Existential Therapy

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Existential Therapy

• A philosophical/intellectual approach to therapy

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Key Figures

• Heavily influenced by existential philosophers
  (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Buber, etc.)
• Viktor Frankldeveloped logotherapy, summed up in
  quote, He who has a why to live can bear with
  almost any how.
• Rollo Maytension between security of dependence
  and the delights and pains of growth

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 6
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Key Figures

• James Bugentalhumanistic emphasis on the
  integrity of each individual, help client examine
  how they have answered lifes existential
  questions, authentic living
• Irvin Yalomfour ultimate human concerns death,
  freedom, existential isolation and meaninglessness

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Human Nature

• The existential movement stands for respect for
  the person, for exploring new aspects of human
  behavior, and for divergent methods of
  understanding people.
• The significance of our existence is never fixed
  and once and for all rather we recreate
  ourselves through our projects

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Existential Therapy

• BASIC DIMENSIONS OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
• The capacity for self-awareness
• The tension between freedom responsibility
• The creation of an identity establishing
  meaningful relationships
• The search for meaning
• Accepting anxiety as a condition of living
• The awareness of death and nonbeing

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The Capacity for Self-Awareness

• The greater our awareness, the greater our
  possibilities for freedom
• Awareness is 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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Identity and Relationship

• 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
• Relatedness At their best our relationships are
  based on our desire for fulfillment, not our
  deprivation
• Relationships that spring from our sense of
  deprivation are clinging, parasitic, and symbiotic

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The Search for Meaning

• Meaning like pleasure, meaning must be pursued
  obliquely
• Finding meaning in life is a by-product of a
  commitment to creating, loving, and working
• The will to meaning is our primary striving
• Life is not meaningful in itself the individual
  must create and discover meaning

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Psychotherapy - Chapter 6 (4)
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Anxiety A Condition of Living

• Existential anxiety is normal - life cannot be
  lived, nor can death be faced, without anxiety
• Anxiety can be a stimulus for growth as we become
  aware of and accept our freedom
• We can blunt our anxiety by creating the illusion
  that there is security in life
• 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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Psychotherapy - Chapter 6 (5)
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Awareness of Death and Nonbeing

• Death is a basic human condition that gives
  significance to living
• Death provides us a motivation to live our lives
  fully and take opportunities for meaningful
  activities
• Yalom refers to death as a visitor in the
  therapeutic process and should be explored
  explicitly

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Goals

• The basic goal of therapy is to enable the
  individual to accept the awesome freedom and
  responsibility to act.

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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 phenomenological world
• The core of the therapeutic relationship
• Respect and faith in the clients potential to
  cope
• Sharing reactions with genuine concern and empathy

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Psychotherapy - Chapter 6 (6)