Existential & Humanistic Theory Flashcards
victor frankl
Man’s Search for Meaning. emphasized “the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of curcumstances, to choose one’s own way.” emphasized freedom, responsibility, meaning, search for values
Third School of Viennese Psychoanalysis
founded by frankl.
Logotherapy
developed by frankl. “therapy through meaning” central themes: life has meaning, central motivation for living is the will to meaning; we have freedom to find meaning; we must integrate body, mind, spirit to be fully alive.
rollo may
Theology degree from Union. Influenced by Tillich. “The Meaning of Anxiety.” “Love and Will.” helped translate key existential concepts into psychotherapeutic practce in the U.S. in europe
Rollo May believed psychotherapy should be…
aimed at helping people discover the meaning of their lives and should be concerned w/ the problems of being rather than with problem solving
irvin yalom
group psychotherapy. 4 “givens of existence” or ultimate concerns: freedom & responsibility, existential isolation, meaninglessness, death. different therapy must be designed for each client.
existential therapy best described as
a philosophical approach that influences a counselor’s practice. more a way of thinking, or an attitude, than a particular style of practicing
goal of existential therapy
assist clients in exploration of the existential “givens of life”
grounded on the assumption that
we are free and therefore responsible for our choices and actions. we are the authors of our lives, and we design the pathways we follow.
power of the individual
once individuals recognize their role in creating their own life predicament, they also realize that they, and only they, have the power to change the situation
The European existential perspective focused on…
human limitations and tragic dimension of life… largely as a result of devastation from WWII.
kierkegaard
creative anxiety, despair, fear, dread, guilt, nothingness
nietzsche
death, suicide, will
heidegger
authentic being, caring, death, guilt, individual responsibility, iloation
sartre
meaninglessness, responsibility, coice
buber
interpersonal relationships, I/thou perspective in therapy, self transecndence
kiergegaard 2
angst. addressed role of anxiety and uncertainty in life. existential anxiety associated w/ making basic decision about how we want to live, not pathological. anxiety is the “school in which we are educated to be a self.” believed that “sickness unto death” arises when we are not true to ourselves. becoming human is a project, and our task is not so much to discover who we are as to create ourselves
nietzsche 2
humans are not rational, but are creatures of well. located values w/in individual’s “will to power.” if we release ourselves by giving free rein to our will to power, we tap our potentiality for creativity and originality.
heidegger 2
phenomenological existentialism. we exist “in the world,” not as beings apart from the world. moods and feelings are a way of understanding whether we’re living authentically or inauthentically constructing life around others’ expectations. view of human history does not focus on past events, but motivates indivudals to look forward to “authentic experiences” yet to come.
buber 2
less individualistic. we humans live in a kind of betweenness; that is, ther is never just an I, but always an other. The I, the person who is the agent, changes depending on whether the other is an it or a Thou. emphasized importance of pressence, which has 3 functions: enables true i/thou relationships, allows for meaning to exist in a situation, enables an individual to be responsible in the here and now.
binswanger
holistic model of self; addresses relationship btwn person and environment.
existential analysis emphasizes
subjective and spiritual dimensions of human existence
medard boss
applied heidegger’s notions to therapeutic pactice. integrated freud’s methods w/ heidegger’s concepts
“dasein”
“being-in-the-world.” pertains to our ability to reflect on life events and attribute meaning to these events.
sartre 2
humans are more free than earlier existentialists believed. existence of a space-nothingness- btwn whole of our past and the now frees us to choose what we will. our values are what we choose.
sartre on “bad faith”
“ican’t change now b/c of my past conditioning” is an excuse. we are condemned to be free.
James Bugental
life-changing psychotherapy. coined “existential-humanistic” psyychotherapy. cultivation of client and therapist presence. developed interventions to assist client in deepening inner exploration, or searching. therapist’s primary task involved helping clients make new discoveries about themselves in the moment.
Bugental on resistance
resistance not to therapy per se, but to being fully present both during therapy and in life. part of the self-and-world construct – how a person understands his or her being and relationship to world at large
bugental: 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 so they can live more authentically.
emmy van deurzen
existential therapy is not designed to “cure” people of illness in the tradition of the medical model because people are not suck but are “sick of life or clumsy at living”. deurzen cofounded the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling.
basis of therapeutic practice
focuses on understanding what it means to be human.
existential tradition
seeks a balance btwn recognizing limits and tragic dimension of human existence on one hand and the possibilities and opportunities of human life on the other hand.
basic dimensions of human condition
- capacity for self awareness
- freedom and repsonsibility
- identity creation/establishing meaningful relationships w/ others
- search for meaning, values, goals
- anxiety as condition of living
- awareness of death and nonbeing
self-awareness
at the root of most other human capacities. decision to expand it is fundamental to human growth.
freedom and responsibility
- freedom to become
- capacity to reflect
- capacity to act.
inauthenticity
we long for freedom but often try to escape our freedom by defining ourselves as a fixed or static entity, failing to accept personal responsibility
existential guilt
being aware of having evaded a commitment, or having chosen not to choose
authenticity
living true to our own evaluation of what is a valuable existence for ourselves
therapists assist clients in discovering how…
they are avoiding freedom
2 centra tasks of the therapist
inviting clients to recognize how they have allowed others to decide for them and encouraging them to take steps towawrd choosing for themselves.
striving for identity and relationship to others
each of us would like to discover a self or, to put it more authentically, to create our personal identity.
Steps to Striving for Identity & Relationship.
