Existential Therapy: Death, Freedom & Self-Awareness Essay

We all only have one life. One shot in this world to be something big. In the speech by Steve Jobs, he says, “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” This statement is true because most people do not constantly think about the fact that life isn’t forever. Jobs makes a valid point that constantly reminding yourself that death is always around the corner can help people make conscious decisions that will benefit their lives. No person is safe from death. Nobody gets a free pass to live forever. This is why we must always remember that we are not immortal.

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

Different counseling theories, such as psychoanalytic, Adlerian, client-centered therapy, existential psychotherapy, gestalt therapy, and reality therapy can be applied to different clinical settings and populations by a counselor or therapist (Rayner & Vitali, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to apply a counseling theory, existential therapy, to the provided case study of Paul, a 34-year-old male with work inhibition, but yearns for more in his life. Essentially, counseling theories can be used a foundation for counselor’s or therapist’s work with clients. It is one of the most unique forms of counseling theories that aims at exploring the psychological and emotional challenges faced by a client from a philosophical perspective, particularly

People throught out the world and throughout time all had different perceptions of death. Some people accepted death cause they knew sooner or later it was going to get them and there is no way to escape it. Other people ran trying to escape death cause they were afraid of death but they still could never escape death. Death is one of the few forces in reality that is absolute.

Existential psychotherapy is a dynamic, philosophical approach to therapy that is based on the premise that an individual’s conflict within is due to their concerns with the givens of existence (Yalom, 1980). These givens, or ultimate concerns as noted by Yalom (1980), are inescapable properties that are part of the human existence in the world: meaninglessness, freedom (and its associated responsibility), isolation, and the inevitability of death. Confrontation with these givens can result in existential anxiety (Corey, 2009).

In our hearts, we know death is a part of life. We don't all want to face it

What is Existential therapy? Existential therapy is a philosophical approach to therapy that focuses on the meaning of our existence and the basic premise that we are what we choose to be. It is an approach that focuses on inner conflict within a person based on the four givens (death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness). The existential tradition seeks an overall balance between limited dimensions and one’s opportunities in life. The limitations are the four givens and the possibilities are your creation of your own life. The current focus of the existential approach is on the individual’s experience of being in the world alone and facing the anxiety of this isolation, as stated in our textbook (Corey, 2016).

I can bet that all of us here have wrestled with death once or twice in our lives. We all know how hard it is to cope with the loss of something that we love. After, people say that they completely understand death and what it means. There are many times in my own life where I think that I have understood death. I was wrong. Sure, I have lost fish and grandparents, but the one that hurt me the most and made me truly understand is when I lost my dog.

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.

Why are we allowed to be more humane to our pets than our parents? Physician-assisted suicide is a voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Euthanasia is another term for this practice it provides a competent patient with a prescription for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life. Compassion and Choices or Death with Dignity are names of supporters that promote euthanasia, also referred to as physician-assisted suicide, and believe that it is just as humane for terminally ill animals as it is for people. I too agree that it should be legally and morally open for choice to anyone suffering from a terminal

A key concept of existential therapy is the relationship between freedom and responsibility. In contrast

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

There are some philosophies we can take to be better prepared to face death. First, by attending to the important relationships in our live so that we don?t have regrets about what we failed to say or do with those we

We are all aware of death, and we know it will come to us all. To many of us death brings a chill down our spine ridden with fear, but to others it is ridden with strength and satisfaction of accomplishment. Fortunately or unfortunately we are all condemned to death. However no one knows when exactly the inevitable will approach, but we all know it is inescapable. But what makes death seem more realistic to us and those in denial of it is the lucid pictures of people suffering, in pain and those on their death bed before many of us can be rationale and accept the truth. Someone once said, “Life is about 50-70 years of pain. One is born through the mother’s pain and die leaving others in pain.'; How do we accept and

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.