Existentialist and Person Centred

Question 1

What is the central idea of existentialist therapy?

Answer 1

By asking and understanding the larger questions of life we can discover the things that mean the most to us.

Question 2

What does existentialism say about people?

Answer 2

Humans are constantly questioning and moving through an existential process. We are constantly re-inventing our existence, moving through states of transition, emergence, evolution and being of the self.

Question 3

how do people see themselves in existentialist theory?

Answer 3

How people see and perceive themselves in the world is dependent on them.

Question 4

What are the four levels of relational existence?

Answer 4

Umwelt
Mitwelt
Eigenwelt
Authenticity

Question 5

Umwelt

Answer 5

Ourselves in relation to the physical world being-in-nature

Question 6

Mitwelt

Answer 6

Social wold being-with-others

Question 7

Eigenwelt

Answer 7

How we reflect on own self being-for-oneself

Question 8

Authenticity

Answer 8

Brings openness to nature, to others and ourselves

Question 9

How does meaninglessness instigate problems?

Answer 9

It can generate an existential vacuum. As much as we can create it we can also take it away; so our concept of meaning continues to evolve. When there is an absence of meaning, where there once was, this can create confusion.

Question 10

What is some problematic behaviour that results from death anxiety?

Answer 10

sexually acting out, unfaithfulness, self success sabotage, addictions, workaholic, heroic acts and bravado

Question 11

What are the developmental ages and there attitudes in accordance to death anxiety?

Answer 11

6 to puberty
Children merely observe and model parental attitudes

Adolescence
Emerges with force: games, reckless behaviour.

Midlife crisis
Death anxiety emerges once more.

Question 12

What are the four conditions that fill us with existential anxiety?

Answer 12

Meaninglessness
Death
Freedom
Isolation

Question 13

How does freedom impact on existential anxiety?

Answer 13

It’s up to us to make it in our world

Responsibility for our own choices

This means there is no ground beneath us; there is only an abyss, a void, a nothingness.

Confronts us with responsibility and uncertainty of choice

Question 14

How does isolation impact on existential anxiety?

Answer 14

Enter the world alone die alone

There’s no guarantee who will be in our life.

There is no solution to isolation

When we don’t make peace, this will have us searching for love, meaning we can fall into relationships that are unsatisfying.

Question 15

(existential) How can we support change?

Answer 15

Help people redeem and re-own their authenticity through the therapeutic relationship. Where we help clients face their anxiety generating a responsibility for their sense of self.

Question 16

(Existential) What are some therapeutic techniques in the relationship?

Answer 16

no definable techniques, more so the philosophy and principles can be integrated into other paradigms.

Question 17

What is the I/thou relationship?

Answer 17

Relating to each other as authentic beings, without judgement, qualification or objectification. I meet you as you are, and you meet me as who I am.

being fully present, how someone sees you.

Question 18

What is the fundamental theme of humanism?

Answer 18

People are inherently good with the emphasis on self-actualisation.

Question 19

How does humanism use empathy to understand people?

Answer 19

We need to understand their frame of reference, how they see the world.

Question 20

(humanism) What does this theory reject?

Answer 20

Determinism, saying that the expertise is in the person. It assumes that everyone is fully functional and are all living in the moment.

Question 21

(Humanist) A fully functional person is what?

Answer 21

open to experience

emphasises the ‘here and now’

trusts oneself

has the ability to fully make choices and take responsibility for them

Embraces life of creativity and adaption, abandoning conformity.

has the ability to behave reliably and make constructive choices

Question 22

What belief does humanism hold?

Answer 22

That people are innately good and morality, ethical values, and good intentions are the strongest driving forces in life.

Question 23

(Humanism) Where do problems arise?

Answer 23

when we do things outside of our self-concept due to how others perceive them forms incongruence with our self-regard.

This then impacts the concept we hold of ourselves and produces internal issues.

self-satisfied external regard rather than internal generates conflict.

When the overlap of self image and ideal self is small self-actualisation becomes increasingly difficult.

Question 24

How does Maslow describe they way in which we become our true self?

Answer 24

Through openness and trust in ones experience, an internal frame of reference and the willingness to be in process, we can become our true self.

Question 25

What is the actualising tendency?

Answer 25

An internal drive that leads people toward growth, development, and realization of their fullest potential

Question 26

(humanism) How do we support change?

Answer 26

Relationship is key to change. The practitioner comes as themselves and uses empathy and unconditional positive regard to support the clients experience, endowing them as expert, this will lead them to their own discovery of self-actualisation.

Question 27

What does unconditional positive regard allow?

Answer 27

This asks us to see the human in the conversation and implore empathic understanding, allowing us to step into someones experience rather than assume.

Question 28

What are some key elements of the therapeutic process in humanistic?

Answer 28

Safe environment

Finding harmony between the self and the real self

Developing healthy self-esteem

Respond empathically always, not just to people when they are being honest

Here to provide a rich relationship

Question 29

What is existential conflict in relation to isolation, according to Yalom?

Answer 29

It is the tension between our awareness of our absolute isolation and our wish to be part of a larger whole