c6436 4th existential

8/14/2019 C6436 4th Existential

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Existential Therapy

C6436 Individual Counseling

Theory and Practice

James J. Messina, Ph.D.


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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 canaspire-our salvation come through love

We have choices in every situation in our lives

Spiritual freedom & independence of mind canbe had in the worst situations Essence of humans lies in searching for

meaning & purpose

Logotherapy: Therapy through Meaning


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Frankls Perspective

He who has a WHYto live for can bear withalmost any HOW Nietzsche quoted by Frankl,1963

That which does not kill me, makes mestronger-Nietzsche quoted by Frankl, 1963

Modern person has means to live but often has

no meaning to live for-malady of our times ismeaninglessness or existential vacuum Purpose of therapy-challenge people to find

meaning and purpose through suffering, work &

love


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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 ofbeingrather thanwith problem solving-sex, intimacy, growing old,facing death-coping with being alone & dying-work at ways to better society in therapy


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Mays Perspective

It takes courage to BE-our choicesdetermine 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


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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 ones life


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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 lawsexist no matter if there people there atthe time

If a tree fell in a forest, and there was noone to hear it, would the tree makenoise?


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Existentialists Believe:

The world changes as peoples 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


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Existentialists: Dont ask why-

Just accept what is

Do not considerwhy questions but

They considerthat statements

They do not ignore or explain away theissues 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


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Phenomenological

Peoples perceptions or subjective

realities are considered to be valid data for

investigation Phenomenological discrepancy = two

people perceiving save situation differently


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Nondeterministic

Existentialist argue that it is anoversimplification to view people ascontrolled by fixed physical laws

People cannot be viewed simply as cogsin a vast machine

Encouragement of theories that considerindividual initiative, creativity, & self-fulfillment

Focus on active, positive aspects ofhuman growth and achievement


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Dialectical Tension

People having contradictory traits which

produce this tension

Dialectic = process by which twocontradictory forces or tendencies lead to

a resolution or synthesis

E.g.: masculine & feminine inclinations,extroverted & introverted etc.


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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 asbeing 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 clients demonstration of valuing of clients

feelings and perspective


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Existential TherapyPhilosophical/Intellectual Approach to Therapy

BASIC DIMENSIONS ~ OF THE HUMANCONDITION 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


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The Capacity for Self-Awareness

The greater our awareness, the greater ourpossibilities 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, andisolation


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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 fordirecting their own lives


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Identity and Relationship Identity is the courage to be ~ We must trust

ourselves to search within and find our ownanswers Our great fear is that we will discover that

there is no core, no self

Aloneness ~ we must tolerate being alone withself-must have a relationship with self Struggling with identity-trapped in doingmode to

avoid experience ofbeing

Relatedness ~ At their best our relationships arebased on our desire for fulfillment, not ourdeprivation Relationships that spring from our sense of

deprivation are clinging, parasitic, and


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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 individualmust create and discover meaning

Goals deal with Discarding old values Coping with Meaninglessness

Creating new meaning


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Anxiety A Condition of Living

Anxiety-arises from strivings to survive &maintain own being

Existential anxiety is normal - life cannot belived, 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 theillusion 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


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Awareness of Death & Nonbeing

Awareness of death is a basic humancondition which gives significance to living

We must think about death if we are tothing significantly about life

If we defend against death our lives canbecome insipid & meaningless

We learn to live in the now, one day at atime-results in zest for life & creativity


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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 startconsciously shaping own lives by exploring

options for creating a meaningful existence


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Two Central Tasks of Existential

Therapists

Inviting clients to recognize how they haveallowed others to decide for them

Encouraging clients to take to take stepstoward autonomy

Although you have lived in a certainpattern, now that your recognize the priceof some of your ways, are you willing toconsider creating new patterns?


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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 bein 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

c6436 4th existential

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