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- First, existential therapy does not have a single founding author with which it can be identified; it has no Freud, Rogers, Perls or Pavlov. Second it has its roots in philosophy, which in spite of its intimate connections to the questions of living and its long history, has always been a rather academic discipline.
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People also ask
Why are existential ideas not well known in psychotherapy?
How does existential therapy work?
What is existential theory & how does it work?
Can group therapy help people practice existential therapy?
Jan 4, 2021 · Existential concerns such as death, responsibility, meaninglessness, and isolation not only are the hallmark of existential psychotherapy but also are frequently encountered by CBT therapists—nevertheless, due to epistemological and ideological differences, existential and CBT approaches to psychotherapy had little overlap historically.
- Thomas Heidenreich, Alexander Noyon, Michael Worrell, Ross Menzies
- 2021
- Overview
- What is existential theory?
- What is existential therapy?
- How does existential therapy work?
- What are existential therapy techniques?
- Who may benefit from existential therapy?
- What are the limitations of existential therapy?
- The bottom line
Life is filled with a lot of big questions: What’s the point? What’s the meaning? Why am I here?
Existential theory tries to answer a lot of those questions to help people find meaning and understanding. It’s a concept long debated and discussed by philosophers of the last two to three centuries. It’s also found its way into a type of therapy.
Existential therapy tries to help people find meaning and purpose in their lives. It seeks to end the fear of the unknown. A therapist actively encourages patients to use their capacity to make choices and to develop their lives as a way to maximize their existence, or their reason for being.
Yes, you have free will and the ability to determine your future. That could be stressful or empowering. Existential therapy’s goal is to help you make the choices that leave you feeling less anxious and more authentic.
Existential theory is a centuries-old philosophy. It embraces personal freedom and choice. It purports that humans choose their own existence and meaning.
European philosopher Søren Kierkegaard is thought to be one of the first philosophers of existential theory. Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre followed him and further developed the ideas.
Austrian psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl developed logotherapy in the mid-20th century. This type of therapy intended to help people find meaning in life. That was the primary purpose of an individual, Frankl believed. It was a precursor to today’s existential therapy.
Alongside Frankl, psychologist Rollo May helped shape the practice of a type of humanistic therapy that focused on this concept of existential psychotherapy.
In more recent years, psychiatrist Irvin Yalom established the four givens of existential therapy. These givens, or essential issues, have come to define the problems and roadblocks that prevent people from living their most fulfilled life.
According to Yalom, the four essential issues are:
•death
•meaninglessness
Therapists who practice existential therapy aim to help their patients embrace their choices and their plans with an eye toward the possibilities, not the past. Existential therapists believe the past can be instructive. However, it isn’t meant to inform anything you currently do or want from life.
Instead, therapists urge patients to use creativity, love, and other life-enhancing experiences to help them make decisions and determine their behaviors for the future. In this process, a therapist hopes to help their patient learn to think and act without concern for anxiety or fear of messing up one’s life.
Existential therapy can be incorporated into any type of psychotherapy. The techniques of this philosophy involve talking, listening, answering questions, and engaging with your therapist over many weeks, possibly months. But instead of treating a symptom, such as anxiety, existential therapy aims to focus on the person as a whole.
As an example, existential therapy would suggest that people with addiction disorder are dealing with anxiety and fear because of one of the essential givens. But, they didn’t find a resolution that left them reassured. They then turned to substance use and misuse.
For an existential therapist, in that case, they would work to help the person with the use disorder face that anxiety head-on. They may help their patient identify why those anxieties and fears feel so overwhelming.
They may even try to introduce patients to experiences that enhance their well-being. These may include relationships, courage, spirituality, and others. This positive affirmation and engagement helps the therapist guide you to thoughtful responsibility — and hopefully the end of substance misuse.
No matter the specific technique, the goal behind existential therapy is to let people grow and embrace their lives, their wishes, and their curiosity without fear of the givens.
It aims to address issues of empathy, the here and now, and even dreams, which can reflect unconscious fantasies, with the help of an existential therapist.
Existential therapy may be beneficial for people with a variety of symptoms, including:
•anxiety
•dependency or use disorders
•depression
•post-traumatic stress disorder
•apathy
This type of practice is often perceived as too pessimistic or dark for some people. That’s because it embraces the painful, hurtful elements of life. For example, one goal of this therapy is to learn to not be afraid of death so that fear of death doesn’t control your choices.
While most psychotherapy focuses on one-on-one interactions, research suggests group therapy may have some benefit for people practicing existential therapy.
In one study, participants were more likely to be a part of a group if the duration of the group’s efforts were shorter. However, the shorter duration may not have resulted in great effectiveness. In that study, the short interaction did little to help the study participants’ psychological state.
In another study, however, educated women homemakers more frequently reported “self-flourishing” and an improved attitude toward life after taking part in existential group therapy.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with worry or anxiety when you stop to think about your future, your purpose, your meaning. Those are big questions. In fact, for some people, contemplating these questions too often or without good resolution can lead to an existential crisis.
But the goal of existential therapy is to help people not feel overwhelmed by the future and the possibility. Instead, a therapist will seek to help you find a balance between being aware of your responsibility to your own future and not being overwhelmed by it.
Aug 30, 2023 · Existential therapy is a philosophy-informed approach to psychotherapy. It may help a person address mental health conditions such as existential anxiety and existential depression. There is no...
- Harry Webster
In spite of this familiarity there are some good reasons why existential ideas are not well known in psychotherapy. First, existential therapy does not have a single founding author with which it can be identified; it has no Freud, Rogers, Perls or Pavlov.
- 737KB
- 20
Mar 27, 2021 · The phenomenological approach in psychotherapy originated in the works of Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss, and Viktor Frankl, and it has been committed to accounting for the existential possibilities and limitations of one’s life.
- Lehel Balogh, Masaru Tanaka, Nóra Török, László Vécsei, Shigeru Taguchi
- 10.3390/biomedicines9040340
- 2021
- Biomedicines. 2021 Apr; 9(4): 340.
May 4, 2023 · Research suggests that existential therapy focused on meaning can help alleviate mental health symptoms but has not been shown to impact a personal sense of well-being. Additionally, experiential and cognitive approaches to existential therapy have not been shown to alleviate symptoms.
Apr 10, 2024 · Existential therapy (or existential psychotherapy) is based on some of the main ideas behind existentialism as a philosophy, including: We are responsible for our own choices. We are all unique individuals due to the choices we make, and we are constantly remaking ourselves through these choices. We make our own meaning in life.
