Existential

Question 1

Humanistic-existential theory is ______ in nature. What does this mean?

Answer 1

• phenomenological
• valuing personal experience and subjectivity
• doesn’t discount the objective, but focuses on the limits of objectivity
• objective knowledge is only part of the piccture

Question 2

Basic tenant of humanistic existential theory.

Answer 2

• “here and now”
• past is important, but can’t forget the present
• commitment to understanding, processing, and valuing therapeutic relationship

Question 3

How does humanistic-existential view therapeutic relationship?

Answer 3

• a real relationship under unique constraints, boundaries, and contexts.
• focus on the real in the relationship in addition to the transference/countertransference patterns.

Question 4

Humanistic-existential also values self-awareness. What’s unique from this approach?

Answer 4

• Self-awareness in the more general sense refers to an understanding of the self which is primarily seen as accumulated life experience and unconscious knowledge.
• self-awareness is also deeply concerned with the human condition and how this impacts the individual self.

Question 5

This approach also values the basic goodness in people and the human potential. Describe.

Answer 5

• Part of the therapy process is understood as freeing the individual up to embrace their basic goodness and potential.
• they will be happier and satisfied with life

Question 6

Theory is based on existential belief that human beings, although social in nature are ultimately ________. Describe.

Answer 6

• alone in the world.
• This philosophical stance is supported by the biological fact that humans enter and exit this reality through a solitary experience

Question 7

authentic existence

Answer 7

• Man is responsible for Being-for his own existence, for his freedom and his choices, and ultimately for the realization of himself.
• A branch of the existential movement concerns itself specifically with psychotherapeutic aspects of this philosophy and how a greater understanding of the tenants of the human experience can lead to an enlightened individual experience.

Question 8

Kierkegaard

Answer 8

• undisputed “father of existentialism” and was most likely to use the term existence in the sense that it is currently used by existentialists (Vande Kemp, 2002).
• protested vigorously against Christian dogma and the supposed objectivity of science. He felt both we used to avoid the essential aspect of anxiety which is inherent in the human condition. He believed that ultimate truth could only be experienced subjectively by the individual in action. This entailed a constant struggle between the finite and infinite struggles of human nature as manifested in the arduous task of creating a self and ultimately finding meaning in existence.

Question 9

Sartre (1956)

Answer 9

• philosopher who applied it directly to psychotherapy, terming it existential psychoanalysis was Sartre (1956).
• heralded for the development of an existential theory of consciousness. He emphasizes that each decision creates meaning but there is also an overarching directionality to life which Sartre referred to as the fundamental project (Sartre, 1956).
• The concept of directionality is simultaneously affected by the choices one makes. It is not really a biological or social imperative in the sense of a sexual instinct or a social norm, but rather the result of choices that have been made otherwise, depicting how meaning is created by individuals.
• decisions one makes are influenced by one’s fundamental project which reflects past, present and future aspects of human existence, but ultimately rests in the potential that the future holds. The fundamental project is itself formulated out of early decisions a person makes but at the same time it has not yet been achieved and to that extent it depicts a pull towards an unformulated future (Sartre, 1956).

Question 10

Binswanger

Answer 10

• Binswanger was the first psychotherapist to specifically apply these concepts to patients in a concerted manner.
• Binswanger and Boss worked to apply Heidegger’s philosophical ideas of existence to psychiatry and psychology and in effect they elaborated upon them to increase their clinical utility (Hjertaas, 2004).
• Binswanger tried to make Heideggers ideas clinically relevant. Binswanger wrote of “Being in the world,” emphasizing the importance of factors beyond the intrapsychic, yet not ignoring the reality of the inner realm either.

Question 11

“Existential (or Dasein) Analysis” (Binswanger; date, Boss, 1963)

Answer 11

• Dasein is a terminology that refers to human existence and in a literal translation it means “being there” or more precisely being present to the moment (Hjertaas, 2004). Heidegger himself referred to the concept of Dasein as a sense of openness with the expression of caring. As he puts it “being there” is never a matter of indifference and typically involves being involved and engaged in life.
• Through the concept of Dasein, Binswanger emphasizes that existence always involves association with other people. Further he states that any desire to be solely self interested is merely an “extravagant wish” (Hjertaas, 2004).
• Binswanger as well as other existential thinkers avoided utilizing restrictive models that categorize or label people and confine them to a limited perspective of themselves and reality. Instead they look to universals that can be observed cross culturally in terms of what it means to be human in the fullest sense of the word.
• As a result there is no existential personality theory which divides humanity into type’s perspective parts.

