Chapter 6: Existential Theory Flashcards
Existential therapy
way of thinking, or an attitude about psychotherapy that explores themes such as mortality, meaning, freedom, responsibility, anxiety, and alines
We are the author of our lives, we design the paths we follow
Basic existential premise
we are not victims of circumstance because we are what we choose to be
Viktok Frankl
was a prisoner in Nazi camps, which influenced his beliefs
believed everything can be taken from a person except “our ability to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance”
logo therapy
developed by Frankl
means therapy through meaning
Frankl main themes
life has meaning under all circumstances
the central motivation for living is the will to meaning
we have the freedom to find meaning in all what we think
must integrate body, mind, and spirit, to be fully alive
Rollo May
his writings have had a significant impact on existential concepts into psychotherapeutic practice in the US and Europe
Irvin Yalom
developed an existential approach to psychotherapy that addresses 4 “givens of existence”
4 “givens of existence”
freedom and responsibility
existential isolation
meaninglessness
death
Major figures of existentialism and existential phenomenology
Søren Kierkegaard
Friedrich Nietzsche
Martin Heidegger
Jean-Paul Sartre
Martin Buber
From Kierkegaard
creative anxiety
despair
fear and dread
guilt
nothingness
from Nietzsche
death
suicide
will
From Heidegger
authentic being, caring, death, guilt, individual responsibility
and isolation
From Sartre
meaninglessness
responsibility
choice
From Buber
interpersonal relationships, I/Thou perspective in therapy,
self-transcendence
Søren Kierkegaard
concerned with angst
believed anxiety is the school in which we are educated to be a self
angst
danish and German
meaning is dread and anxiety
Friedrich Nietzsche
believed humans are irrational
humans are creatures of will than impersonal intellects
believes if we give free rein to out will to power, we will tap into our potentially for creativity and originality
Martin Heidegger
phenomenological existentialist; believed we live in the world and not apart from it.
we are thrown into the world
moods and feelings regarding anxiety and death indicate if we are living authentically or in-authentically,
phenomenological existentialism
provides a view of human history that does not focus on past, but looking forward to authentic experiences that are yet to come
Martin Buber
believes humans live in a kind of betweenness
not just an “I” but also an “other”.
Buber’s three functions of presence
it enables true I/Thou relationships
it allows for meaning to exist in a situation
it enables on individual to be responsible in here and now
Ludwig Binswanger
proposed holistic model of self that addresses the relationship between the person and their environment
Binswanger existential analysis
emphasizes the subjective and spiritual dimensions of human existence
Medard Boss
focused on dasein (being in the world)
main focus was applying Heidegger philosophical notions into therapeutic practice
Boss’s dasein
being in the world
pertains to out ability to reflect on life events and attribute meanings to them
Jean-Paul Sartre
believes humans are even more that earlier existentialists beliefs
believed failure to acknowledge our freedom and choices results in emotional problems
Key figures in contemporary existential psychotherapy
viktor frankl
rollo may
Irvin Yalom ‘
James Bugental
James Bugental
wrote about life-changing psychotherapy
coined the term “existential-humanistic” psychotherapy
emphasized the distinction between therapeutic process and content
life-changing psychotherapy
the effort to help clients examine how they have answered life’s existential questions and to invite them to revise their answers
believes therapists primary task is to help client discover new things about themselves
Bugental’s resistence
central to his approach
when client is not fully present both during therapy and life
part of the self-and-world construct
self-and-world construct
how we understand out being and relationship to world at large
forms of resistance
intellectualizing
being argumentative
always seeking to please
Bugentals (1987) classic text The Art of the Psychotherapist
recognized for deconstructing the therapy process and moving beyond theory to show the moment-to-moment in therapeutic encounter
Emmy van Deurzen
key contributor to British existential psychology
states that existential therapy is not designed to cure people in the tradition of the medical model because people are not sick, but sick of life
The existential movement
no set of techniques
stands for respect for the person, exploring new aspects of human behavior, and for divergent methods of understanding people.
existential tradition
seeks a balance between recognizing the limits and tragic dimensions of human existence on one hand and the possibilities/oppurtanities of human life on other
the existential view of human nature
significance of our existence is never fixed; we are constantly re-creating ourselves
the basic dimensions of human condition according to the existential approach
1.the capacity for self-awareness
2. freedom and responsibility
3. creating ones identity and establishing meaningful relationships with others
4.the search for meaning, purpose, values, and goals
5. anxiety as a condition of living
6. awareness of death and nonbeing
self-awareness
freedom, choice, and responsibility are the foundation
expand awareness by
- we are finite and do not have unlimited time to do as we like
- we have potential to take action or not
- who choose our actions and can create our own destiny
- meaning is the product of discovering how we are thrown into the world and commit to living creatively
- as we increase our awareness, we increase sense of responsibility of consequences of choices
- we are subject to loneliness, meaningless, guilt, etc.
- we are basically alone, but have opportunity to relate to others
areas of emerging awareness people experience in therapy
They see how they are trading the security of dependence for the anxieties that accompany choosing for themselves.
They begin to see that their identity is anchored in someone else’s definition of them; that is, they are seeking approval
and confirmation of their being in others instead of looking to themselves for affirmation.