- Courage to Be (tillich)
- experience of aloneness
- experience of relatedness
- struggling w/ our identity
discarding old values
one problem in therapy is clients may discard traditional/imposed values w/out creating other, suitable ones to replace them.
existential neurosis
experience of meaninglessness (frankl)
existential vacuum
when meaninglessness leads to emptiness and hollowness (frankl)
logotherapy
helps clients find meaning in life. therpist’s role to point out to clients they can create meaning even in suffering. meaning is created out of an individual’s engagement w/ what is valued rather than directly searched for and obtained.
existential anxiety
unavoidable result of being confronted w/ the “givens of existence” - death, freedom, choice, isolation, meaninglessness
normal anxiety
appropriate response to event being faced. can be powerful motivational force
neurotic anxiety
results from failure to move from normal anxiety. anxiety about concrete things disproportionate to the situation. immobilizes the person
existential therapy is best considered as an invitation…
to clients to recognize ways in which they are not living fully authentic lives and to make choices that lead to their becoming what they are capable of being
main concern of extential therapists
helping people reclaim and reown their lives
task of existential therapy
teach clients to listen to what they already know about themselves
4 essential aims of existential-humanistic therapy
- help clients become more present
- assist clients in identifying ways they block themselves from being prsent
- challenge clients to assume responsibility for life design
- encourage clients to choose more expanded ways of being
restricted existence
limited awareness of self and vague about nature of problems
client’s role
encouraged to assume responsbility for way of living. take actions on insight.
relationship btwn therapist and client
relationship is of central prominence. delves deeply into world as perceived and experienced by client
I/it
relation to time and space, necessary starting place for self
I/Thou
essential for connecting self to spirit and, in so doing, achieving true dialogue.
existential therapy not technique oriented
practitioners prefer discription, understanding, exploration of client’s subjective reality, as opposed to diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis
phases of existential counseling
- initial: identify and clarify assumptions about world.
- middle: examine source and authority of present value system. leads to insight/restructuring
- final phase: put what clients are learning into action
target populations
people coping w/ developmental crises, experiencing grief & loss, confronting death, facing a major life decision
presence
both a condition for therapy to occur and a goal of therapy
not technique-oriented
though existential therapists may apply techniques from other orientations, their interventions are guided by a philosophical framework about what it means to be human
identity societyy
“Identity Society”— living in an
continuously changing, insecure world, with diminishing personal identity
and cultural stability
ontology
the study of being. The main
ontological question for humanity is: what does it mean to be human in a
short period of eternity, in a vast and random universe? According to
existentialism, the purpose of life is not given beforehand. Who I am, who I
can become, and what I should do and how I should do it are all given as
questions, which are continuously in the process of being answered
throughout life.
human nature
The basic element of human nature is DASEIN—
Being-in-the-world (German: Da = here; sein = to be or being). Each of
us has an inherent need to exist in the world into which we are born, and
to achieve a conscious and unconscious sense of ourselves as an
autonomous and distinct entity; the stronger this Dasein, the stronger the
personality.
dasein
The world exists from a particular subjective perspective which is unique
to each individual. Dasein is the primary driver in life; other drives are
abstractions. Dasein is a personal matter, no one else can tell an
individual how or what to be in the world. A very practical application of
CEDU-624 4
this is the Mid-Life-Crisis most people face—the loss of meaning, and
sometimes bizarre behavior to rediscover ourselves.
3 modes of dasein
Umwelt (“World around”): this is the internal and external
objects which form our physiological world. It is the world
into which we are born and includes the world of physical
needs.
ii. Mitwelt (“with-world”): this is the social world which
involves other people. It is the need to form personal
relationships for their own sake, not to sublimate a drive.
iii. Eigenwelt (“own world”): this psychological world of
relationship to oneself, and to one’s own values and
potentials—knowing we are the center of our existence.
2 states of existence
Authentic Existence: I am accurately aware of myself,
of my world, and know my choices are mine.
ii. Inauthentic Existence: I am aware of myself merely as
others see me, and allow others to determine who I am.
psychotherapy
- Goals of psychotherapy:
a. to enable clients to find ways of implementing their examined and
internalized values in a concrete way.
b. to live a purposeful existence.
c. To recover repressed Dasein.
d. To integrate the Daimonic (like Jung’s Shadow) into consciousness.
e. Recapture lost will (the will to meaning).
f. Take responsibility for one’s own life.
g. Affirm those choices which lead to fulfillment of innate potentials.
therapeutic process
a. Like Carl Rogers’ concept, this involves a genuine, empathic
relationship with the patient.
b. Various techniques may be used.
c. Primary goal is to engage the patient’s will and ability to choose.
d. Intentionality is raised by direct questions: “What do you wish from
me today?”
e. Therapist must be flexible and use the client’s constructs and
language.
f. Therapist does not impose a single theoretical framework on all
humans.
Therapist must not become an agent of social conformity.
Conforming to outside mores causes a loss in Dasein.
h. Excessive emphasis on the past can only erode the patient’s
sense of responsibility.
3 phases of therapy
- INITIAL PHASE: Identifying and clarifying the client’s assumptions
about the world. - MIDDLE PHASE: Examine the source and authority of the client’s
present value systems. - FINAL PHASE: Take what the client is learning and put it into
action.
transference
Assuming responsibility is threatening to a person
who has lost Dasein. This fear stimulates resistance. Affection for the
client is necessary and desirable aspect of therapy, but the counselor
needs to be careful of counter transference and the trap of working
through one’s own issues with a client. One clue to keep in mind—If
you are working harder than the client, there is something wrong with
the picture.