Question 12

List the different levels of experience and existence with which individuals are inevitably confronted?

Answer 12

1. Umwelt
2. Mitwelt
3. Eigenwelt
4. Uberwelt

Question 13

Describe umwelt

Answer 13

(physical dimension) - ourselves in relation to the biological and physical aspects of our world and we translate it as being-in-nature

Question 14

Describe mitwelt

Answer 14

(social dimension) - the world of persons or the social world and we refer to it as being-with-others

Question 15

Describe eigenwelt

Answer 15

(psychological dimension) - literally means own world and refers to the way we reflect upon, relate to and experience ourselves and is expressed as being-for-oneself

Question 16

Describe uberwelt

Answer 16

Uberwelt (spiritual dimension) (Yalom, 1980; Boss, 1963) - relate to the mystery of the unknown and in effect create a sense of the ideal world, or ideology or philosophical outlook
-we find ultimate meaning in fitting all the puzzle pieces together for ourselves. Where we see beyond the threads of the tapestry that we have weaved over a lifetime to the fullness of its manifestation

Question 17

What are the contradictions and focuses in uberwelt?

Answer 17

• The contradictions that are faced on this level are related to tension between purpose and absurdity, hope and despair. People create their values in light of something that matters enough to live or die for, something that is universal and has ultimate meaning.
• FOCUS: is conquest of something that will surpass mortality. Facing the void and the possibility of nothingness are the vital counterparts of the quest for the eternal.
• FOCUS:on the prospect of accomplishing authenticity in ones life.

Question 18

What is one of the ultimate goals of existential psychotherapy?

Answer 18

• authenticity and that increasing conscious awareness becomes one of the critical processes through which people become aware of the aspects of the world and of themselves that have been closed off by lying or self-deception.
• there are better and worse ways of living and the better way is reflected in the pursuit of authenticity.

Question 19

How does one live authentically?

Answer 19

• To live authentically requires one to express oneself freely and honestly in accordance to what they are experiencing in the present.
• The ultimate goal is for the patient to move from a more egocentric perception of self and other to a more authentic interaction with and understanding of reality.
• One who assumes an inauthentic stance is no longer “becoming” but merely “being.” They have assumed a static and closed stance that prohibits movement and aspects of actualization.
• The stance of authenticity is not viewed as a static or rigid conceptualization but rather a unique dynamic.
• Existential psychology avoids classifications as each person is viewed as unique. All are born into a context of genetics, family, culture and so on, yet it is out of this stance that we continue to create ourselves through the choices we make.
• The expression of authenticity takes on a multitude of forms.

Question 20

Inauthentic living:

Answer 20

• concept of conventionality is the most common style of inauthenticity. It entails ignoring one’s freedom and living a life of conformity and shallow materialism.
• Another inauthentic stance in life is framed in the context of existential neurosis. Although the neurotic is aware that he/she is confronted with choices, the choices are so frightening the one is overwhelmed and paralyzed in the face of them. The dynamic aspect of existential anxiety and guilt in this context is reduced to the ineffectiveness of anxiety neurotic anxiety and guilt.
• Binswanger views the inauthentic stance as a choice to limit oneself to a single stance in exclusion of the rest of Dasein.

Question 21

Leader in American existential psychology?

Answer 21

-Rollo May (1959, 197, 1969, 1977, 1983)

Question 22

May’s (1959, 197, 1969, 1977, 1983) stages of development

Answer 22

1. innocence- reflects a pre-egoic, pre-self-conscious stage of infancy
2. rebellion- childhood and adolescent stage of developing one’s ego or self-consciousness by meas of contrast with adults; two year old response of “no” and teenager “no way”
3. ordinary- normal adult ego which expresses itself in a conventional format
4. creativity- authentic adult, goes beyond ego and manifests in self-actualizing

Question 23

May also highlights three other major concepts, what are they?

