Existential therapy is applied in various contexts, including the search for meaning

and purpose, life transitions, existential crises, loss and grief, identity issues,
Applications and When It's Used chronic illness, spiritual exploration, and relationship challenges.

Existential therapy focuses on exploring themes such as mortality, Therapeutic Goals:

meaning, freedom, responsibility, anxiety, and aloneness in the
Increase awareness to discover alternative possibilities.
context of an individual's current struggles. Pioneers in this approach Encourage clients to listen to what they already know about themselves.
include Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, and Irvin Yalom. Facilitate authentic living.

Therapist’s Function and Role:

Viktor Frankl:
Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. Understand the subjective world of clients.
Founded logotherapy, meaning "therapy through meaning." Encourage clients to accept personal responsibility.
Author of "Man's Search for Meaning," a worldwide bestseller. Focus on increasing awareness and self-exploration.
Rollo May: Client’s Experience in Therapy:
American existential psychiatrist influenced by Adler and Søren Kierkegaard.
Wrote "The Meaning of Anxiety" and "Love and Will." Clients assume responsibility for their current choices and ways of being.
Emphasized the courage to create and self-transcendence. KEY FIGURES Increased self-awareness is central to the client's experience.
Irvin Yalom: Relationship Between Therapist and Client:
American existential psychiatrist.
Notable works include "The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy" and Emphasis on the importance of relationships.
"Existential Psychotherapy." A journey of discovery is undertaken together.
Respect and belief in the client's ability to explore new ways of being.
Søren Kierkegaard: Application: Therapeutic Techniques and Procedures:
Father of existentialism.
Explored themes of anxiety, despair, fear, guilt, and nothingness. THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
Phases:
Emphasized making authentic choices and taking a "leap of faith." Initial phase: Identify and clarify client assumptions.
Middle phase: Examine the source of the client's value system.
Final phase: Help clients implement examined values in concrete ways.
Friedrich Nietzsche:
German philosopher. Applications to Brief Therapy:
Stressed acceptance of being part of the world, emphasizing self-creation.
Assess what has been done and potential difficulties.
Martin Heidegger: Philosophical Influences: EXISTENTIAL THERAPY Agree that short-term work is suitable with positive outcomes likely
Phenomenological existentialist.
Applications to Group Counseling:
Explored authentic being, death, guilt, and individual responsibility.
Group goals include enabling honesty, widening perspectives, and clarifying
Jean-Paul Sartre: meaning.
Philosopher and novelist. Provides optimal conditions for therapeutic work on responsibility.
Proposed that "existence precedes essence," emphasizing individual self-creation.
Strengths:
Addresses universal human experiences transcending cultural boundaries.
James Bugental, a leading existential-humanistic psychologist, emphasized Focuses on fundamental issues like love, anxiety, suffering, and death.
authenticity and self-exploration. Existential psychotherapy has evolved to address
Contemporary Figures and Contributions: Existential Therapy From a Multicultural Perspective: Shortcomings:
cultural sensitivity and diversity.
Criticized for being excessively individualistic.
Ignores systemic social factors contributing to human problems.
Existential therapy balances recognition of the limits and tragic dimensions of
human existence with the possibilities and opportunities of life. Key dimensions
Core Principles and Tenets:
include the capacity for self-awareness, freedom and responsibility, striving for
- What are the fundamental principles and tenets of existential therapy as you
identity and relationship to others, the search for meaning, anxiety as a condition
of living, and awareness of death and nonbeing. View of Human Nature understand them?
- How would you describe the key beliefs that underpin the existential therapy
approach?
Limitations:
Lack of a systematic statement of principles and practices. Integration of Philosophy and Psychology:
Requires a high level of practitioner maturity, life experience, and intensive - How does existential therapy integrate philosophical concepts into a
training. therapeutic framework?
- Can you provide examples of how existential philosophy informs the practice of
Contributions: Limitations, Criticisms, and Contributions: existential therapy?
Brings the person back into central focus.
Emphasizes the human quality of the therapeutic relationship. Therapeutic Techniques and Approaches:
- What specific therapeutic techniques are commonly used in existential therapy
sessions?
- How do these techniques facilitate exploration of existential concerns and
promote personal growth?
Basic Questions for Information Gathering:
Role of the Therapist:
- How would you describe the role of the therapist in an existential therapy
setting?
- In what ways does the therapist support the client's journey toward self-
exploration and meaning-making?

Therapeutic Relationship:
- How does the therapeutic relationship contribute to the effectiveness of
existential therapy?
- What aspects of the therapeutic relationship are particularly important in this
approach?