Existential Therapy Theory

Question 1

Existential Therapy

Theory of Change

Answer 1

Change occurs through finding philosophical meaning in the face of anxiety by choosing to think and act authentically and responsibly. The core question
addressed in existential therapy is “How do I exist?” in the face of uncertainty, conflict, or death.

Question 2

Existential Therapy

Role of the Therapist

Answer 2

•Provide an encounter with a “real” other
•Presence of the therapist is essential
•Help the client focus on personal
responsibility for making decisions

Question 3

Existential Therapy

Treatment Goals

Answer 3

• Client discovers his own life meaning
• Client confronts anxiety inherent in living
• Client experiences agency and responsibility in the construction of their life

Question 4

Existential Therapy

Key Concepts

Answer 4

All persons have the capacity for self-awareness.

• As free beings, everyone must accept the responsibility that comes with freedom.
• Each person has a unique identity that can only be known through relationships with others.
• Each person must continually recreate himself. The meaning of life and of existence is never fixed; rather, it constantly changes.
• Anxiety is part of the human condition.
• Death is a basic human condition that gives significance to life.

Question 5

Existential Therapy

Interventions

Answer 5

•Focus on moment-to-moment process than on explicit content
•Holding refers to a process of holding up the problem experience so it may be
seen, remembered, and re-experienced by the client.
•Empathic availability is a committed presence to the “other” and openness to
the pain and potentials of the other even when such openness is difficult and
unpleasant
•Telling, talking about, and naming emotional pain places the emotional
experience and pain into the world of mutual encounter, where
the relationship between client and practitioner can be used to process the
situation under circumstances of increased support
•Mastering the emotional pain is a process of reflection and behavioral
experimentation that helps a client discover unique healing activities that are
useful in processing and defusing the problem situation
•Honoring the pain refers to the process of celebrating the meaning potentials
and opportunities in the problem situation that the client actualizes and makes
real.