NEW PSYCHOTHERAPY (last reg exam)

Existential theory and therapy

-existential philosophy focuses on the inevitable conditions humans face during life, such as freedom, responsibility, the pursuit of meaning, and death

• existential questions have appealed to both deeply religious and staunchly atheistic philosophers

• natural inclination towards creating meaning/ drive toward self-actualization

• collaborative relationship with the client determining meaning and the therapist providing support

• therapist transparency and authenticity

existential theory COMPARISON to other theories: Psychoanalytic

The Diamonic is an elemental force, energy, or urge residing within all people that functions as the source of constructive and destructive impulses

• diamonic- similar to Freuds concept of life and death instincts

-what empowers out creativity

existential theory CONTRAST to other theories

existentialism is anti-deterministic- instead, based upon belief in free will

• rejects unconscious and instinctual drivers of human behavior (psychoanalytic)

• rejects stimulus- response determinants (behaviorism)

• embrace human freedom and choice

-past does NOT determine future

-our choices determine what happens now

-our choices in the next moment determine the now in the future

existential theory: 4 MAIN AREAS OF CONCERN

• DEATH- accepting your life will end in death and that there are unknowns surrounding that

• FREEDOM- you have both the ability and responsibility to makes choices for yourself

• ISOLATION- acceptance that we enter life alone and we exit the same way, and will make choices for our own individual lives along the way

• MEANINGLESSNESS- “what is the meaning of my life?” life has no inherent meaning. its up to each of us to invent, create, or discover meaning in our lives

existential theory: PSYCHOPATHOLOGY (3 main drivers)

• SELF AWARENESS

-being with oneself

-being with others

-being with nature

-being with the spiritual

dialetics as a path to a deeper understanding of ones self, others, the world around us, and spiritual beliefs

• PERSONAL CHOICE

-the more freedom you experience, the more choices you have

-you and you alone are the author of your experiences

-not choosing/passivity is also a choice

• RESPONSIBILITY

-if humans construct their own reality and are capable of self-reinvention, then individuals must take responsibility for their behaviors

-you’re responsible for both your choices and your non-choices

-personal responsibility is a heavy burden, and is manageable

Victor Frankl

author of man’s search for meaning

• Logotherapy- clients are challenged to deal directly with the need for meaning (specific meaningful activities are not prescribed, celebrates individual responsibility in creating meaning)

Frankl emphasized that individuals don’t find meaning through preoccupation with the self. Instead, we must look outside ourselves to find meaning

Rollo May

• its good and healthy to feel negative emotions, and in doing so, clients become more open to positive emotions

-expanding self-awareness through dialectics and acceptance

-helping clients lives with and cope effectively with the normal level of negative emotions

• harnessing and integrating the daimonic as a central psychotherapy task

-expanding self-awareness through acknowledging, embracing, and integrating our natural energy towards constructive beliefs and actions

normal level of negative emotions

• ANXIETY- normal and essential component of human existence

-encourages ownership of anxiety as part of human experience

• normal anxiety-

• neurotic anxiety-

• lack of anxiety-