Chapter 6

Question 1

Describe Existential Therapy.

Answer 1

Style of therapy that places emphasis on the human condition as a whole; death , sense of meaning, freedom & self-determination, anxiety & aloneness; phenomenology.

Question 2

Name some key figures of existential therapy.

Answer 2

Rollo May, Viktor Frankl, Irvin Yalom, James Bugenthal, Boss, Binswager

Question 3

Name three key concepts of existential therapy.

Answer 3

Anxiety, Freedom, and values/ meaning.

Question 4

What is the importance of anxiety?

Answer 4

Anxiety is a basic ingredient of vitality. It provides the energy we need to tackle challenges. Having a healthy amount of anxiety is the key to living a meaningful life.

Question 5

What is the importance of freedom?

Answer 5

We are ultimately free to change things in our lives and are responsible for what we make of our lives. We must learn our limitations in order to fully understand our possibilities.

Question 6

What are the importance of values and meaning?

Answer 6

We develop meaning and values through facing loss and our own mortality. Suffering, creativity, and enjoyment as different ways to discover meaning in life.

Question 7

Describe a technique used from the existential approach.

Answer 7

Existential therapists use phenomenological methods based in dialogue with the client. The emphasis is on the meaning assigned by the client rather than the interpretation of the therapist.

Question 8

What is one art therapy intervention?

Answer 8

Bruce Moon’s Dream-work art therapy. Meaning is assigned based on client’s interpretation of the visual representation of the dream.