[Episode 7] In today's podcast, I beak almost Existential therapy equally an intellectual or philosophical approach to working amongst people. Although some authors receive got attempted to manualize Existential therapy (see Keshen, A. (2006). Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 novel await at existential psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 60(3), 285-298), the existential approach is non known for specific techniques or procedures. Rather, its influence has been most notable inward encouraging clinicians to focus on the ideas of liberty of choice, the responsibleness that accompanies choice, too the notion that the inevitability of transcend away is what gives life meaning.
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Today, we're going to hold out talking almost existential therapy. Existential therapy is an insight-oriented therapy much similar Freudian psychoanalysis or Adlerian personal psychology. What distinguishes existential therapy from other insight-oriented therapies is that existential therapy is to a greater extent than of a philosophical or intellectual approach to agreement a person’s problems rather than a laid of techniques. Existential therapy emphasizes our liberty to lead what nosotros brand of our circumstances too believes that nosotros are costless too so responsible for our choices too actions.In essence, equally Gerald Corey (2005) writes, nosotros are the authors of our lives. Gerald Corey identifies 6 fundamental concepts associated amongst existential therapy. The showtime is that nosotros receive got the capacity for self awareness. Now, the greater our awareness, the greater our responsibilities for liberty too Corey writes that awareness is realizing that nosotros are finite, that nosotros empathize that fourth dimension is limited. We receive got the potential too the choice to deed or non to deed too that pregnant is non automatic that nosotros must seek it. And finally, that nosotros are dependent champaign to loneliness, meaninglessness, emptiness, guilt too isolation.
The minute fundamental concept is that because we're basically costless beings, nosotros must receive got the responsibleness that accompanies our freedom. In other words, because we're costless to lead nosotros receive got to convey responsibleness for the choices that nosotros make.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 tertiary fundamental concept is that nosotros receive got a occupation organisation to save our uniqueness too identity. We come upwards to know ourselves inward relation to knowing too interacting amongst others. Our identity is the courage to be. We must trust ourselves to search inside too discovery our ain answers. Corey writes that 1 of our greatest fears is that we'll discovery that at that spot is no core too no self. Another fundamental concept is that the significance of our existence too the pregnant of our life are never fixed 1 time too for all. Instead, nosotros recreate ourselves through our projects. Our search for pregnant must hold out pursued obliquely. This agency that finding pregnant inward life is past times necessity a by-product of a commitment that nosotros brand to creating, loving too working.
Another way of thinking almost this is that nosotros can't straight seek meaning. Rather, nosotros receive got to engage inward activities too it is through that engagement that nosotros really discovery the pregnant inward our lives. Viktor Frankl talked almost the volition to pregnant equally our primary focus inward life. Frankl said that life inward too of itself is non meaningful. The private must create too discovery that meaning.
Now, 1 of the themes hither is that people are creating their ain realities too this is a phenomenological approach similar to Adler but really unlike to Freud too this phenomenological approach assumes that nosotros are actively involved inward the creation of our ain realities. As a therapist, if nosotros empathize that our customer is creating their ain reality, it's so of import for us to assess too position what that reality is too the meanings that our customer is making of his or her reality.
Final fundamental concepts include anxiety equally business office of the human condition. The existentialist believes that anxiety is a basic status of life too they telephone phone this existential anxiety too they consider it to hold out normal. In fact, life can't hold out lived nor tin transcend away hold out faced without anxiety. Anxiety tin hold out a stimulus for increment equally nosotros acquire aware of too receive got our freedom. We tin blunt our anxiety past times creating the illusion that at that spot is safety inward life too if nosotros receive got the courage to human face upwards ourselves inward life, nosotros mightiness hold out frightened, but nosotros volition hold out able to change.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 terminal concept is that transcend away is a basic human status too awareness of transcend away gives significance to living. So, these are the 6 fundamental concepts that Corey identifies inward existential therapy.
One of the criticisms of existential therapy is that its concepts tin hold out vague too hard to understand, so inward the endeavour to enter a footling fighting to a greater extent than clear what existentialist correspond I'm going to compare too contrast the existential approach to therapy amongst Freud’s psychodynamic approach.
Existentialism believes that nosotros are costless to brand our choices too we're non hindered past times the past times or past times biological drives. In contrast, Freudian psychoanalysis believes that liberty is restricted past times unconscious forces, irrational drives too past times events. In existentialism, anxiety tin hold out useful. In psychodynamic theory, anxiety or neurosis is non useful too is inward fact pathological too something that needs to hold out addressed.
