Chapter 6: Existential Therapy
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Existential therapy is more a way of thinking, or an attitude about psychotherapy, than a particular _______ of practicing psychotherapy. It is neither an independent or separate school of therapy, nor is it a clearly defined model with specific techniques.
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Existential therapy is more a way of thinking, or an attitude about psychotherapy, than a particular _______ of practicing psychotherapy. It is neither an independent or separate school of therapy, nor is it a clearly defined model with specific techniques.
style
Existential therapy can best be described as a
philosophical approach that influences a counselor's therapeutic practice.
**"Existential psychotherapy is an attitude toward human suffering and has no manual. It asks deep questions about the nature of the human being and the nature of anxiety, despair, grief, loneliness, isolation, and anomie. It also deals centrally with the questions of meaning, creativity, and love."
Existential therapy focuses on exploring themes such as mortality, meaning, freedom, responsibility, anxiety, and aloneness as these relate to a person's __________ __________
current struggle
The goal of existential therapy is to
assist clients in their exploration of the existential "givens of life," how these are sometimes ignored or denied, and how addressing them can ultimately lead to a deeper, more reflective and meaningful existence.
Existential therapy is grounded on the assumption that we are __________ and therefore responsible for our ____________ and __________.
free; choices; actions (**We are the authors of our lives, and we design the pathways we follow.)
A basic existential premise is that
we are not victims of circumstance because, to a large extent, we are what we choose to be.
The first step in the therapeutic journey is for clients to accept ________________
responsibility.
The aim of existential therapy is to
invite clients to explore their values and beliefs and take action that grows out of this honest appraisal of their life's purpose.
The therapist's basic task is to encourage clients to consider what they are most serious about so they can
pursue a direction in life
To understand the philosophical underpinnings of modern existential psychotherapy, one must have some awareness of the cultural, philosophical, and religious writings of Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Martin Buber. These major figures of existentialism and existential phenomenology pro vided the basis for the formation of existential therapy
Acknowledging the influence of these early philosophers, Yalom found that each contributed significant themes that guided his own thinking:
1. From Kierkegaard:
2. From Nietzsche:
3. From Heidegger:
4. From Sartre:
5. From Buber:
**Page 134-136 gives more detail about what each of them thought
1. From Kierkegaard:
2. From Nietzsche:
3. From Heidegger:
4. From Sartre:
5. From Buber:
**Page 134-136 gives more detail about what each of them thought
1. creative anxiety, despair, fear and dread, guilt, and nothingness
2. death, suicide, and will
3. authentic being, caring, death, guilt, individual responsibility, and isolation
4. meaninglessness, responsibility, and choice
5. interpersonal relationships, I/Thou perspective in therapy, and self-transcendence
2. death, suicide, and will
3. authentic being, caring, death, guilt, individual responsibility, and isolation
4. meaninglessness, responsibility, and choice
5. interpersonal relationships, I/Thou perspective in therapy, and self-transcendence
Existential analysis (Daseinanalysis) emphasizes
the subjective and spiritual dimensions of human existence
**Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, and Irvin Yalom (featured at the beginning of the chapter) created their existential approaches to psychotherapy from their strong back grounds in both existential and humanistic psychology. James Bugental has also made major contributions to the development of existential therapy in the United States, and Emmy van Deurzen continues to influence the practice of existential therapy in Great Britain.
What did James Bugental (1987) write about ____________-___________ _______________life-changing psychotherapy
life-changing psychotherapy