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Existential Therapy
Victor Frankl / Rollo May / Irvin Yalom

INTRODUCTION
Existential Psychotherapy is an attitude toward human suffering [that] has no manual
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It also deals centrally with the questions of meaning, creativity and love
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

A philosophical approach that influences a counselor’s therapeutic practice
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

Rejects the deterministic view of human nature

Phenomenology


A philosophical method used by existentialism that was made to be free of presupposition
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“Once you label me you negate me”
He was particular with angst, a Danish and German word which means dread and anxiety

Existential anxiety is associated with basic decision making about how we want to live,
and it is not pathological
Kierkegaard believed that the sickness unto death arises when we are not true to
ourselves
...

Themes: creative anxiety, despair, fear and dread, guilt, and nothingness
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (1844-1900) A German philosopher who expressed a revolutionary
approach to self, to ethics, and to society
...

Nietzsche located values within the individual’s will to power and emphasized that if, like
sheep, we acquiesce in herd morality, we will be nothing but mediocrities
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“Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one”
Phenomenological existentialism reminds us that we are being who exist in the world
and not apart from the world
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Themes: authentic being, caring, death, guilt, individual responsibility, and isolation
MARTIN BUBER (1878-1965) An Austrian-Israeli philosopher who said that humans live in a
kind of betweenness which means there is never “I” but always an “other”
The I, the person who is the agent, changes depending on whether the other is and in or a
Thou
...
In enables true I/Thou relationships
2
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It enables an individual to be responsible in the here and now
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Themes: interpersonal relationships, I/Thou perspective in therapy, and self-transcendence
LUDWIG BINSWANGER (1881-1966) An existential analyst who proposed a holistic model of
self that addresses the relationship between the person and environment
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He used a phenomenological approach to explore significant features on the self, including
choice, freedom and caring
MEDARD BOSS (1903-1991) Together with Binswanger, they made reference to dasein or
being-in-the-world, which pertains to our ability to reflect on life events and attribute meaning to
these events
...

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE (1905-1980) A philosopher who was convinced that humans are even
more free than earlier existentialists had believed
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He believed that the failure to acknowledge our freedom and choices results in emotional
problems
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Frnkl developed logotherapy, which means “therapy trough meaning”:


The central themes running through his works are life has meaning under all
circumstances



The central motivation for living is the will to meaning



We have the freedom to find meaning in all that we think



We must integrate body, mind, and spirit to be fully alive

The most powerful motivation for humans is the will to meaning
The therapeutic process is aimed at challenging individuals to find meaning and purpose,
among other things, suffering, work, and love
...

It takes courage to “be” and our choices determine the kind of person we become
There’s a constant struggle within us and although we want to grow toward maturity and
independence, we realize that expansion is often a painful process
The struggle is between the security of dependence and the joys and the pains of growth
IRVIN YALOM (1931-) Yalom developed his approach to individual and group psychotherapy
based on the notion that existentialism deals with basic “givens of existence”:


Isolation and relationship with others



Death and living fully



Meaninglessness and meaning

JAMES BUGENTAL (1915-2008) He coined the term existential-humanistic psychotherapy,
and he was leading spokesman to this approach
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It is seen as part of the self-and-world contruct
Here-and-now dialogue, therapeutic work taking place in the moment

VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
Existential tradition seeks a balance between recognizing the limits and tragic dimensions of
human existence and possibilities and opportunities of human life
It grew out of a desire to help people engage in the dilemmas of contemporary life such as,
isolation, alienation, and meaninglessness
...

We pose the questions Who am I? What can I know? What ought I to do? What can I hope
for? Where am I going?
The basic dimension of the human condition according to the existential approach include (1) the
capacity for self-awareness (2) freedom and responsibility (3) creating one’s identity and
establishing meaningful relationship with others (4) the search for meaning, purpose, values, and
goals (5) anxiety as a condition of living (6) awareness of death and nonbeing

The Capacity for Self-Awareness
Freedom, choice and responsibility constitute the foundation of self-awareness
The core existential position is that we are both free (willful, creative, expressive) and limited (by
environmental and social constraints)
Self-awareness is the root of most other human capacities, the decision to expand it is fundamental
to human growth
Increasing self-awareness (which includes awareness of alternatives, motivations, factors
influencing the person, and personal goals) is an aim of all counseling

Freedom and responsibility
Existential therapy embraces three values:


the freedom to become within the context of natural and self-imposed limitations



the capacity to reflect on the meaning of our choices



the capacity to act on the choices we make

In speaking about bad faith, it refers to the inauthenticity of not accepting personal responsibility
Two statements that reveal bad faith:
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“Naturally I am this way because I grew up in a dysfunctional family”
Freedom implies that we are responsible for our lives, for our actions, and for our failures to take
action
Existential guilt is being aware of having evaded a commitment or having chosen not to choose
The guilt is a condition that grows out of sense of incompleteness, or realization that we are not
what we might have become
Authenticity implies that we are living by being true to our own evaluation of what is valuable
existence for ourselves
Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand as being free and being human are identical
Existentialism is all about broadening the vision of our choices
Our freedom to act is limited by external reality, our freedom to be relates to our internal reality

Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others
Preserving our uniqueness and centeredness and to discover ourselves to create our personal
identity is not an automatic process, it takes courage
THE COURAGE TO BE


It takes courage to discover the true ground of our being and to use its power
to transcend those aspects of nonbeing that would destroy us



Courage entails the will to move forward in spite of anxiety-producing
situations, such as facing our death



The ultimate fear of people is that they will discover that there is no core, no
self, no substance and that they are merely reflections of everyone’s
expectations of them
“My fear is that I’ll discover I’m nobody, that there really is nothing me
...

