What Is Existential Therapy? Existential?

During a lifetime, most individuals question the meaning of their existence at one point or another. Existential therapy aims to help individuals find purpose, have better defined goals, and live life to the fullest. Existential therapy takes into account cultural, social and political values of the client. It attempts to help the client live more deliberately, while accepting life’s unpredictable challenges and contradictions. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is complementary to existential therapy by providing techniques to help clients make changes once their awareness is increased through existential discovery. Existential therapy

Experiential therapy was developed through the humanistic-existentialist movement during the 1960’s. During the development of experiential therapy it pulled from; Gestalt therapy, psychodrama, client-centered, and encounter-group movement. Within experiential therapy it pulls from the following approaches; satir growth model, symbolic-experiential therapy, emotionally focused couples therapy, and internal family systems. The thought process in this therapy is that it is indiviual and family focused, it is able to create warmth, empathy, and rapport with the therapist. Experiential therapy is also thought to be individual and family focused. Experiential therapy focused on 5 main communication stances which are the clients defense stances when under stress. These stances are congruent, placator, blamer, super reasonable, and irrelevant. These stances can help a client acknowledge or minimize three realities self, other and context. For a client or family to have effective change with this model they must go through the six stage model of change. In these stages a families homeostasis is knocked off balance due to event, life crisis or change. As the family is navigating trough this crisis they are in a state off chaos as they don 't know what is ahead. Once the chaos has calmed then the family can look at integrating change and new possibilities. Between chaos and integration is where a therpist can be most affective in helping them too

Existential psychotherapy is based upon the fundamental belief that each individual experiences psychological and emotional difficulties. These psychological and emotional difficulties are viewed as inner conflicts due to his or her interaction with certain conditions inherent in human existence called givens. The theory recognizes at least four primary existential givens: freedom and associated responsibility, death, isolation, meaninglessness (Corey, 2017, pp. 144). In therapy, the client discovers how to incorporate the paradoxes around these concerns, and thereby increase tolerance of the anxiety that may be associated with them. Personal responsibility and choice is emphasized, and focus is more on the ‘here and now’. Increased mindful awareness is crucial in becoming more healthy and fully functioning.

My top five theories are Gestalt, Reality, Person Centered, Existential and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Within these five theories my top five aspects that I would like to incorporate into my own personal model of counseling is as follows: 1.) From Gestalt therapy I would incorporate staying with the feeling and use experiments along with internal dialogue exercises (Corey, 2013). The aspect of getting to the root of unfinished business in regards to impasse is appealing in regards to this theory as well as the idea that it moves the client to a place where they are more confident asking for help (Corey, 2013) 2.) From the Reality Therapy approach I would incorporate the WDEP technique (Corey, 2013). I feel that it is of the most importance to recognize what one wants from his or her life and to be able to verbalize and have an action based, planned path that moves one towards the goal (Corey, 2013). 3.) From the Person Centered Approach I would incorporate genuineness, unconditional positive regard and accurate empathic understanding (Corey, 2013). In regards to the therapeutic process when working with people in crisis I believe this model is most effective (Corey, 2013). 4.) From an Existential Therapy approach I would incorporate the aspect of guiding the client to a place of awareness. I believe being aware of why one is not living their life fully is very important to moving a person toward making choices that will get them to a life that is more authentic to who

Existential therapy through the eyes of Dr. Yalom is very fascinating. There is never a fixed life that each person is supposed to live. In his therapy the clients are allowed to find out for themselves what it is they need by receiving adequate questioning from Dr. Yalom. His questioning guides them down the existential path to freedom and responsibility.

This application paper will discuss my personal theory of counseling or psychotherapy in a number of different areas. Specifically, I will discuss the seven areas of interest. First, I will discuss and describe

Integrative Psychotherapy grasps a demeanor towards the act of therapy that emphasizes the absolute assessment of every person. The integrative strategy is stamped by uncovering a variety of methods for incorporating numerous speculation and strategies (Corey, 2013). It is a binding together different approaching, and incorporating them that is basically the objective. The therapy will be fitting and successful if the client is feeling, behavioral, intellectual, and physiological levels are working towards the best measure of life. This method energizes the wellbeing of the individual, and identify with the person’s identity, and the needs.

