Existential Therapy

Existential Philosophy

  • arose in the 19th century with philosophers like Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, etc.

  • phenomenological, focusing on the experience of “humanness”

  • a collection of theories and ideas focusing on the question of meaning

  • massive field of thought - we will focus on the theory underlying the therapy

How might death & mortality come up for our clients?

Existential Philosophy (cont)

  • four “ultimate concerns” per Irvin Yalom

    • the inevitability of death

    • the existence of freedom

    • the truth of our aloneness and isolation

    • the inherent meaninglessness of life

  • awareness is both the cause of and the solution to these concerns

  • these concerns give rise to anxiety

Anxiety

  • anxiety is the natural result of the Yalom’s ultimate concerns

    • life cannot be lived without anxiety

    • the mere fact that we are conscious and need to consider the fact that we will die creates anxiety

  • can lead to good or bad outcomes

  • not equal to neurotic anxiety (for Freud)

    • neurotic anxiety - internal conflicts

  • existential anxiety

    • makes us aware of the big issues

    • panic or dread that arise when we confront limitations of our existence

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 and the choice to act or not to act

    • meaning is no automatic - we must seek it

    • we are subject to loneliness, meaninglessness, emptiness, guilt, and isolation

Freedom & Responsibility

  • people have a fear of freedom because with freedom comes choice and the possibility of doing poorly (responsibility)

  • people may reject or limit their own freedom due to their difficulty with accepting their responsibility

    • it is inauthentic to assume that our existence is controlled by external forces

  • making choices is how we find meaning

The Search for Meaning

  • in existential therapy, there is no inherent meaning to life

    • this may conflict with some religious views; existentialists would argue that even if a religion states ‘a meaning’” individuals would still need to determine their own

    • “inherent meaninglessness” does not mean “meaningless”

      • life is not meaningful in itself; the individual must create and discover meaning

    • “the will to meaning” is our primary striving

    • meaning is found indirectly

      • finding meaning in life is a by-product of a commitment to creating, loving, and working in valued directions

Existential Therapy

  • the basic argument

    • inner conflict is due to our confrontation with the “ultimate concerns”

  • existential therapy asks “big questions”, and essentially argues that all of our hiding these bigger questions in the background

  • not a single theory with a specific set of techniques

    • rather, a loose collection of approaches focusing on our search for meaning

    • e.g., existential-humanistic, logotherapy, etc.

  • goals are to help clients

    • broaden their self-awareness

    • live authentically and honestly

    • engage in their subjective search for meaning

    • explore the “givens”

  • therapeutic relationship

    • therapists are required to connect with their own subjective (phenomenological) world before/while working with clients’

      • these are genuine questions with which we all grapple

    • faith in the client’s ability to cope

    • as with person-centered, techniques are secondary to the relationship

Anxiety

  • existential therapists help clients develop a healthy view of anxiety

    • anxiety and negative emotions are an unavoidable part of life, and we must make peace with them

    • anxiety can be a stimulus for growth as we become aware of and accept our freedom, and push us to live authentically

  • we blunt our anxiety by creating the illusion that there is security in life, but this “illusion” often creates further issues

  • if we have the courage to face ourselves and life we may be frightened, but we will be able to change

Existential Techniques

  • being in the moment

    • focusing on the here and now

    • may use guided mindfulness exercises

      • be careful with this with survivors of trauma

  • focus on taking responsibility for feelings, desires, and actions

    • can’t vs won’t

      • clients often don’t realize that they actually have choices

  • making connections to the past

    • reliving past experiences

    • ‘life journey reflection’

  • integrating presence and the felt experience (including in therapy) into primary relationships

  • identifying values and passion to help clients recognize how they make meaning

  • integrating what was learned

    • deal and confront inability to feel and/or want

    • identify and deal with conflicting wants

  • specialized techniques

    • reframing

      • searching for the positives

    • paradoxical intention

      • encouraging client to do what is feared

      • ridiculing the symptoms

    • dereflection

      • changing client self-focus to the outside, particularly others

        • “get outside your own head”

    • socratic dialogue: how do you feel/think about that?

Limitations

  • the individualistic focus may not fit within the world views of clients from a collectivistic culture

  • the high focus on self-determination may not fully account for real-life limitations of those who are oppressed and have limited choices

  • some clients prefer a more directive approach to counseling

  • the approach may prove difficult for clients who experience difficulty conceptualizing or have limited intellectual capacities

  • limited empirical support

Further Resources

  • Rollo May

  • Irvin Yalom

    • prolific, wrote on existential, groups, fiction, etc.

  • Viktor Frankl

    • logotherapy

  • James Bugental

    • existential humanistic theory

  • Erich Fromm