Chapter 6- Existential Flashcards
logotherapy
Developed by Frankl, this brand of existential therapy literally means “healing through reason.” It focuses on challenging clients to search for meaning in life.
givens of existence
Core or universal themes in the therapeutic process: death, freedom, existential isolation, and meaninglessness.
existentialism
A philosophical movement stressing individual responsibility for creating one’s ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
- The goal of existential therapy is to assist clients in an exploration of their existence – the “givens of life”
- Existentialism strives to help clients define the nature of human existence
- Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Buber, Binswanger, Boss
angst
A Danish and German word whose meaning lies between the English words dread and anxiety. This term refers to the uncertainty in life and the role of anxiety in making decisions about how we want to live.
anxiety
A condition that results from having to face choices without clear guidelines and without knowing what the outcome will be.
presence
Both a condition and goal of therapeutic change, which serves the dual functions of reconnecting people to their pain and attuning them to the opportunities to transform their pain.
Existential analysis (Daseinanalysis)
The emphasis of this therapy approach is on the subjective and spiritual dimensions of human existence.
existential tradition
Seeks a balance between recognizing the limits and the tragic dimensions of human existence and the possibilities and opportunities of human life.
self-awareness
The capacity for consciousness that enables us to make choices.
inauthenticity
Lacking awareness of personal responsibility and passively assuming that our existence is largely controlled by external forces.
Freedom
An inescapable aspect of the human condition; we are the authors of our lives and therefore are responsible for our destiny and accountable for our actions.
Existential guilt
The result of, or the consciousness of, evading the commitment to choosing for ourselves.
Authenticity
The process of creating, discovering, or maintaining the core deep within one’s being; the process of becoming the person one is capable of becoming.
intersubjectivity
The fact of our interrelatedness with others and the need for us to struggle with this in a creative way.
existential neurosis
Feelings of despair and anxiety that result from inauthentic living, a failure to make choices, and avoidance of responsibility.
existential vacuum
A condition of emptiness and hollowness that results from meaninglessness in life
Existential anxiety
An outcome of being confronted with the four givens of existence: death, freedom, existential isolation, and meaninglessness.
Normal anxiety
An appropriate response to an event being faced.
neurotic anxiety
A response out of proportion to the situation. It is typically out of awareness and tends to immobilize the person.
restricted existence
A state of functioning with a limited degree of awareness of oneself and being vague about the nature of one’s problems.
phenomenology
phenomenology
A method of exploration that uses subjective human experiencing as its focus. The phenomenological approach is a part of the fabric of existentially oriented therapies, Adlerian therapy, person-centered therapy, Gestalt therapy, and reality therapy
Reflection
- Reflection is a commonly used counselling technique, but it is often used incorrectly when people simply repeat what the person has said to them.
- Reflection requires understanding a person’s feelings, hearing their messages, and reflecting deeper meanings they are attempting to communicate
Immediacy
‘the key skill of focusing attention on the here and now relationship of counsellor and client [person] with helpful timing, to challenge defensiveness and/or heighten awareness’.
- It is an advanced technique used ‘in the moment’ to point out how you are interpreting a client’s [person’s] actions or behaviour.
- It must be used carefully, sensitively, and timely or it can cause harm in the counselling relationship.
- Example: I notice when we talk about your mother, you seem to get quite agitated or uncomfortable with the discussion
Basic Beliefs
- We are free (unlike determinism of traditional theories of unconscious and past experiences)
- We are free to choose how we respond to events
- We are responsible for ourselves, and we design the pathways we follow
- We are not victims of circumstances (bad faith)
- Our values are what we choose
- Our existence is never fixed or finished
- Clients are not sick (but may be sick of life)
Existential Counselling
* 6 key propositions:
Capacity for self-awareness
We are free and must accept this
We must preserve our uniqueness and come to know us as who we are – not how others see us - but rather, how we interact with others
Our meaning of life is never fixed
Anxiety is part of the human condition
Death is part of the human condition
central concerns of a person’s existence:
- Death
- Freedom
- Isolation
*Meaninglessness
- Key theme
– our existence is never ‘fixed’.
* We are the authors of our lives – we can reconstruct our lives.
* Counselors challenge us to accept our aloneness and create meaning in our life.
* Anxiety is a part of life as we recognize our mortality and pain and suffering.
* Anxiety can be used as the motivation to change.
Goals of Existential Counselling
- Help clients recognize the ways in which they are not living fully authentic lives and to make choices that will lead to their becoming what they are capable of being.
- recognize factors that block freedom
- challenge clients to see how they might be responsible for their problems (their cognitions) rather than - this is happening to me.
- widen perspectives on choice
- accept the freedom and responsibility that go along with taking action