Existentialist ideas are brought into the therapeutic process as hermeneutics; the methods of interpretation of personal meanings which enable the therapist to better understand the client’s issues in living.R By working through a multiple of universal aspects of what it is to be human a client is helped to seek new ways of living.

3. Existential therapy assumes that we are not only responsible for our own actions but that the power to change exists in one’s power to choose. All humans share this innate power to choose. However, a difference exists in the degree of the drive one needs to motivate the action of choosing. The key, theory suggests, to living healthy and with meaning is to address the concerns of human existence. Issues such as the responsibility of freedom, death, isolation

Existential psychotherapy is best described as a philosophical approach that influences a therapist’s practice. Logotherapy is derived form two Greek words, the first of which is Logos. The general meaning of this word is “a word, a saying, a statement; reason, the mental faculty of thinking, calculation.” The second word is therapeia (which is form therapeuo), meaning “service rendered by one to another;” specifically, “medical service, curing, healing. . .” In essence logotherapy is healing through meaning, or therapy through meaning. Frankl

1) According to Rollo May et al. (1958), existential psychotherapy is based in the I-am experience of being or existing, and consists of exploring immediate individual human experience. These experiences include being-with-nature, being-with-others, being-with oneself, and being with the spiritual. 2) According to Carl Rogers (1980), PCT has a phenomenological basis in the here and now and places a premium on direct personal experience. It is meant to help individuals realize that true knowledge is best attained through lived experiences wherein the “self “resolves whether an action or feeling subsists as enriching or not. 3) Fritz Perls (1969) believed that every moment of therapy is an experience to embrace and confront because Gestalt therapy is a first person, her-and now involvement that gets in touch with one’s current sensory experience. 4) CBT is thought to promote self-efficacy primarily through mastery experiences in which clients develop the belief that they are able to effectively cope with sensations, thoughts, and behaviors in their phenomenological realm of being (Tonnesvang et al., 2010). The counselor’s discussions and encouragement regarding the client’s ability to cope with emotional and psychological symptoms is key. Self-efficacy beliefs characterize an individuals’ perceptions that they are capable to execute the actions in the here and now that remain necessary to achieve their desired

This paper presents the basis for, and the research on, Person centered therapy and Existential therapy and its effectiveness or lack thereof with regard to marriage. The Existential approach delves into the conscious exploration of how we live our lives. It focuses on self-discovery and our existence in the world, and conditions that are presented to us. The approach itself focuses on the client rather than the symptoms and understanding the human experience. The existential approach disclaims the deterministic view of human nature and emphasizes the freedom

Existential theory is only one of many different theories in psychology. This paper will work to help give the reader a better understanding of what Existential theory is, what the common factor accountability is and how the common factor accountability works within the existential theory to help a client and/or therapist gain a better understanding of the choices, thoughts, or behaviors that helped get a client into the position they are in and how holding themselves accountable to their actions, behaviors or thoughts can help them reach healthy attainable goals in their life. In this paper the reader will gain a better understanding about how existential theory looks at the whole person and how they reached the point where they needed to seek assistance in understanding themselves and how they can hold them self and how others can hold them accountable for their actions, thought, and behaviors.

Stan suffers from a drinking problem that he uses to make himself feel better about his life due to the fact that he feels he is a failure because being aged 35 and still having yet to complete college as well as being afraid of starting new relationships with anyone but especially woman; with this in mind the existential therapy type is effective for Stan because his pushes him to realize that he can take control of his own life again because he is the one that can choose if he drinks or if he tries to speak the woman that he would like to

According to Yalom and Josselson (2011), Existential psychotherapy needs no manual or a specific structure that guides each and every act of a therapist. The main focus of this therapy is on the nature of individuals, and the various emotional and psychological issues they face like anxiety, grief, loneliness, isolation etc. in the process of ‘making meaning’ in their respective lives (as cited in Corey, 2011 ).