They learn that in many ways they are keeping themselves prisoner by some of their past decisions, and they realize that they can make new decisions.
They learn that although they cannot change certain events in their lives they can change the way they view and react to these
events.
They learn that they are not condemned to a future similar to the past, for they can learn from their past and thereby reshape
their future.
They realize that they are so preoccupied with suffering, death, and dying that they are not appreciating living.
They are able to accept their limitations yet still feel worthwhile, for they understand that they do not need to be perfect to feel worthy.
They come to realize that they are failing to live in the present moment because of preoccupation with the past, planning for the future, or trying to do too many things at once.
Schneider and Krug three values of existential therapy
the freedom to become within the context of natural and self-imposed limitations
the capacity to reflect on the meaning of our choices
the capacity to act on the choices we make
inauthenticity
a concept that we long for freedom, but escape it by defining ourselves as fixed and not accepting personal responsibility
freedom
we are responsible for our lives, our actions, and our failures to take action
existential guilt
being aware of having evaded a commitment or choosing not to choose.
grows out of sense of incompleteness.
can be powerful source of motivation to reach our potential.
authenticity
implies that we are living by being true to our own evaluation of what is a valuable existence for ourselves
courage to be who you are
therapists regarding freedom
assists clients in discovering how they are avoiding freedom and encourages them to learn to risk using it
two central tasks of the therapist
invite clients to recognize how they allowed people to decide for them
encourage clients to take steps toward choosing for themselves
although our freedom to act is limited by external reality…
our freedom to be relates to our internal reality
Striving for identity and relationship to others (3)
the courage to be
the experience of aloneness
the experience of relatedness
struggling with our identity
the courage to be
entails the will to move forward in spite of anxiety-producing situations, such as facing our death
the experience of aloneness
part of the human condition
strength can be derived from the experience of looking to ourselves and sensing our separation
sense of loneliness comes when we realize we cannot depend on others for our confirmation/meaning of life
the experience of relatedness
humans have an innate want to connect with others
intersubjectivity
the fact of our interrelatedness with others and the need for us to struggle with this in a creative way
struggling with out identity
due to dealing with aloneness, we may get stuck in behavior patterns we acquired during childhood
the search for meaning
problems of discarding old values: discard old ones without creating new ones
meaninglessness: a lack of this can be major source of existential stress and anxiety; clients find there is no reason on living
creating new meaning: logo therapy
existential neurosis
the experience of meaninglessness
existential vacuum
feelings of emptiness and hollowness caused by meaninglessness in life
creating new meaning
therapists helps client identify and connect with potential sources of meaning in their lives
therapists believe that human suffering can be turned into human achievement by the stand clients take when faced with it
meaning in life
Clara hill
universal concern that often underlines presenting problems that individuals bring to therapy (depression, anxiety, etc.)
therapist assists in helping clients decide whether they want to achieve more meaning in life and how
anxiety
arises from one’s personal strivings to survive and to maintain and assert one’s being
inevitable aspect of human condition
existential anxiety
the unavoidable result of being confronted with the givens of existence
evens of existence
death
freedom
choice
isolation
meaninglessness
two types of anxiety for existential therapists
Normal and neurotic
normal anxiety
an appropriate response to n event being faced
ex: accepting freedom, facing morality, searching for meaning, etc.
this kind of anxiety can be motivation for change
neurotic anxiety
failure to move through anxiety results
anxiety about concrete things that is out of proportion to the situation
typically out of awareness and immobilizes person
being healthy means having as little from this as possible
awareness of death and non being
not viewed negatively, but significant to living
death provides the motivation for us to appreciate the present moment
therapeutic goals
4 essential aims:
1. to help clients become more present to both themselves and others
2. to assist clients in identifying ways they block themselves from fuller presence
3. to challenge clients to assume responsibility for designing their present lives
4. to encourage clients to choose more expanded ways of being in their daily lives.
increased awareness is the central goal of existential therapy, which allows clients to discover alternative possibilities exist.
therapist’s function and role
concerned with understanding the subjective world of clients to help them come to new understandings and options
concerned with clients avoiding responsibility
restricted existence
clients that have limited awareness of themselves and are often vague about nature of their problems
client experience in therapy
rather than solving problems, the aim is toward removing roadblocks to meaningful living and helping clients assume responsibilities for their actions,
two fundamental relationships of understanding self
I/it
I/Thou
I/it
the relation to time and space, starting place for the self
I/Thou
the relationship essential for connecting the self to the spirit to achieve true dialogue
therapist and client relationship fits here
therapeutic relationship
respect and faith in client
presence
therapeutic techniques and procedures
there are no set techniques
be create and create interventions that explore existence (based on philosophical views)
practitioners prefer description, understanding and exploration of clients subjective reality
effective of therapy dependent
on relationship between client and therapist
phases of existential counseling
initial phase: assist clients in identifying and clarifying their assumptions about the world
middle phase: clients are assisted in more fully examining the source and authority of their present value system; leads to new insights
final phase: focuses on helping people take what they learn about themselves and put it into action
application to brief therapy
focus clients on assuming personal responsibility, making a commitment to deciding and acting, and expanding their awareness of their current situation
application to school counseling
- emphasis and built the counselor-client relationship
Roll May stages of existential development
innocence
rebellion
decision
ordinary
creative
