C6436 4th Existential
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Existential Therapy C6436 Individual Counseling Theory and Practice James J. Messina, Ph.D.
Victor Frankl 1905-1997
Born & educated in Vienna, Austria Prisoner, Nazi Concentration Camps-Auschwitz & Dachau 1942-45-lost parents, brother, wife & children Love is the highest goat to which humans can aspire-our salvation come through love We have choices in every situation in our lives Spiritual freedom & independence of mind can be had in the worst situations Essence of humans lies in searching for meaning & purpose Logotherapy: Therapy through Meaning
Frankl’s Perspective
“He who has a WHY to live for can bear with almost any HOW” –Nietzsche quoted by Frankl, 1963 “That which does not kill me, makes me stronger”-Nietzsche quoted by Frankl, 1963 Modern person has means to live but often has no meaning to live for-malady of our times is meaninglessness or “existential vacuum” Purpose of therapy-challenge people to find meaning and purpose through suffering, work & love
Rollo May 1909-1994
Born in Ohio, moved to Michigan-five brothers and one sister-unhappy homelife He had two failed marriages Studied with Alfred Adler in Vienna Had TB in sanitarium 2 years Anxiety-The Meaning of Anxiety, 1950 Love and Will, 1969- love & intimacy Help people discover meaning of lives Be concerned with problems of being rather than with problem solving-sex, intimacy, growing old, facing death-coping with being alone & dyingwork at ways to better society in therapy
May’s Perspective
It takes courage to BE-our choices determine kind of person you become Constant struggle in people:
Want to grow toward maturity & independence But realize expansion & growth is often painful process So struggle between security of dependence and delights & pain of growth
Existentialism
Area of philosophy concerned with the meaning of human existence Asking questions about issues of love, death and the meaning of life How one deals with the sense of value and meaning of one’s life
Being-in-the-World
Martin Heidegger (1962) Nothing would exist in the world if people were not here to see it vs laws govern all behaviors and the behaviors & their laws exist no matter if there people there at the time If a tree fell in a forest, and there was no one to hear it, would the tree make noise?
Existentialists Believe:
The world changes as people’s ideas about it change. Ideas of world = human construction “Beings-in-the-World” = Self cannot exist without a world and the world cannot exist without a person (a being) to perceive it Must study human beings in their worlds
Existentialists: Don’t ask whyJust accept what is
Do not consider why questions but They consider that statements They do not ignore or explain away the issues of man such as ethics or morals They do not concern themselves with the conflict of choosing ethics or morals but rather accept that it is essential part of humans to do so
Phenomenological
People’s perceptions or subjective realities are considered to be valid data for investigation Phenomenological discrepancy = two people perceiving save situation differently
Nondeterministic
Existentialist argue that it is an oversimplification to view people as controlled by fixed physical laws People cannot be viewed simply as “cogs in a vast machine” Encouragement of theories that consider individual initiative, creativity, & selffulfillment Focus on active, positive aspects of human growth and achievement
Dialectical Tension
People having contradictory traits which produce this tension Dialectic = process by which two contradictory forces or tendencies lead to a resolution or synthesis E.g.: masculine & feminine inclinations, extroverted & introverted etc.
