Theory and Practice of
Counseling and Psychotherapy
Psych422
Chapter6: Existential Therapy
Questions?

What key concepts do you know in terms
of existential therapy?

What is the meaning or purpose of your life?






What do you want from life?
Where is the source of meaning for you in life?
How do you work through a sense of “no self”
and feeling alone?
What are the possible reasons that people tend to
blame others for their problems?
What is the positive motivation of being anxious?
If you only have 30 days left, what’s your
feelings? What will you do?
Question

What key concepts do you know
in terms of existential therapy?
Existential Therapy
A Philosophical/Intellectual Approach to Therapy

View of Human Nature






The capacity for self-awareness
The tension between freedom & responsibility
The creation of an identity & establishing meaningful
relationships
The search for meaning, purpose, and values of life
Accepting anxiety as a condition of living
The awareness of death and nonbeing
The Capacity for Self-Awareness


We can reflect and make choices because we are
capable of self-awareness.
Expanding our awareness in 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
Question

What are the possible reasons
that people tend to blame
others for their problems?
Freedom and Responsibility



We are free to choose among alternatives
We are responsible for our lives, for our action,
and for our failure to take action.
Blaming others for their problems-- Recognize how they allowed others to decide
for them and the price they pay
 Encourage them to consider the alternative
options
Striving for Identity

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

Struggling with our identity:
 Challenging clients---in what ways that they
have lost touch with they identity and letting
others to design their life.
Question?

How do you work through a
sense of “no self” and feeling
alone?
Relationship to others


Aloneness
 We are alone---So, we must give a sense of
meaning to life, decide how we will live, have
a relationship with ourselves, and learn to
listen to ourselves.
Relatedness
 We need to create a close relationship with
others
 Challenging clients----What they get from
they relationship? How they avoid close
relationship?
Question

What is the meaning or purpose of your
life?


What do you want from life?
Where is the source of meaning for you in
life?
The Search for Meaning



Therapists trust is important in teaching
clients to trust their own capacity to find
their way of being.
Meaninglessness in life leads to emptiness
and hollowness (existential vacuum)
Finding meaning in life is a by-product of
engagement, which is a commitment to
creating, loving, working, and building.
Question

What is the positive motivation
of being anxious?
Anxiety – A Condition of Living


Anxiety arises from one’s strivings to survive.
Existential anxiety is normal




an outcome of being confronted with the four given
of existence: death, freedom, existential isolation,
and meaninglessness.
Recognize existential anxiety and find ways to deal
with it constructively.
Anxiety can be a stimulus for growth as we become
aware of and accept our freedom
If we have the courage to face ourselves and life we
may be frightened, but we will be able to change
Question

If you only have 30 days left,
what’s your feelings? What will
you do?
Awareness of Death

Death provides the motivation for us
to live our lives fully and take
advantage of each opportunity to do
something meaningful.
Therapeutic Goals




To expand self-awareness
To increase potential choices
To help client accept the responsibility for
their choice
To help the client experience authentic
existence
Therapist’s Function and Role



Understand the client’s subjective world
Encourage clients to accept personal
responsibility
When clients blame others, therapist is
likely to ask them how they contributed to
their situation.
Client’s Experience in Therapy

They are challenged to take responsibility for
how they now choose to be, decide how they
want to be different, and take actions.

Major themes in therapy sessions are anxiety,
freedom and responsibility, isolation, death, and
the search for meaning.

Assist client in facing life with courage, hope,
and a willingness to find meaning in life.
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 world
The core of the therapeutic relationship


Respect and faith in the clients’ potential to cope and
discover alternative ways of being
Therapists share their reactions to clients with
genuine concern and empathy as one way of
deepening the therapeutic relationship.
Therapeutic techniques and
procedures




It is not technique-oriented
The interventions are based on philosophical
views about the nature of human existence.
Free for draw techniques from other orientations
The use of therapist self is the core of therapy
Questions

Which populations is existential therapy
particularly useful?

Which issues is existential therapy
particularly useful?
Areas of Application

Grief work, facing a significant
decision, developmental crisis, coping
with failures in marriage and work,
dealing with physical limitations due
to age……
From a multicultural perspective

Contributions




Applicable to diverse clients to search for
meaning for life
Be able to examine the behavior is influenced
by social and cultural factors.
Help clients to weigh the alternatives and
consequences.
Change external environment and recognize
how they contribute
From a multicultural perspective

Limitations





Excessively individualistic
Ignore social factors that cause human problems
Even if clients change internally, they see little hope
the external realities of racism or discrimination will
change
For many cultures, it is not possible to talk about self
and self-determination apart from the context of the
social network
Many clients expect a structured and problemoriented approach instead of discussion of
philosophical questions.
Summary and Evaluation

Contributions




Stress self-determination accepting the personal
responsibility along with freedom
View oneself as the author of one’s life
Understand the value of anxiety and guilty, the
positive meaning of death, the positive aspects of
being alone and choosing for oneself
Enable clients to examine how their behavior is being
influenced by social and cultural conditioning.
Summary and Evaluation

Limitations
 Lacks of a systemic principles and
practice for therapy


No empirical research validation yet
Limited to apply to lower-functioning clients,
clients who need directions, are concerned
about meeting basic needs, and lack of verbal
skills
Case 1

I find myself terrified when I am alone. I
need people around me constantly, and if
I’m forced to be alone, then I run from
myself by watching TV. I’d like to learn
how to be alone and feel comfortable about
it.


What are the issues?
What can you do to help this client?
Case 2

I feel like my existence does not matter to
anyone. If I were to die today, I fully
believe that it wouldn’t make a difference
to anyone.


What are the issues?
What can you do to help this client?
Case 3

I rarely feel close to another person. While
I want this closeness, I am frightened of
being rejected. Instead of letting anyone get
close to me, I build walls that keep them
removed. What can I do to lessen my fear
of being rejected?


What are the issues?
What can you do to help this client?
Questions

Please discuss at least three questions to
ask speakers regarding the career issues in
social work, private practice, counseling,
and family and marriage?