to be alone and feel
  comfortable about it.
• What are the issues?
• What can you do to help this client?

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Case 2

• I feel like my existence does not matter to
  anyone. If I were to die today, I fully believe
  that it wouldnt make a difference to anyone.
• What are the issues?
• What can you do to help this client?

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Case 3

• I rarely feel close to another person. While I
  want this closeness, I am frightened of being
  rejected. Instead of letting anyone get close to
  me, I build walls that keep them removed. What
  can I do to lessen my fear of being rejected?
• What are the issues?
• What can you do to help this client?

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Questions

• Please discuss at least three questions to ask
  speakers regarding the career issues in social
  work, private practice, counseling, and family
  and marriage?