I-Thou dialogue vs I-It dialogue
Our relationship comes from our relationships with others (Martin Buber, 1937) I-thou = human confirms the other person as being of unique value-direct mutual relationships I-it = person uses others but does not value them for themselves-utilitarian Self-disclosing of therapist emotional response to client’s demonstration of valuing of client’s feelings and perspective
Existential Therapy Philosophical/Intellectual Approach to Therapy
BASIC DIMENSIONS ~ OF THE HUMAN CONDITION The capacity for self-awareness The tension between freedom & responsibility The creation of an identity & establishing meaningful relationships The search for meaning Accepting anxiety as a condition of living The awareness of death and nonbeing
The Capacity for Self-Awareness
The greater our awareness, the greater our possibilities for freedom Awareness is realizing that: We are finite - time is limited We have the potential, the choice, to act or not to act Meaning is not automatic - we must seek it We are subject to loneliness, meaninglessness, emptiness, guilt, and isolation
Freedom and Responsibility
People are free to choose among alternatives and have a large role in shaping personal destinies Manner in which we live and what we become are result of our choices People must accept responsibility for directing their own lives
Identity and Relationship
Identity is “the courage to be” ~ We must trust ourselves to search within and find our own answers Our great fear is that we will discover that there is no core, no self Aloneness ~ we must tolerate being alone with self-must have a relationship with self Struggling with identity-trapped in doing mode to avoid experience of being Relatedness ~ At their best our relationships are based on our desire for fulfillment, not our deprivation Relationships that spring from our sense of deprivation are clinging, parasitic, and
The Search for Meaning
Meaning ~ like pleasure, meaning must be pursued obliquely Finding meaning in life is a by-product of a commitment to creating, loving, and working “The will to meaning” is our primary striving Life is not meaningful in itself; the individual must create and discover meaning Goals deal with Discarding old values Coping with Meaninglessness Creating new meaning
Anxiety – A Condition of Living
Anxiety-arises from strivings to survive & maintain own being Existential anxiety is normal - life cannot be lived, nor can death be faced, without anxiety Anxiety can be a stimulus for growth as we become aware of and accept our freedom We can blunt our anxiety by creating the illusion that there is security in life If we have the courage to face ourselves and life we may be frightened, but we will be able to change
Awareness of Death & Nonbeing
Awareness of death is a basic human condition which gives significance to living We must think about death if we are to thing significantly about life If we defend against death our lives can become insipid & meaningless We learn to live in the “now,” one day at a time-results in zest for life & creativity
Aim of Existential Therapy
Rejects deterministic outlook on mankind People are free & responsible for their choices & actions People are the authors of their lives Existential Therapy encourages clients to reflect on life, recognize range of alternatives, & decide among them Goal: recognize ways they passively accepted circumstances & surrendered control-so to start consciously shaping own lives by exploring options for creating a meaningful existence
Two Central Tasks of Existential Therapists
Inviting clients to recognize how they have allowed others to decide for them Encouraging clients to take to take steps toward autonomy “Although you have lived in a certain pattern, now that your recognize the price of some of your ways, are you willing to consider creating new patterns?”
Relationship Between Therapist and Client
Therapy is a journey taken by therapist and client The person-to-person relationship is key The relationship demands that therapists be in contact with their own phenomenological world The core of the therapeutic relationship Respect, & faith in the clients’ potential to cope Sharing reactions with genuine concern & empathy
Victor Frankl 1905-1997
Born & educated in Vienna, Austria Prisoner, Nazi Concentration Camps-Auschwitz & Dachau 1942-45-lost parents, brother, wife & children Love is the highest goat to which humans can aspire-our salvation come through love We have choices in every situation in our lives Spiritual freedom & independence of mind can be had in the worst situations Essence of humans lies in searching for meaning & purpose Logotherapy: Therapy through Meaning
Frankl’s Perspective
“He who has a WHY to live for can bear with almost any HOW” –Nietzsche quoted by Frankl, 1963 “That which does not kill me, makes me stronger”-Nietzsche quoted by Frankl, 1963 Modern person has means to live but often has no meaning to live for-malady of our times is meaninglessness or “existential vacuum” Purpose of therapy-challenge people to find meaning and purpose through suffering, work & love
Rollo May 1909-1994
Born in Ohio, moved to Michigan-five brothers and one sister-unhappy homelife He had two failed marriages Studied with Alfred Adler in Vienna Had TB in sanitarium 2 years Anxiety-The Meaning of Anxiety, 1950 Love and Will, 1969- love & intimacy Help people discover meaning of lives Be concerned with problems of being rather than with problem solving-sex, intimacy, growing old, facing death-coping with being alone & dyingwork at ways to better society in therapy
May’s Perspective
It takes courage to BE-our choices determine kind of person you become Constant struggle in people:
Want to grow toward maturity & independence But realize expansion & growth is often painful process So struggle between security of dependence and delights & pain of growth
Existentialism
Area of philosophy concerned with the meaning of human existence Asking questions about issues of love, death and the meaning of life How one deals with the sense of value and meaning of one’s life
Being-in-the-World
Martin Heidegger (1962) Nothing would exist in the world if people were not here to see it vs laws govern all behaviors and the behaviors & their laws exist no matter if there people there at the time If a tree fell in a forest, and there was no one to hear it, would the tree make noise?
