Existential Therapy powerful motivating and driving force in

(Lois Caberoy) humans. (“therapy through meaning”)

 Existential therapy can best be described

as a philosophical approach that ROLLO MAY (1909–1994)
influences a counselor’s therapeutic  The principal American spokesman of
practice. This approach is grounded on the European existential thinking as it is
assumption that we are free and applied to psychotherapy.
therefore responsible for our choices and  Concerned with the nature of human
actions. experience, such as recognizing and
 We are the authors of our lives, and we dealing with power, accepting freedom
design the pathways we follow. and responsibility, and discovering one’s
identity.
 Psychotherapy should be aimed at helping
people discover the meaning of their lives
Historical Background in Philosophy and and should be concerned with the
Existentialism problems of being.
 The existential therapy movement was
not founded by any particular person or View of Human Nature
group; many streams of thought
contributed to it. - it bases therapeutic practice on an
 Existential therapy arose spontaneously understanding of what it means to be
in different parts of Europe and among human.
different schools of psychology and
psychiatry in the 1940s and 1950s.  Proposition 1: The Capacity for Self-
 It grew out of an effort to help people Awareness
resolve the dilemmas of contemporary  Proposition 2: Freedom and
life, such as isolation, alienation, and Responsibility
meaninglessness.  Proposition 3: Striving for Identity and
 Early writers focused on the individual’s Relationship to Others
experience of being alone in the world  Proposition 4: The Search for Meaning
and facing the anxiety of this situation.  Proposition 5: Anxiety as a Condition of
 The European existential perspective Living
focused on human limitations and the  Proposition 6: Awareness of Death and
tragic dimensions of life. Nonbeing

Two Main Proponents Proposition 1: The Capacity for Self-Awareness

VIKTOR FRANKL (1905–1997)  As human beings, we can reflect and

 The essence of being human lies in make choices because we are capable of
searching for meaning and purpose. self-awareness. The greater our
 He emphasized the concepts of freedom, awareness, the greater our possibilities for
responsibility, meaning, and the search freedom.
for values.  We can choose either to expand or to
 Founder of what has been called “The restrict our consciousness. Because self-
Third School of Viennese Psychoanalysis.” awareness is at the root of most other
 Logotherapy - the belief that striving to human capacities, the decision to expand
find meaning in life is the primary, most it is fundamental to human growth.
  Increasing self-awareness, which includes  CREATING NEW MEANING
awareness of alternatives, motivations,
factors influencing the person, and
personal goals, is an aim of all counseling. Proposition 5: Anxiety as a Condition of Living

 Anxiety arises from one’s personal

Proposition 2: Freedom and Responsibility strivings to survive and to maintain and
assert one’s being, and the feelings anxiety
 People are free to choose among generates are an inevitable aspect of the
alternatives and therefore have a large human condition.
role in shaping their destinies.
 The manner in which we live and what Existential anxiety is the unavoidable result of
we become are the result of our choices. being confronted with the “givens of existence” -
death, freedom, choice, isolation, and
“Bad Faith” - the inauthenticity of not accepting meaninglessness. (Vontress, 2008; Yalom, 1980)
personal responsibility. (Sartre,1971)
Normal anxiety is an appropriate response to an
“Since that’s the way I’m made, I couldn’t help event being faced.
what I did.”
Neurotic anxiety is out of proportion to the
“Naturally I’m this way, because I grew up in a situation. It is typically out of awareness, and it
dysfunctional family.” tends to immobilize the person.

