CHAPTER 6 EXISTENTIAL THERAPY Flashcards
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.
Angst
A condition that results from having to
face choices without clear guidelines and without
knowing what the outcome will be.
Anxiety
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
Freedom
A philosophical movement
stressing individual responsibility for creating
one’s ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
Existentialism
A condition of emptiness
and hollowness that results from meaninglessness
in life.
Existential vacuum
Seeks a balance between
recognizing the limits and the tragic dimensions
of human existence and the possibilities and opportunities
of human life.
Existential tradition
Feelings of despair and
anxiety that result from inauthentic living, a failure
to make choices, and avoidance of responsibility.
Existential neurosis
The result of, or the consciousness
of, evading the commitment to choosing
for ourselves.
Existential guilt
An outcome of being confronted
with the four givens of existence: death,
freedom, existential isolation, and meaninglessness.
Existential anxiety
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.
Existential analysis (dasein analyse) The emphasis
of this therapy approach is on the subjective
and spiritual dimensions of human existence.
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.
Existential analysis (dasein analyse) The emphasis
of this therapy approach is on the subjective
and spiritual dimensions of human existence.
Authenticity
Core or universal
themes in the therapeutic process: death, freedom,
existential isolation, and meaninglessness.
Inauthenticity Lacking awareness of personal
responsibility and passively assuming that our
existence is largely controlled by external forces.
“Givens of existence”
The fact of our interrelatedness
with others and the need for us to struggle
with this in a creative way.
Intersubjectivity
A state of functioning
with a limited degree of awareness of oneself and
being vague about the nature of one’s problems.
Self-awareness The capacity for consciousness
that enables us to make choices.
Restricted existence
From an existential-humanistic
perspective, resistance manifests as a failure to
be fully present both during the therapy hour
and in life.
Resistance
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.
Presence
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.
Phenomenology
An appropriate response to an
event being faced.
Normal anxiety
Developed by Frankl, this brand
of existential therapy literally means “healing
through reason.” It focuses on challenging clients
to search for meaning in life.
Logotherapy
A response out of proportion
to the situation. It is typically out of awareness
and tends to immobilize the person.
Neurotic anxiety
T F 1. The key concepts of the existential
approach can be integrated into
most therapeutic approaches.
t
T F 2. Existential therapists show wide
latitude in the techniques they
employ.
t
T F 3. According to Sartre, existential guilt
is the consciousness of evading commitment
to choose for ourselves.
t
T F 4. Existentialists maintain that our experience
of aloneness is a result of
our making inappropriate choices.
f
T F 5. Techniques are secondary in the
therapeutic process, and a subjective
understanding of the client is
primary.
t
T F 6. To its credit, existential therapy is
compatible with the trend toward
evidence-based practice.
f
T F 7. Part of the human condition is that
humans are both free and responsible.
t
T F 8. Anxiety is best considered as a neurotic
manifestation; thus, the principal
aim of therapy is to eliminate anxiety.
f
T F 9. Emmy van Deurzen has made signifi cant contributions to the development of existential therapy in the United Kingdom through her writing and teaching.
t
T F 10. The existential approach is a reaction
against both psychoanalysis
and behaviorism
t
11. Who is the person who developed logotherapy? a. Emmy van Deurzen b. Rollo May c. Irvin Yalom d. James Bugental e. Victor Frankl
e
- Which is not a key concept of existential
therapy?
a. It is based on a personal relationship
between client and therapist.
b. It stresses personal freedom in
deciding one’s fate.
c. It places primary value on selfawareness.
d. It is based on a well-defi ned set
of techniques and procedures.
d
13. One function of the existential therapist is to a. develop a specifi c treatment plan that can be objectively appraised. b. challenge the client’s irrational beliefs. c. understand the client’s subjective world. d. explore the client’s past history in detail. e. assist the client in working through transference.
c
14. According to the existential view, anxiety is a a. result of repressed sexuality. b. part of the human condition. c. neurotic symptom that needs to be cured. d. result of faulty learning.
b
15. Resistance is seen as part of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_: how a person understands his or her being and relationship to the world at large. a. the existential vacuum b. authenticity c. the world-at-large concept d. social interest e. the self-and-world construct
e
- What is the most crucial quality of a
therapist in building an effective therapeutic
relationship with a client?
a. the therapist’s knowledge of
theory
b. the therapist’s skill in using techniques
c. the therapist’s ability to diagnose
accurately
d. the therapist’s authenticity
e. the therapist’s application of
evidence-based practices
d
17. Who is the person who was the main American spokesperson of European existential thinking as it is applied to psychotherapy? a. Rollo May b. Erik Erikson c. Rudolf Dreikurs d. Carl Jung
a
18. Guilt and anxiety are viewed by existential therapists as a. behaviors that are unrealistic. b. the result of traumatic situations in childhood. c. conditions that should be removed or cured. d. all of the above. e. none of the above.
e
- The existential approach is based on
a. specifi c behaviors that can be
assessed.
b. a scientifi c orientation.
c. a teaching–learning model that
stresses the didactic aspects of
therapy.
d. the philosophical concern with
what it means to be fully human.
e. a manualized approach to
treatment.
d
- Existential therapy is basically
a. a behavioral approach.
b. a cognitive approach.
c. an experiential and relational
approach.
d. an evidence-based approach.
e. a recent development of the
psychoanalytic model.
c
21. Existential therapy places emphasis on a. fi nding solutions to well-defi ned problems. b. the quality of the client–therapist relationship. c. teaching clients cognitive and behavioral coping skills. d. uncovering early childhood traumatic events. e. working through unconscious confl icts.
b
22. The central theme running through the works of Viktor Frankl is a. that freedom is a myth. b. the will to meaning. c. overcoming our inferiority complex through striving for superiority. d. the importance of understanding one’s family of origin. e. being thrown into the universe without purpose.
b
23. The existential therapist would probably agree that a. aloneness is a sign of detachment. b. aloneness is a condition that needs to be cured. c. ultimately we are alone. d. we are alone unless we have a religious faith. e. we are alone if we are not loved by others.
c
24. The existential “givens of life” include all of the following except a. death. b. taxes. c. freedom. d. existential isolation. e. meaninglessness.
b
25. Which of the following is a limitation of the existential approach in working with culturally diverse client populations? a. the focus on understanding and accepting the client b. the focus on fi nding meaning in one’s life c. the focus on death as a catalyst to living fully d. the focus on one’s own responsibility rather than on changing social conditions e. the focus on the I/Thou relationship
d