In existentialist therapy, techniques are antithetical to genuinely beingness at that spot for the client. This is 1 of the reasons why existential therapy is to a greater extent than of an approach rather than a prescription for therapy. In Freudian psychoanalysis, techniques are essential to making the unconscious witting too these techniques tin include dream analysis, transference, counter-transference, interpretation, really specific things too it's specific because the therapist is considered the skilful inward interpretation too agreement the objective globe of the client.
Now both existential too psychodynamic are insight orient. In existential therapy, handling is based on the hither too immediately too explorations of the past times seek to position the origins of the globe view. Again, at that spot nosotros receive got this thought that our clients are constantly creating the way that they empathize the world, so explorations of the past times are but a way of ameliorate agreement how our clients came to thought the globe that they do.
In psychodynamic therapy, alter occurs past times exploring the past. In existential treatment, dream analysis sheds lite on possibilities. Dreams are unremarkably understood to hateful I don’t know what's happening to me. In contrast inward Freudian psychoanalysis, dream analysis identifies unconscious content that symbolizes witting issues. This is a really different approach because 1 time to a greater extent than y'all receive got symbols that receive got objective meanings inward psychodynamic frameworks
such equally a cigar is sometimes non a cigar.
In contrast inward existential therapy, dreams are seen to a greater extent than equally closed equally to the pregnant that people receive got made for themselves. So, 1 clarifying illustration is that if nosotros imagine that we're working amongst a state of war vet too the vet meets criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder, is having difficulty focusing on household unit of measurement relations, difficulty belongings a job, has exaggerated sterile response, is increasingly focused on issues related to electrical flow conflicts or so the globe equally presented on the TV too radio.
Psychoanalysis mightiness say that the state of war experiences receive got triggered repressed pre-sexual experiences for the vet too that the impulses are inward conflict amongst the super ego. In contrast, inward existential approach to therapy, y'all must say that without the focus on the Vietnam too posttraumatic symptomology, the vet’s globe would hold out revealed equally pointless too absurd. If at that spot were specific issues or so edifice a household unit of measurement or futurity orientation that the vet was having a hard fourth dimension addressing, existential therapy would in all likelihood say this is because the vet is non considering the futurity equally feasible too instead agreement that the imminence of transcend away is causing serious questions equally to the betoken of life.
Now, the therapist-client human relationship is considered to hold out collaborative. In fact, Corey describes it equally a journeying taken past times the therapist too the customer together. The human relationship demands that the therapist hold out inward contact amongst his or her ain phenomenological world. That is, the therapist must hold out aware of the way that he or she is constructing their ain globe so that they empathize that their customer is constructing his or her ain globe too that those worlds are necessarily going to hold out somewhat different.
The core of the therapeutic human relationship is abide by too organized faith too the client’s potential to acquire by too sharing reactions amongst genuine occupation organisation too empathy. Now, some therapeutic goals inward existential therapy include giving attending to the client’s immediate ongoing experience amongst the aim of helping them to prepare a greater presence inward their request for pregnant too purpose.
Another finish is to recognize factors that block freedom. A tertiary finish is to challenge clients to recognize that they are doing something that they formally thought was happening to them. So, again, this addresses the concept of liberty too responsibility. If your customer believes that tiddler protective services is something that is happening to them, it's of import for y'all to assist them empathize that inward fact they are active participants inward this globe inward this province of affairs too that their choices too their decisions are components of the electrical flow province of affairs that they're in.
No judgment on whether or non a confirmed illustration of abuse has merit, but I'm exactly proverb that inward existential theory that the of import matter is to focus on helping your customer empathize their ain activity equally beingness business office of their world. And finally, the finish – the terminal finish is to receive got liberty too responsibilities that proceed amongst that action.
The phases of counseling tin hold out broken downwards into the initial, the centre too final.
In the initial phase, y'all really desire to consider how your customer understands their world. Again, this is the phenomenological viewpoint. In the centre phase, y'all tin explore how your clients prepare that thought of the globe too how that thought of the globe is affecting what's currently going on amongst them, how that emphasize or how that influences what it is that they consider equally their responsibilities, their actions, what they receive got choices over. And finally, the finally stage of counseling is geared towards agreement how clients tin convey what they’ve learned inward making their lives to a greater extent than purposeful, intentional too grounded inward meaning.
