PSY 245
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY-II
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. BAHAR BAŞTUĞ
• Clinical Psychologist
Existential Theory and Therapy
Welcome
• Today we’ll be focusing on existential theory
and practice.
• This approach is very much about philosophy
and meaning.
• The nature of existential therapy is creative,
non-linear and meaning-focused.
• Frankl (1969) noted:
“. . . man also only returns to himself, to being
concerned with his self, after he has missed
his mission, has failed to find meaning in life
(p. 9).
Psychoanalysis evolved primarily from
medical practice with disturbed patients.
Behavior therapy arose from experimental
psychological research. Person-centered
therapy and individual psychology have
roots in clinical practice.
Existential approaches are more directly and
deeply linked to philosophy.
• Humans face inevitable conditions, such as
death, responsibility, freedom and purpose.
This therapy approach focuses on these
conditions.
• Existentialists avoid scientific research, they
believe that the scientific research is
unauthentic.
• They practice therapy with individuals,
couples, families, & groups. Their
philosophical perspective guides them.
Key Figures and Historical Context
• The roots of existential philosophical thought
are diverse.
• Majors players in the early formulation of
existentialism are 19th century philosophers,:
• Soren Kierkegaard (1813–1855)
• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
Soren Kierkegaard
The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard lived in
Copenhagen. He was hard religious. For
him, traits, such as responsibility,
honesty,and commitment are subjective
choices.
Kierkegaard did not describe himself as an
existentialist, but his work is seen as
pioneer to the existential philosophical
movement, which formally began some 70
years following his death.
Freidrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
Freidrich Nietzsche
The German philosopher Freidrich Nietzsche
had negative feelings toward Christianity. He
coined the phrase “God is dead.” in his book
Thus Spake Zarathustra.
He believed that individuals should channel
their passions into creative, joyful acitivities,
instead of following a religion.
• Yalom combines
existential principles
into a fictional
encounter between
Freud, Nietzsche and
Breuer.
Learning from Dialectics
• There is a paradox or dialectic within
existential thinking.
• Theist X Atheist
• Fritz Perls: «every psychological
phenomenon... is experienced as a polarity.»
• Hegel: human reasoning and ideas develop by
a dialectical process. thesis, antithesis,
synthesis
• Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy
involves a direct application of Hegel’s
dialectic. «I accept you as you are and I’m
helping you to change.»
• THE GOAL OF EXISTENTIAL THERAPY IS TO
HELP THE CLIENT DISCOVER AND EXPLORE
THE AUTHENTIC SELF.
• Humans naturally create polarities.
• These polarities generate conflict.
• There is a potential for synthesis and
intellectual development.
• Some traditional theorists emphasize the
centrality of the self, postmodern
perspectives don’t emphasize the self.
• We learn from both perspectives, develop a
more balanced view of self.
• Beyond Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, the works
of Pascal, Husserl, Vaihinger, Sartre,
Heidegger, Jaspers, and Marcel were useful in
popularizing existential perspectives.
• Zeitgeist: after World War I & II, holocaust of
Jewish, key terms of existentialism
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 –1980)
Sartre claimed “Freedom is existence, and in its
existence precedes essence” and “Man’s
essence is his existence”. ?????
“Freedom is existence, and in its existence
precedes essence”
• There are no absolute or essential truths
(essences), but we as individual human
beings create our own truth and reality.
• Adler and Vaihinger’s concepts of life style,
fictional finalism and «acting as if» are
consistent with this statement.
• Each individual constructs his or her reality.
“Man’s essence is his existence”.
• Humans contain no permanent elements.
• To reinvent yourself
• Existentialism emphasize personal choice,
personal responsibility and personal
consciousness. If humans construct their
own reality and are continuously capable of
self-reinvention, all behavior is owned by
the individual.
• Sartre: «I’m my choices.»
• Existentialism is antideterministic.
• Existentialism XXX Freud and behaviorists
• If you suggest to existentialists that human
behavior is determined by particular factors,
events, or mental processes, they are likely
to react. Existentialists reject the
proposition that humans are enslaved by
Freudian unconscious, instinctual drives,
and they reject environmental stimulusresponse determinants.
• They state individual choice and human freedom, in
place of instinctual or environmental causes of
behavior.
• The past doesn’t determine the future. Our choices
in this moment determine the now. Our choices in
the next moment determine that moment.
VIKTOR FRANKL (1905-1997)
He was born to a Jewish
family in Vienna. In 1944,he
and his family were sent to a
concentration camp. He
worked there as a
psychiatrist. His father,
mother and wife died in the
camp. He was released from
the camp in 1945.
