Chance to Excel 2 Flashcards
Goals of Existential Therapy
- aid client in dealing with life conditions (death, isolation, meaninglessness)
- find value, meaning and purpose
- develop awareness
- confront fears and anxieties
- become aware of freedom to aid in self-actualization
Strengths of Existential Therapy
- highly relevant in working in a multicultural context
- invites clients to examine the degree to which their behavior is being influenced by social and cultural conditioning
Limitations of Existential Therapy
- may not work for all cultures (collectivistic)
- may not account for real-life limitations for oppressed
- very indirect, which may be off-putting for some
- no specific techniques, making treatments hard to standardize
- very individualistic; ignores social factors that cause human problems
Philosophical Approach Existential Therapy
- phenomenological
- humans are in a constant state of transition, evolving, and becoming
- clients are searching for meaning in their subjective worlds
- purpose, death, freedom, isolation, meaning
4 givens of existence
death, freedom, isolation, meaninglessness
inevitability of death
- the realization that death is an outcome for everyone
- the fear of non-existence can make life seem pointless
meaninglessness
- only certainties in life are birth and death
- lack of meaning in life can create a sense of hopelessness, despair, and emptiness
isolation
we are ultimately alone; everyone experiences feelings of alienation and loneliness; lacking true connection with others
Anxiety (Existential)
- is an unavoidable result of being confronted with the “givens of existence”
- part of living with awareness and being fully alive
View of Diagnosis (Existential)
opposed to diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis
“Aloneness”
the sense of isolation comes when we recognize that we can’t depend on anyone else for our own confirmation; we alone must give a sense of meaning to life
Logotherapy
- designed to help clients find meaning in life
- human suffering (the tragic and negative aspects of life) can be turned into human achievement by the stand an individual takes when face with it
Freedom
- we have the ability and responsibility to make choices to lead a more purposeful life with the limited time that we have
Goals of P.C. Therapy
to assist clients in achieving a greater degree of independence and integration so they can better cope with problems as they identify them
Strengths of P.C
- good multicultural application