Existential Theory, Person-Centered Psychotherapy, and Mindfulness

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Existential Theory, Daseinsanalyse, Rogerian Person-Centered Theory, and Buddhist Mindfulness concepts.

Transcendence

The unique human capacity to step outside of one's existence, reflect on it, and decide how one wants to be and feel.

Phenomenology

The scientific method of existentialism, introduced by Brentano and Husserl, defined as the method of realizing that which shines forth from your existence.

Noumena

Things in the environment as they objectively and truly exist, which humans can never directly access and can only assume.

Phenomena

The world as experienced and perceived by an individual, which is inherently subjective and unique to each person.

Noema

In Husserl's phenomenology, the specific object or thing that is seen in the environment.

Noesis

In Husserl's phenomenology, the mode of seeing or the subjective perspective through which an individual perceives and values an object.

Phenomenological Reduction (Epoché / Bracketing)

A three-step method (suspend, bracket, analyze) where an individual suspends their natural attitude and sets aside prior assumptions to understand the essence of another's experience.

Ethical Existentialism

Soren Kierkegaard's framework examining what it means to be moral, emphasizing making authentic decisions rather than simply doing what one feels they should do.

Dialectic of Necessity and Possibility

Kierkegaard's view of human freedom wherein an authentic individual truthfully confronts their finite limitations while actively engaging with the possibilities of existence.

Dread (Existential Anxiety)

The dizziness of freedom that arises when an individual realizes that no one else is responsible for their actions and confronts infinite possibilities.

Despair of Finitude

The state of living without freedom by viewing oneself as completely determined, possessing no choices, and refusing to commit to real possibilities.

Despair of Infinitude

The state of living without freedom by imagining unrealistic possibilities, viewing oneself as having endless opportunities, and refusing to commit to any actual course of action.

Dasein

Martin Heidegger's term for the human being or the self, literally meaning 'being there,' defined by embeddedness in the world without a subject-object dichotomy.

Dialectic of Thrownness and Possibility

The condition of being cast into specific, unchosen life circumstances from which an individual possesses infinite possibilities for action.

Existential Guilt

Guilt that arises when individuals blind themselves to their available choices and avoid taking personal responsibility for their lives.

Sorge

The cares and concerns of Dasein, organized into three spheres: Umwelt (material world), Mitwelt (interpersonal world), and Eigenwelt (inner world of thoughts and beliefs).

They Self

A fallen state of existence where a person conforms to the desires of the masses to buffer anxiety and evade personal responsibility.

Prattle

Meaningless talk about nothing that individuals use to fill space, calm anxiety, and numb themselves, contrasted with genuine discourse.

Constricted Dasein

A condition in Daseinsanalyse characterized by an individual shrinking their perceived range of possibilities to escape existential anxiety, resulting in depression.

Lumination

The active process in Daseinsanalyse through which an individual sheds the light of thought onto the world to actively endow it with meaning and consider possibilities.

Disclosure

The passive process in Daseinsanalyse where possibilities naturally reveal themselves to an individual through lived experience.

Stuck Dasein

An individual's self-imposed unwillingness to progress beyond a certain developmental level due to the fear of accepting responsibility for their life.

Therapeuo

A term meaning 'to serve,' describing the analyst's role of describing an illness's symptoms rather than assigning a diagnosis.

Nothingness

The existential gap between a human being and any external object, providing the capacity for negation, freedom, and existential dread.

Being-in-itself

Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of an inanimate object that exists with defined characteristics but lacks consciousness and the capacity for self-reflection.

Being-for-itself

Sartre's term for human consciousness, which is aware of its existence through self-reflection and the ability to detach and negate.

Being-for-others

A mode of living where one acts as if choices are dictated entirely by others, viewing oneself as a manipulable object and enabling bad faith.

Facticity

The unchangeable, given aspects of an individual's existence, such as biological inheritances and past events.

Bad Faith

Self-deception in which an individual pretends their life is entirely determined, denying their freedom and treating social roles as their fixed essence.

Desenglue

The act of unsticking oneself from a current predicament by transcending facticity and opening up new possibilities and horizons.

Creating Ex Nihilo

The existential principle that humans have no predefined essence and must continually create themselves anew from nothing.

Specialness

An existential defense mechanism where an individual avoids anxiety about death and finiteness by believing that suffering will not happen to them.

Ultimate Rescuer

An existential defense mechanism involving belief in a powerful external figure (such as a god, leader, or lover) who will protect one from existential concerns.

Boundary Situations

Urgent life events or therapeutic confrontations that bring individuals face-to-face with ultimate existential concerns, compelling them to learn how to cope.

Phenomenal Field

Carl Rogers's concept of the subjective world as experienced by the individual, functioning as the center of their reality and behavior.

Telic

A characteristic of behavior describing how all actions are purposeful and directed toward an individual's personal goals and values.

Actualization Tendency

The single inherent human motive directed toward fulfilling potential, maintenance, enhancement, and movement toward unified organismic wellness.

Organismic Valuing Process

The innate mechanism that evaluates lived experiences to determine whether they facilitate maintenance and movement toward self-actualization.

Gradient of Autonomy

A component of the self structure defined by the degree of immediate control an individual exercises over physical and psychological material.

Introjection

The process of swallowing beliefs, values, or attitudes whole from external figures to secure love, without reflectively self-endorsing them.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Non-judgmental, non-possessive care in which a person is valued and accepted without conditions, promoting congruence and self-actualization.

Conditional Positive Regard

Care and acceptance given only when an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors align with the standards of others, fostering incongruence.

Incongruence

A state of psychological maladjustment marked by a contradiction between the actualization needs of the organism and the actualization needs of the self.

Agape

Therapeutic love characterized by the therapist's desire to support the client: 'I love you because I want you to fulfill your potentials.'

Relational Incongruence

The core of dysfunctional relationships, occurring intrapersonally (between awareness and experience) or interpersonally (between experience and communication).

Transparency

The willingness to be completely honest and be seen truthfully by others despite the inherent existential risk.

Radical Impermanence

The Buddhist principle that nothing possesses an enduring 'own being,' and that everything that appears permanent is constantly changing and heading toward nonexistence.

Samsara

The continuous Buddhist cycle of birth, death, and rebirth across multiple lifetimes, fueled by the failure to cultivate awareness of impermanence.

Nirvana

Release from Samsara and radical impermanence, described as the blowing out of the candle of existence.

Vikalpas

Fantasies, illusions, and daydreaming produced by language that distract individuals from the present and create a fictitious sense of separate existence.

Dukkha

The suffering and pain of existence that results from human attachment to impermanent worldly things under the false belief that they are permanent.

Smrti

The concept of mindfulness, defined as being completely in touch with and aware of the present moment rather than dwelling in the past or future.

Buddha Mind

The original or natural mind possessed by all people, containing inherent seeds of enlightenment, peace, and joy.

Three Consuming Fires

The core causes of suffering in Buddhism: greed (dissatisfaction), hatred (ill will toward others), and delusion (confusion regarding how to think, feel, or act).

Eightfold Path

The Buddhist 'middle way' consisting of wisdom, behavior, and meditation practices that lead to the cessation of suffering.

Mindfulness (Brown and Ryan)

A relaxed, non-defensive attention and awareness directed to present-moment experiences, allowing thoughts and emotions to pass without resistance.