«Man’s Search for Meaning, 1963»
young Viktor Frankl joined
Adler.
Logotherapy focused on helping
clients find meaning.
“The striving to find a meaning in
one’s life is the primary
motivational force. He who has
a why to live can bear with
almost any how.”
Rollo May (1909-1994)
May introduced and integrated
existential thought into
American psychotherapy.
He was a missionary teacher in
Greece for 3 years. During
that time, he took some
seminars from Adler in
Vienna.
He gave up the life of a priest and studied
clinical psychology. He suffered from
tuberculosis. May was granted a doctoral
degree with his dissertation, The Meaning of
Anxiety, argued that anxiety was an essential
component of the human condition.
The Courage to Create
• More contemporary key
figure:
– Irvin Yalom (1931– )
Theoretical Principles
There is no single theorist. The existential theory of
psychotherapy is based on existential philosophy
and phenomenology. Principles of existential
therapy:
• The I-Am Experience
• Four Existential Ways of Being
• The Daimonic
• The Nature of Anxiety
• Normal and Neurotic Guilt
The I-Am Experience (May)
is the experience of being, of existing. This is also
referred to as the ontological experience.A major
focus consists of exploring the immediate individual
human experience.
Boss and Binswanger used Dasein (being in the world)
to describe the sense-of-existence. ‘‘Dasein
choosing,’’ is also used to describe the-person-whois-responsible-for-his-existence choosing.
• Existential therapy is in the service of selfawareness or self-discovery XXXXFreud’s
interpreting client unconscious processes.
Theoretical Principles
• Four Existential Ways of Being-in-the-world.
Boss, Binswanger and May described:
1. Umwelt: Being with nature or the physical world.
2. Mitwelt: Being with others or the social world.
3. Eigenwelt: Being with oneself or the world of the
self.
van Deurzen described:
4. Uberwelt: Being with the spiritual or over world.
• Some people focus more on one dimension
than others, shift from one to another related
to the situations.
The Daimonic
For May, “The daimonic is any natural function which
has the power to take over the whole person”.
The daimonic includes both positive and negative
potential. It is a form of psychic energy or an urge
that is the source of both constructive and
destructive impulses, similar to Jung’s general
conception of libido.
Jung emphasized the integration of the shadow
archetype, May considers the integration of the
daimonic to be a main task in psychotherapy.
Integrating the biological and natural daimonic
urge maximizes creative behavior.
The Nature of Anxiety
Anxiety leads authenticity and freedom. May
conceptualized anxiety as a good thing.
May emphasized that anxiety was a normal
byproduct of human existence.
We should explore it, experience it, engage it, and
redirect it into constructive activities—we should
not avoid it.
two types of anxiety:
- normal anxiety
- neurotic anxiety.
Normal anxiety is proportional to the
situation. It is within our awareness and
can be used creatively.
Neurotic anxiety is disproportionate to the
situation; it is usually repressed, denied, or
avoided, and is not used for creative or
constructive purposes. It is destructive.
THE GOAL OF EXISTENTIAL TREATMENT IS NOT TO DO
AWAY WITH ANXIETY, BUT TO REDUCE NEUROTIC
ANXIETY.
This is achived by helping clients live with and cope
effectively and creatively with the normal anxiety
that accompanies existence.
Normal and Neurotic Guilt
Guilt has positive and negative qualities. Guilt
inspires people to act in thoughtful and
conscientious ways.
Normal guilt is like a sensor: When
functioning well, it alerts us to what’s
correct and guides us toward morally
acceptable behavior.
• PSYCHOPATHOLOGY ARISES FROM NEUROTIC
GUILT. Neurotic guilt usually consists of an
exaggerated, or minimized version of normal
guilt. Neurotic guilt doesn’t serve a productive
purpose.
Existential Psychodynamics
Like psychoanalists, existentialists believe that
humans are in intrapsychic conflict with
powerful forces. The existential therapist
helps clients face «existential
psychodynamics» or “ultimate concerns”
of existence.
These ultimate concerns cause anxiety.
Yalom describes four ultimate concerns relevant
to psychotherapy.
•
•
•
•
Death
Freedom
Isolation
Meaninglessness
Death
Yalom outlines two therapy-relevant
propositions about death:
1) He emphasizes that death and life exist
simultaneously. We can not ignore the
possibility of death. Death is knowable and
unknowable. We will die; it is only a
question of when, where, and how. Death
is part of the reality of life.
2) Yalom claims that death is a “primal source of
anxiety” and is the main source of
psychopathology. For anyone who has directly
faced death, the potential influence of death
anxiety is obvious.
The purpose of facing death is to experience life
more deeply and fully.