Existentialists Believe:
The world changes as people’s ideas about it change. Ideas of world = human construction “Beings-in-the-World” = Self cannot exist without a world and the world cannot exist without a person (a being) to perceive it Must study human beings in their worlds
Existentialists: Don’t ask whyJust accept what is
Do not consider why questions but They consider that statements They do not ignore or explain away the issues of man such as ethics or morals They do not concern themselves with the conflict of choosing ethics or morals but rather accept that it is essential part of humans to do so
Phenomenological
People’s perceptions or subjective realities are considered to be valid data for investigation Phenomenological discrepancy = two people perceiving save situation differently
Nondeterministic
Existentialist argue that it is an oversimplification to view people as controlled by fixed physical laws People cannot be viewed simply as “cogs in a vast machine” Encouragement of theories that consider individual initiative, creativity, & selffulfillment Focus on active, positive aspects of human growth and achievement
Dialectical Tension
People having contradictory traits which produce this tension Dialectic = process by which two contradictory forces or tendencies lead to a resolution or synthesis E.g.: masculine & feminine inclinations, extroverted & introverted etc.
I-Thou dialogue vs I-It dialogue
Our relationship comes from our relationships with others (Martin Buber, 1937) I-thou = human confirms the other person as being of unique value-direct mutual relationships I-it = person uses others but does not value them for themselves-utilitarian Self-disclosing of therapist emotional response to client’s demonstration of valuing of client’s feelings and perspective
Existential Therapy Philosophical/Intellectual Approach to Therapy
BASIC DIMENSIONS ~ OF THE HUMAN CONDITION The capacity for self-awareness The tension between freedom & responsibility The creation of an identity & establishing meaningful relationships The search for meaning Accepting anxiety as a condition of living The awareness of death and nonbeing
The Capacity for Self-Awareness
The greater our awareness, the greater our possibilities for freedom Awareness is realizing that: We are finite - time is limited We have the potential, the choice, to act or not to act Meaning is not automatic - we must seek it We are subject to loneliness, meaninglessness, emptiness, guilt, and isolation
Freedom and Responsibility
People are free to choose among alternatives and have a large role in shaping personal destinies Manner in which we live and what we become are result of our choices People must accept responsibility for directing their own lives
Identity and Relationship
Identity is “the courage to be” ~ We must trust ourselves to search within and find our own answers Our great fear is that we will discover that there is no core, no self Aloneness ~ we must tolerate being alone with self-must have a relationship with self Struggling with identity-trapped in doing mode to avoid experience of being Relatedness ~ At their best our relationships are based on our desire for fulfillment, not our deprivation Relationships that spring from our sense of deprivation are clinging, parasitic, and
The Search for Meaning
Meaning ~ like pleasure, meaning must be pursued obliquely Finding meaning in life is a by-product of a commitment to creating, loving, and working “The will to meaning” is our primary striving Life is not meaningful in itself; the individual must create and discover meaning Goals deal with Discarding old values Coping with Meaninglessness Creating new meaning
Anxiety – A Condition of Living
Anxiety-arises from strivings to survive & maintain own being Existential anxiety is normal - life cannot be lived, nor can death be faced, without anxiety Anxiety can be a stimulus for growth as we become aware of and accept our freedom We can blunt our anxiety by creating the illusion that there is security in life If we have the courage to face ourselves and life we may be frightened, but we will be able to change
Awareness of Death & Nonbeing
Awareness of death is a basic human condition which gives significance to living We must think about death if we are to thing significantly about life If we defend against death our lives can become insipid & meaningless We learn to live in the “now,” one day at a time-results in zest for life & creativity
Aim of Existential Therapy
Rejects deterministic outlook on mankind People are free & responsible for their choices & actions People are the authors of their lives Existential Therapy encourages clients to reflect on life, recognize range of alternatives, & decide among them Goal: recognize ways they passively accepted circumstances & surrendered control-so to start consciously shaping own lives by exploring options for creating a meaningful existence
Two Central Tasks of Existential Therapists
Inviting clients to recognize how they have allowed others to decide for them Encouraging clients to take to take steps toward autonomy “Although you have lived in a certain pattern, now that your recognize the price of some of your ways, are you willing to consider creating new patterns?”
Relationship Between Therapist and Client
Therapy is a journey taken by therapist and client The person-to-person relationship is key The relationship demands that therapists be in contact with their own phenomenological world The core of the therapeutic relationship Respect, & faith in the clients’ potential to cope Sharing reactions with genuine concern & empathy
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