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Existential Therapy

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Heavily influenced by existential philosophers (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Buber, etc.) Viktor Frankl developed logotherapy, summed up in quote, 'He who has a ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Existential Therapy


1
Existential Therapy
  • A philosophical/intellectual approach to therapy

2
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
3
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

4
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

5
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

6
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

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 6 (2)
7
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

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 6 (3)
8
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

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 6 (4)
9
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

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 6 (5)
10
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

11
Goals
  • The basic goal of therapy is to enable the
    individual to accept the awesome freedom and
    responsibility to act.

12
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

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 6 (6)
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