Answer 23

1. existential view of anxiety
2. propensity to will
3. need for myth in American culture

Question 24

Concept of will (May)

Answer 24

• the ability to organize oneself in order to achieve one’s goals. This makes will roughly synonymous with ego and reality-testing, but with its own store of energy, as in ego psychology.
• May hints that will, too, is a daimon (a system of motives) that can potentially take over the person

Question 25

Need for myth in American culture (May)

Answer 25

• big problem in the twentieth century was our loss of values, and this may be attributed to the bombardment of various values systems we encounter daily.
• As so many values are placed before us and we meet with a level of saturation, we tend to shy away from embracing a particular myth as a frame for processing reality.
• A culture void of myth reflects a people with a loss of identity formation and ultimately one which has lost touch with what it means to be human.
• Myth in a cultural context provides guidelines from which the individual can choose a value system. To create individual values without the assistance of broader guidelines is difficult at best and in the face of the challenge many modern Americans are left with a void.

Question 26

Existential view of anxiety (May, 1977)

Answer 26

• anxiety is not something we have but something we are
• retains Freud’s basic dynamic structure but has a radically different content. The Freudian model of instinctual drives producing anxiety which result in defense mechanisms is replaced in existential therapy by the concept that “awareness of ultimate concerns produces anxiety which produces defense mechanisms” (Yalom, 1980).
• As with psychoanalysis anxiety is a central concept in existential therapy, but anxiety is viewed as being a natural consequence of becoming conscious of nonbeing.
• Anxiety or angst is a reflection of the apprehension we feel as we move into the uncertainty of our future. Anxiety does not have a well-defined object but more reflects a state of being.
• An aspect of anxiety grows out of the experience of free will. Being free and having choices condemns one to choose.
• the mandate to choose is housed in a world of uncertainty as one never has enough information to make a sound decision reflecting the best possible outcome.
• Once conscious of alternatives in relationship to choice, it is the individual who must experience and exist with the anxiety associated with being responsible for which alternative to follow.
• Anxiety is not a pathology to be cured by the therapeutic encounter; rather it is a part of what it means to be human. Therapeutically anxiety is to be grappled with.
• In the face of it, the client must look deep within to determine whether they have enough courage to leap into the abyss of the unknown future and all this it entails.

Question 27

Logotherapy translation and basic meaning?

Answer 27

• Frankl (1946, 1969, 1978)
• “therapy though meaning”
• the meaning of life never changes, but that it never ceases to be
• “Man’s Search for Meaning” (1946)

Question 28

Three different ways that we can discover the meaning of life:

(Frankl, 1946)

Answer 28

1. by creating a work or doing a deed
2. by experiencing something or encountering someone (i.e. by experiencing nature or culture and sensing beauty, goodness, truth; most importantly through love with another person)
3. the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering

• achieving 1 is obvious but 2 and 3 need further elaboration

Question 29

Concept of love

Frankl, 1946

Answer 29

• Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality.
• No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized.
• by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true.

Question 30

Concept of love in logotherapy

Frankl, 1946

Answer 30

• love is not interpreted as a mere epiphe-nomenon
• [A phenomenon that occurs as the result of a primary phenomenon] of sexual drives and instincts in the sense of a so-called sublimation.
• Love is as primary a phenomenon as sex. Normally, sex is a mode of expression for love. Sex is justified, even sanctified, as soon as, but only as long as, it is a vehicle of love. Thus love is not understood as a mere side-effect of sex; rather, sex is a way of expressing the experience of that ultimate togetherness which is called love. The third way of finding a meaning in life is by suffering

Question 31

According to logotherapy, we can also find meaning in life even when confronted by a hopeless situation. Explain.

(Frankl, 1946)

Answer 31

-“For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement. When we are no longer able to change a situation— just think of an incurable disease such as inoperable cancer —we are challenged to change ourselves.
…But let me make it perfectly clear that in no way is suffering necessary to find meaning. I only insist that meaning is possible even in spite of suffering—provided, certainly, that the suffering is unavoidable. If it were avoidable, however, the meaningful thing to do would be to remove its cause, be it psychological, biological or political. To suffer unnecessarily is masochistic rather than heroic.”

Question 32

What are the 3 dimensions that Frankl describes man living in?

(Frankl, 1946)

Answer 32

• somatic
• psychic
• spiritual

Question 33

How does Frankl ultimately view meaning?

Frankl, 1946

Answer 33

-individual’s unique task in life that meaning is found through actualizing value which culminates in self-realization. A relevant modern therapy must be a one of meaning for those who are confronted with the existential frustration of being unable to find a will to live for

Question 34

Criticisms of existential pschotherapy

Answer 34

• ignores the realistic context of people’s lives.
• attacked by feminist, family-systems and multicultural therapists for advocating an approach that is culture bound and limited in its perspective at best
• post-modernistic in its reliance on its stance of subjective reality