Existential

Counselling &
Psychotherapy
Deena SUMESSUR 1412220
Sonia WONG KAM LAN 1414981
Elisa TRAVAILLEUR 1414686
Sean RUNGEN 1414808
Camille BASTIEN 1410389

Table of Content

Introduction & History

Basic Concepts
Practice and Strengths of the Therapy
Limitations
Conclusion

What is the Existential

Approach?
Existential psychotherapy is a philosophical
method of therapy that operates on the belief
that inner conflict within a person is due to that
individual's confrontation with the givens of
existence (Viktor, 1997)
These givens are: the inevitability of death,
freedom and its attendant responsibility,
existential isolation, and finally meaninglessness
(Yalom, 1980)

History
3000 years of philosophy
-Ancient Greek

Kierkegaard (1813-55)
Nietzsche (1844-1900)

 Husserl (1859-1938)phenomenology
Heidegger (1889-1979)-Applied
phenomenology
Sartre (1905-80)

Theory and Basic

Concepts
Human Nature
Human nature does not really exist
Our nature is to be essentially nothing
We become someone by the choices that we
make. We are always changing
Existentialists view the self as a construction.
From moment to moment the new self emerges

Choice

Restrict ourselves by seeing us in

a fixed manner
We have more choice in life than
we generally allow ourselves
(Sartre, 1958)
Within the limits of facticity, we
can be whatever we choose to be
We have a choice in our response
to these limits

Freedom
Difficult to accept this notion of
freedom, let others take
responsibility for who we are
No absolutes, no certainties in
life
We are free to decide how we
want to live our life; we make our
own rules; we find our own
meaning
Humans prefer to keep a routine
life; follow rules; pretend not to

Anxiety and Guilt

This notion of freedom and choice
triggers anxiety
Existential anxiety is considered as
an aspect of existence
None of us can escape it however
hard we try
Existentialists also believe that it is
very hard to always fulfil our
responsibility to ourselves

 We are always in debt with

ourselves. We feel guilty for this
This leads to existential guilt
Just like existential anxiety,
existential guilt is an aspect of
existence (an existential given)

Being-in-the-world
Existence means being-in-theworld (Heidegger, 1962)
This emphasizes on our inevitable
relationship
Our built-in connection to all that we
meet

With World
I have as many personalities
as I have friends
We do everything in relation to
others; we live in connection
with others
We are all profoundly
interdependent both at
personal and economic levels

Interpreted World
We are both connected to others
and at the same time ultimately
isolated from them; no ones
experience is exactly the same as
ours
Corey (2013) people are concerned
about preserving their uniqueness
and centeredness, yet at the same
time, they have an interest in going
outside of themselves to relate to
other beings and to nature

Death
Heidegger (1962) suggests that the
awareness of death is freeing; if we
are aware of our mortality, that life
is finite, he argued that we will live
more fully in the present

Meaninglessness
Human existence itself is disturbingproblems in living
There is no fixed meaning in life; we
need to create it ourselves

Practice in Existential Counselling

and Psychotherapy
Goals
Existential therapists are not concerned with
setting goals for the therapy
Their main concern is to help clients
understand that they have more freedom
that they thought they had
Clients then come to realise that making a
choice is often difficult
Authenticity has been considered as a goal
in existential psychology (Heidegger, 1962)

Phenomenological Method
Method of inquiry originally used in
philosophy
This method was developed by the
German philosophers, Edmund Husserl
(1859-1938) and Martin Heidegger (18891976)
Using the philosophical perspective, the
phenomenological method involves
questioning everything and therefore
taking nothing for granted (Edmund
Husserl, 1859-1938)
Existential therapists on the other hand,
use that method in their approach to

Therapists attitude
During the therapy, the therapist and
the client become what they are in
relation to each other

Interventions
Silence as most important
A phenomenological attitude is
adopted, ie, Nothing is taken for
granted
Interpretations are strictly descriptive.
Terms remain as they are. For e.g., a
box remains a box; but it will be
investigated on its own to find
meanings

The Change Process

Clients are given their space: To
explore their personal experience.
Role of the therapist:
Discover something of what life is
like for the client
Gain approximately of clients
experience

Through this, the Client :

Question assumptions
Realize more choices
Start recognize responsibility about
themselves
Face their anxieties
Live more authentically and are less
concerned with superficiality
Take ownership of their lives and
live fully in the present

Format of a Typical Session

No typical format of a typical session
Every therapeutic encounter is
different
No clearly defined rules
It is the clients role to set the agenda
for the therapy

Which clients benefit the most?

(Strengths of the Therapy)
Existential approach is potentially useful to
anyone.

e.g those who wish to re-evaluate

themselves, explore the various
choices available, explore
instrapsychic conflicts and decisions.

Not for those who :

Look

for advice

Look

for structured technique oriented

 Successfully treated:
Mental health issues e.g.
depression, anxiety, substance
dependency, posttraumatic
stress (from military combat,
rape, interpersonal violence, life
threatening experiences)
Results:

Heightened self-awareness, selfunderstanding, self-respect,

self-motivation

Limitations
Not a theory that is clearly defined to lend
itself on empirical evidence
It is very individualistic and may not be
effective on clients from collectivist
cultures
For example, in multicultural populations, it
is too individualistic and may omit social
factors that lead to psychological problems
Existential counselling is not beneficial for
brief therapies

Limitations
Existential counselling may be too
complicated to be used effectively
Existential psychology takes an antireligious or anti-spiritual approach; it
denies the existence of God
It involves taking a dark, negative or
pessimistic view of life
It is only beneficial to people of high
intellect

Case Study

References
Corey, G., & California State University. (2013). Theory
and practice of counselling and psychotherapy. Belmont,
Calif: Wadsworth
Frankl, Viktor (1997). Man's Search for Meaning. Pocket.
Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time. Oxford: Blackwell
Palmer, S. (2000). Introduction to Counselling and
Psychotherapy. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications
Sartre, J. P. (1958). Being and Nothingness. London:
Methuen
Yalom, I. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. Basic Books.
ISBN 0465021476.