Use Of Existential Therapists View Themselves As Companions

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that aims to help a person manage their problems by changing how they think and act. It is a problem solving approach which recognizes that clients have a behavioral

As stated above there are some very specific techniques which work well when using CBT. Additionally, there are several Social Psychology techniques which can be applied to CBT. I believe that these five techniques which are used with Social Psychology can be used with CBT: goals, cognitive dissonance, conscious override, belief and coping, and moral inclusion.

According to Thoma, Pilecki, and McKay (2015), CBT is a result of the evolution and the intertwining of cognitive therapy and behavior therapy. Many of the early behavior theories and therapy techniques are combine with cognitive theories and techniques to form CBT

This document will explore the fundamental principles that confirm the importance of Frankl’s, Existential Theory and Logotherapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can be applied to a range of disorders for improvement. CBT can work by changing people’s behavior and attitudes to focus on underlining issues within their thoughts, and beliefs. This type of therapy is based on the meanings we give our negative thoughts (Martin, 2016). Negative thoughts can essentially hinder positive behavior, creating a cycle. CBT works to change the way of thinking for a patient to encourage positive behavior. Someone who is suffering from psychological distress often has a negative way of interpreting situations, which becomes a cycle (McLeod, 1970).

Behavioral techniques utilized by CBT are designed not only to change certain behaviors, but also to elicit the individual's cognitions associated with specific behaviors.

The individual is then shown how to change their negative emotions so they can then improve on themselves. CBT also deals with the issues that the person is feeling at that time rather than focusing on things that have happened in the past.

This therapy includes techniques to stop or reduce the unwanted behavior related to emotional or behavioral problems. As an example, for agitation it is advised to the patients to take deep breathing and relaxation techniques. Shallow breathing is advised in depression. CBT is a form of psychotherapy and very effective to understand and treating emotional or behavioral problem. The Cognitive Behavior approach is widely used by the Psychologists to identify and understand the factors that are responsible for emotional or behavioral problem in people.

CBT is an integrated approach using various combinations of cognitive and behavioral modification interventions and techniques (Myers, 2005). The aim is to change maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving that impact clients in the present (Weiten et al., 2009). From a cognitive behavioral perspective Jane would be diagnosed as having faulty thinking and dysfunctional behavioral issues suffering from depression, and anxiety in the form of Agoraphobia (Weiten et al., 2009).

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.

Not much has been written about the use of expressive arts in existential practice. “Pat Allen, one of the founders of the open studio approach to art therapy… decided to experiment with having people make art alongside each other and be of service to each other during the process, hence the Open Studio Approach” (Story, 2007). This approach is based upon three elements; intention, attention and witness (Story, 2007).

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

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.