Some of the things to do during the assessment stage is to position existential themes too these are themes related to responsibility, mortality, isolation too meaningless. These are the big 4 that Yalom discussed inward his classic 1980s text “dreaming similar waking is a trend of existence or beingness inward the globe too exceptional attending is paid to themes too dreams inward making certain non to house emphasis on the therapist’s interpretation.”
So whereas inward Freudian psychoanalysis, really it's the therapist that’s responsible for ultimately interpreting what a dream agency non because the customer is unconscious of the meaning. In existential approaches, it's really the customer that ultimately determines what a dream means. Some assessment techniques are the utilisation of objective too projective tests such equally the Rorschach too the thematic apperception test, the role of life test. This addresses individuals’ views of life goals, their globe too their transcend away too the experiencing scale which looks at feelings too self-awareness.
Because at that spot are no specific techniques inward existential therapy, application really looks similar incorporating techniques too approaches that y'all equally a therapist are comfortable using. Just retrieve that equally y'all utilisation your techniques, the primary emphasis is on agreement the client’s electrical flow experience. As y'all accommodate interventions that you're really focusing on these issues of choice, liberty too responsibleness too ultimately you're guided past times the philosophical framework almost what it agency to hold out human.
Now, existential therapy has been applied to multiple areas. Clients who are seeking personal increment are non bad candidates for taking an existential approach, career or marital failure, retirement, grief locomote too whatever transition from 1 stage of life to another. Existential approaches are wonderful for working amongst teenagers too for whom the questions of what is my purpose, what is the pregnant of my life, how am I to alive the best life I can, all of these questions are classic teenage angst questions.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 terminal expanse of application is helping those who are struggling to discovery pregnant inward life too facing the anxiety of their eventual death. An obvious grouping for this is older adults. Existentialist philosophy too existential therapy receive got contributed a lot to social locomote practise too clinical locomote inward general. One of the big ones is that existential theory contributed the concepts of self-determination too personal responsibility. It provided a perspective for agreement the value of anxiety too guilt too the role too pregnant of transcend away inward treatment.
The existential approach really enables clients to examine the marker to which their demeanor is influenced past times social too cultural conditioning. In his 2005 text, Gerald Corey inward fact argues that the existentialist approach is mayhap the most culturally competent approach because it provides social workers amongst a framework for agreement the universal issues of freedom, choice, life too transcend away too because it's non technique-bound at that spot are no cultural limitations on how this approach is practiced.
However, 1 of the limitations of an existentialist approach is that it lacks systematic statements of principles too practices of therapy. It uses vague too global damage too abstract concepts that tin hold out really hard to grasp such equally the volition to meaning. Finally, it's non been subjected to scientific inquiry equally a way of validating its procedures.
Now, inward a recent article, Aaron Keshen acknowledged the limitations of existential therapy primarily inward its lack of empirically testable techniques or approaches. In a 2006 article, he attempts to operationalize existential techniques. If y'all desire to a greater extent than data on his approach, his article tin hold out constitute inward the American Journal of Psychotherapy, book 60, number three too the article is called “A New Look at Existential Psychotherapy” too inward this article he attempts to operationalize the issues of your actual role or your substituted role inward life too and then he applies those to issues of mental illness, heart abuse, personality disorders, things similar that.
So, inward conclusion, existential therapy is really a philosophical or intellectual approach that provides the therapist amongst a framework to agreement their client’s problems rather than providing a laid of techniques for really addressing the problems the clients come upwards inward with. The primary issues that existential approaches address are issues of freedom, the freedoms that nosotros receive got to lead too the responsibilities that come upwards amongst those choices. The other primary issues that are important are issues of the pregnant of life too the reality too credence of death.
References
Burke, J. F. (1989). Contemporary approaches to psychotherapy & counseling: The self-regulation too maturity model. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press.
Corey, G. (2016). Theory too practise of counseling too psychotherapy (10th ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson.
Keshen, A. (2006). Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 novel await at existential psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 60(3), 285-298.
APA (6th ed) citation for this podcast:
Singer, J. B. (Producer). (2007, Feb 12). Existential therapy [Episode 7]. Social Work Podcast [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from /search?q=existential-therapy
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