 Freedom implies that we are responsible Proposition 6: Awareness of Death and Nonbeing
for our lives, for our actions, and for our
failures to take action.  A distinguishing human characteristic is
 Existential guilt is being aware of having the ability to grasp the reality of the future
evaded a commitment or having chosen and the inevitability of death. It is
not to choose. This guilt is a condition that necessary to think about death if we are to
grows out of a sense of incompleteness, or think significantly about life.
a realization that we are not what we  Death provides the motivation for us to
might have become. live our lives fully and take advantage of
 Authenticity implies that we are living by each opportunity to do something
being true to our own evaluation of what meaningful. (Gould, 1993)
is a valuable existence for ourselves; it is
the courage to be who we are. The Therapeutic Process
Therapeutic Goals
Proposition 3: Striving for Identity and
 To assist clients in moving toward
Relationship to Others authenticity and learning to recognize
 THE COURAGE TO BE when they are deceiving themselves (van
 THE EXPERIENCE OF ALONENESS Deurzen, 2002a)
 THE EXPERIENCE OF RELATEDNESS  To help clients face anxiety and engage in
 STRUGGLING WITH OUR IDENTITY action that is based on the authentic
purpose of creating a worthy existence.
 To increase awareness which allows
Proposition 4: The Search for Meaning clients to discover that alternative
possibilities exist where none were
 THE PROBLEM OF DISCARDING OLD recognized before.
VALUES
 MEANINGLESSNESS
*Therapy is a process of bringing out the latent
aliveness in the client (Bugental, 1986).
Some major themes of therapy sessions:
*Bugental (1990) identifies three main tasks of
therapy:  Anxiety
 Freedom and responsibility
(1) Assist clients in recognizing that they are not  Search for identity
fully present in the therapy process itself and in  Living authentically
seeing how this pattern may limit them outside of  Isolation
therapy.  Alienation
 Death and its implications for living
(2) Support clients in confronting the anxieties that  Continual search for meaning
they have so long sought to avoid.

(3) Help clients redefine themselves and their Relationship Between Therapist and Client
world in ways that foster greater genuineness of
contact with life.  Direct, mutual, and present interaction
 Create caring and intimate relationships
with clients
Therapist’s Function and Role  Respect (implies faith in clients’ potential
to cope authentically with their troubles
 Existential therapists are primarily and in their ability to discover alternative
concerned with understanding the ways of being)
subjective world of clients to help them  Genuine concern and empathy
come to new understandings and options.
 Therapists with an existential orientation
usually deal with people who have what Application: Therapeutic Techniques and
could be called a restricted existence. Procedures
These clients have a limited awareness of
themselves and are often vague about the  Not technique-oriented
nature of their problems.  Priority given to understanding a client’s
 Therapist’s function is to assist clients in world
seeing the ways in which they constrict  Based on philosophical views about the
their awareness and the cost of such essential nature of human existence
constrictions.  Practitioners prefer description,
understanding, and exploration of the
client’s subjective reality, as opposed to
Client’s Experience in Therapy diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis (van
 Clients in existential therapy are clearly Deurzen, 2002b)
encouraged to take seriously their own  Existential therapists need to adapt their
subjective experience of their world. They interventions to their own personality
are challenged to take responsibility for and style
how they now choose to be in their world.
 They are expected to go out into the world Phases of Existential Counseling
and decide how they will live differently.
 They must decide what fears, guilt INITIAL PHASE - therapists assist clients in
feelings, and anxieties they will explore. identifying and clarifying their assumptions about
 They should confront ultimate concerns the world. Clients are invited to define and
rather than cope with immediate question the ways in which they perceive and make
problems. sense of their existence.
MIDDLE PHASE - clients are encouraged to more (2) Widening their perspectives on themselves
fully examine the source and authority of their and the world around them
present value system. This process of self-
exploration typically leads to new insights and (3) Clarifying what gives meaning to their present
some restructuring of values and attitudes. and future life

FINAL PHASE - focuses on helping people take

what they are learning about themselves and put Limitations
it into action. Transformation is not limited to what  It lacks a systematic statement of the
takes place during the therapy hour. principles and practices of psychotherapy
 Difficult to conduct research on the
Clients Appropriate for Existential Counseling process or outcomes of existential therapy
 Existential therapy makes use of
For people who are: techniques from other theories, which
- coping with developmental crises makes it difficult to apply research to this
- experiencing grief and loss approach to study its effectiveness (Sharf,
- confronting death 2008)
- facing a major life decision
- struggling for identity in adolescence
- coping with possible disappointments in
middle age
- adjusting to children leaving home
- coping with failures in marriage and work
- dealing with increased physical
limitations as one ages

Application to Brief Therapy

- This approach can focus clients on

significant areas such as assuming
personal responsibility, making a
commitment to deciding and acting, and
expanding their awareness of their current
situation.
- It is essential that both the therapist and
client determine if short-term work is
appropriate, and if beneficial outcomes
are likely.

Application to Group Counseling

 An existential group can be described as

people making a commitment to a
lifelong journey of self-exploration with
these goals: (van Deurzen, 2002b)

(1) Enabling members to become honest with

themselves