Existential Therapy Research Paper

To begin with, of the therapist/counselor is to apply a vast area of methods when dealing with clients, by providing them with the necessary tools using various existential-humanistic approaches. The reason is that there are no two people alike in the world. With this in mind, people’s problems, beliefs thought process, and their ‘here and now’ is a representation of our individuality and how each of us handle things. Therefore, when a person comes to see a therapist, it is important for that therapist to be able to help and address their issues, in the best way possible. This involves, the therapist/counselor to be knowledgeable, with various

The therapist attempted to take an Existential approach with the client. The therapist aimed to make the client aware of her anxiety that she described as worry or being a

This paper investigates the relationship between fundamental conceptions and considerations of several major theories that personally resonate with me. Included in these resonating theories, I will discuss how Existential Psychotherapy, Person Centered Therapy (PCT), Gestalt, and Cognitive- Behavior therapy (CBT) can be equally supplemental when respected as harmonizing functions in a more comprehensive integrative therapeutic methodology. Through research, classes, and life experience I have developed a viewpoint that fits my personality and personal style. It can be reasoned that existential therapy, defined as a phenomenological philosophy of humanness answers the more profound questions of meaning, fits well with PCT that centers itself

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).

Therapy can be a difficult, and even a painful process, wherein the client explores the good, the bad and the ugly within themselves, perhaps for the very first time in their lives. Their issues and personality may in fact shape the line of therapy provided to them by their therapist or in fact when they choose the therapist. Therapies that will be compared and contrasted in this essay will be person centred therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and existential therapy. Each therapy style has different views on what is deemed important for therapeutic movement. Each of these therapy styles has found a place for the therapeutic relationship but each has separate views of the importance of the relationship (Lambert & Barley,

Based on my past experience and a review of this week’s reading, I believe the theories that best fit with my personal philosophies are the Person-centered therapy and Existential therapy. As Experiential and Relationship-Oriented Therapies, these theories share some key concepts that really fit with how I see my role in the therapeutic relationship and what I believe about personal power and change.

Creating together with the client the optimal conditions for this process is the job of the person centered therapist (Tudor & Worral, 2006). It is remarkable that the person centered approach appears to be compatible with several philosophical trends: European existentialism and structuralism, the approach of Buddhism, Hinduism, and other totally different philosophies and ways of living (Tudor & Worral, 2006). The link is the central idea that the person is a unique organism with the tendency of growing towards fully functioning status. The human organism is active and actualizing, tending towards greater order, complexity, and interrelatedness in the universe. Actualizing is also a biological concept. According to Tudor et al. (2006) actualizing works unselfconsciously and can be activated and experienced in psychotherapy. The self is a philosophical concept we need to explain ourselves by internal dialogue and reflection. In PCT we make an entity of it by making the self both the subject and object that we have to actualize. The mutual process of the therapeutic relation is the central theme to PCT and other psychotherapeutic theories. Both client and therapist must contribute their necessary conditions for therapeutic change to take

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.

Theories within psychotherapy guide interactions between the therapist and client, providing a process by which the client can come to understand and resolve their problems. However, these theories can often be conflicting with opposing techniques and goals. Existential therapy is best considered as a philosophical approach to the therapeutic process, which gives prominences to the themes of freedom, self-determination, self-awareness and anxiety (Yalom & Josselson, 2011, p. 310). It emphasises the individual’s capacity to make free choices regarding the person they become, and focuses less on the use of techniques. In contrast, Freudian psychoanalytic therapy considers ways to change problematic behaviours or thoughts by examining their concealed unconscious motivations and meanings (Corey, 2013, p. 63). Past experiences are significant in determining the distinctive behaviour of the individual, which is analysed by the therapist through techniques such as dream analysis and free association. Whilst both theories view the individual and their difficulties as unique, existential and psychoanalytic therapy have opposing views of human nature and therapeutic goals.

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).

However, contemporary existential theorists and practitioners believe it is changing or has changed, with a broader focus on in-depth inquiry with implications for social change (Schneider, 2011). Another core weakness of existential therapy is its focus on self-determination, which may not fully consider the complex issues relating to oppression of the individual. Additionally, many clients may expect a more problem-centered approach to counseling offering a more structured approach than existential therapy typically

Among these therapeutic approaches are the psychodynamic approach and the existential approach. An example of existential approach psychotherapy is the person-centred therapy that was introduced by Carl Rogers in the 1940s. Person-centred therapy (PCT) focuses on the quality of the person-to-person therapeutic relationship; it places faith and gives responsibility to the client in dealing with problems and concerns (Corey, 2009, p. 30). On the other hand, for the psychodynamic approach, Sigmund Freud, the core founder of this approach developed psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a therapy aimed to treat mental disorder. It is a set of techniques for treating the unconscious causes of mental disorders; as well as to explain the underlying factors of how human personality and abnormality develop from childhood (Corey, 2009, p. 30). This paper examines the similarities and differences between psychoanalytic therapy and

The practice that assist a therapist in determining a client diagnosis and the proper treatment plan that would resolve the issue surrounding the clinet’s diagnosis is Case Conceptualization and Treatment Planning. The clinet’s treatment plan must be appropriate and relational and this will alow any type of medication and adaptions to be adjusted if needed so that modifications and adaptations can be adjusted as needed (Altman, Briggs, Frankel, Gensler, and Pantone, 2002). The ultimate goal of case conceptualization and treatment planning is to discover complete findings in relation to the client. One approach is Existential Therapy. The human

It is important that the therapist conduct sessions in a way where they are showing themselves in the session without pretense. This allows a growth-promoting climate with the psychoanalysis of the client’s behavior. An important factor for a successful person-centered therapy allows clients the freedom to develop and control their own lives, rather than being tied to their past (Goodwin, 2008). This method also denotes and consists of psychotherapy theory and humanistic therapy where the concentration is on the present rather than the past, and the humanistic analyst tends to underlines awareness instead of being unaware. Both theories share a common method while patients and clients converse their feelings vocally and the therapist provide analyses.

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.