THE PROBLEM OF DISCARDING OLD VALUES


One of the tasks of the therapeutic process is to help clients create a value
systems based on a way of living that is consistent with their way of being

MEANINGLESSNESS


Existential vacuum was coined by Frankl which means meaninglessness in life
can lead to emptiness and hollowness



Feeling of meaninglessness is the major existential neurosis of modern life



When the world people live in seems meaningless, clients may wonder whether
it is worth it to continue struggling and living



Experiencing meaninglessness and establishing values that are part of a
meaningful life are issues that become the heart of counseling

CREATING NEW MEANING


Logotherapy (therapy though meaning) is designed to help clients find
meaning in life



Paradoxically, the more rationally we seek meaning, the more likely we are to
miss it



Finding satisfaction and meaning in life is a by-product of engagement, which
is a commitment to creating, loving, working, and building

Anxiety as a condition of Living
Existential anxiety is the unavoidable result of being confronted with the givens of existence
(death, freedom, choice, isolation, and meaninglessness)
Existential therapists see anxiety as a potential source of growth
Normal anxiety is an appropriate response to an event being faced, it does not have to be repressed
and it can be used a s a motivation to change
Ontic (normal anxiety) relates to concrete things in the world
Ontological (fundamental existential anxiety) based on our own awareness of our own
temporality and is present even when we do not have to face particularly difficult
situations
Neurotic anxiety is an anxiety about concrete things that is out of proportion to the situation
This type of anxiety is typically out of awareness and it tends to immobilize the person
Being psychologically healthy entails living with as little neurotic anxiety as possible

Awareness of Death and Nonbeing
Awareness of death is a basic human condition that gives significance to living and provides the
motivation for us to take advantage of appreciating the present moment
Confronting fear of death can be the factor that helps us transform an inauthentic mode of living
into a more authentic one

THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
THERAPEUTIC GOALS
An aim of the therapy is to assist clients in moving toward authenticity and learning to
recognize when they are receiving themselves
It aims to help clients face anxiety and engage in action that is based on the authentic
purpose of creating a worthy existence
Existential therapists are mainly concerned about helping people to reclaim and reown
their lives
Schneider and Krug (2010) identify 4 essential aims of existential-humanistic therapy
1
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To assist clients in identifying ways they block themselves from fuller presence
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To encourage clients to choose more expanded ways of being in their daily lives
Increased awareness is the central goal of existential therapy
THERAPIST’S FUNCTION AND ROLE
Existential therapists are primarily concerned with understanding the subjective world of
clients to help them come to new understandings and options
Existential therapists deal with people who have restricted existence, clients who have
limited awareness of themselves and vague about the nature of their problems
The therapist may hold up a mirror, so to speak, so that clients can gradually engage in
self-confrontation

Practitioners often ask clients to reflect on or write about problematic events they encounter
in daily life
CLIENT’S EXPERIENCE IN THERAPY
Clients are encouraged to assume responsibility for how they are currently choosing to be
in their world
Experimentation with new ways of behaving in the outside world is necessary if clients
are to change
Clients must be active during the process, for during the sessions they must decide what
fears, guilt feelings, and anxieties they will explore
Through the process of their therapy, individuals can explore alternatives for making their
visions real
Clients confront ultimate concerns rather than coping with immediate problems
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERAPIST AND CLIENT
The relationship is important because this person-to-person encounter is the stimulus for
positive change
Therapy is a journey taken by therapist and client that delves deeply into the world as
perceived and experienced by the client
Existential therapy is a voyage into self-discovery and a journey of life discovery for
both client and therapist
Existential therapists share their reactions to clients with genuine concern and empathy
as one way of deepening the therapeutic relationship

APPLICATION: THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES
AND PROCEDURES
The existential approach is unlike most of the other therapist in that it is not technique-oriented
The interventions existential practitioners employ are based on philosophical views of human
existence
The therapists prefer description, understanding, and exploration of the client’s subjective reality,
as opposed to diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis

PHASES OF EXISTENTIAL COUNSELING
Initial phase
Therapists assist clients in identifying and clarifying their assumptions about the
world
Clients define and question in how they perceive and make sense of their existence,
and they examine their values and belief to determine their validity
Clients are taught on how to reflect on their own existence
Middle phase
Clients are assisted in more fully examining the source and authority of their value
system
Self-exploration is the process that typically leads to new insights and some
restructuring of values and attitudes
Final phase
Focuses on helping people take what they are learning about themselves and put it
into action
The aim of therapy is to enable clients to discover ways of implementing their
examined and internalized values in a concrete way
Clients typically discover their strengths and find ways to pit them to the service of
living a purposeful existence
CLIENTS APPROPRIATE FOR EXISTENTIAL COUNSELING
For people who are coping with developmental crises, experiencing grief and loss,
confronting death, or facing a major life decision, existential therapy is especially
appropriate
This form of therapy is most appropriate for clients who are admitted to dealing
with their problems about living, feel alienated, and searching for meaning in their
lives
Tends to work well with people who are at a crossroads and people who are on the
edge of existence such as those who are dying or contemplating suicide
APPLICATION TO BRIEF THERAPY
Short-term applications of existential approach require more structuring and clearly
defined and less ambitious goals

At the termination of short-term therapy, it is important for individuals to evaluate
what they have accomplished and what issues may need to be addressed later
APPLICATION TO GROUP COUNSELING
An existential group can be described as people making a commitment to a lifelong
journey of self-exploration with these goals:
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Widening their perspectives on themselves and the world around them
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