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Jun 14, 2022 · Existential theory is rooted in the philosophical idea that humans have free choice, and because of that free choice, we can create purpose and meaning in our lives. Existential theory suggests ...
- Marissa Moore
- Overview
- What is existential theory?
- What is existential therapy?
- How does existential therapy work?
- What are existential therapy techniques?
- Who may benefit from existential therapy?
- What are the limitations of existential therapy?
- The bottom line
Life is filled with a lot of big questions: What’s the point? What’s the meaning? Why am I here?
Existential theory tries to answer a lot of those questions to help people find meaning and understanding. It’s a concept long debated and discussed by philosophers of the last two to three centuries. It’s also found its way into a type of therapy.
Existential therapy tries to help people find meaning and purpose in their lives. It seeks to end the fear of the unknown. A therapist actively encourages patients to use their capacity to make choices and to develop their lives as a way to maximize their existence, or their reason for being.
Yes, you have free will and the ability to determine your future. That could be stressful or empowering. Existential therapy’s goal is to help you make the choices that leave you feeling less anxious and more authentic.
Existential theory is a centuries-old philosophy. It embraces personal freedom and choice. It purports that humans choose their own existence and meaning.
European philosopher Søren Kierkegaard is thought to be one of the first philosophers of existential theory. Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre followed him and further developed the ideas.
Austrian psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl developed logotherapy in the mid-20th century. This type of therapy intended to help people find meaning in life. That was the primary purpose of an individual, Frankl believed. It was a precursor to today’s existential therapy.
Alongside Frankl, psychologist Rollo May helped shape the practice of a type of humanistic therapy that focused on this concept of existential psychotherapy.
In more recent years, psychiatrist Irvin Yalom established the four givens of existential therapy. These givens, or essential issues, have come to define the problems and roadblocks that prevent people from living their most fulfilled life.
According to Yalom, the four essential issues are:
•death
•meaninglessness
Therapists who practice existential therapy aim to help their patients embrace their choices and their plans with an eye toward the possibilities, not the past. Existential therapists believe the past can be instructive. However, it isn’t meant to inform anything you currently do or want from life.
Instead, therapists urge patients to use creativity, love, and other life-enhancing experiences to help them make decisions and determine their behaviors for the future. In this process, a therapist hopes to help their patient learn to think and act without concern for anxiety or fear of messing up one’s life.
Existential therapy can be incorporated into any type of psychotherapy. The techniques of this philosophy involve talking, listening, answering questions, and engaging with your therapist over many weeks, possibly months. But instead of treating a symptom, such as anxiety, existential therapy aims to focus on the person as a whole.
As an example, existential therapy would suggest that people with addiction disorder are dealing with anxiety and fear because of one of the essential givens. But, they didn’t find a resolution that left them reassured. They then turned to substance use and misuse.
For an existential therapist, in that case, they would work to help the person with the use disorder face that anxiety head-on. They may help their patient identify why those anxieties and fears feel so overwhelming.
They may even try to introduce patients to experiences that enhance their well-being. These may include relationships, courage, spirituality, and others. This positive affirmation and engagement helps the therapist guide you to thoughtful responsibility — and hopefully the end of substance misuse.
No matter the specific technique, the goal behind existential therapy is to let people grow and embrace their lives, their wishes, and their curiosity without fear of the givens.
It aims to address issues of empathy, the here and now, and even dreams, which can reflect unconscious fantasies, with the help of an existential therapist.
Existential therapy may be beneficial for people with a variety of symptoms, including:
•anxiety
•dependency or use disorders
•depression
•post-traumatic stress disorder
•apathy
This type of practice is often perceived as too pessimistic or dark for some people. That’s because it embraces the painful, hurtful elements of life. For example, one goal of this therapy is to learn to not be afraid of death so that fear of death doesn’t control your choices.
While most psychotherapy focuses on one-on-one interactions, research suggests group therapy may have some benefit for people practicing existential therapy.
In one study, participants were more likely to be a part of a group if the duration of the group’s efforts were shorter. However, the shorter duration may not have resulted in great effectiveness. In that study, the short interaction did little to help the study participants’ psychological state.
In another study, however, educated women homemakers more frequently reported “self-flourishing” and an improved attitude toward life after taking part in existential group therapy.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with worry or anxiety when you stop to think about your future, your purpose, your meaning. Those are big questions. In fact, for some people, contemplating these questions too often or without good resolution can lead to an existential crisis.
But the goal of existential therapy is to help people not feel overwhelmed by the future and the possibility. Instead, a therapist will seek to help you find a balance between being aware of your responsibility to your own future and not being overwhelmed by it.
Oct 24, 2024 · Fourth, existentialism focuses on ontology, on some doctrine of the general meaning of Being, which can be approached in any of a number of ways: through the analysis of the temporal structure of existence; through the etymologies of the most common words—on the supposition that in ordinary language Being itself is disclosed, at least partly (and thus is also hidden); through the rational ...
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that believes that the human existence cannot be completely described simply by rational, idealistic or scientific terms and that individual freedom, responsibility and experience are what define it. At its essence, existentialism is a rejection of the idea of predetermined essence or universal truths.
Jan 6, 2023 · There is a cascade of scholarship published every year in leading journals and academic presses that captures the enduring relevance of existentialist thought, including important new work engaging the significance of French existentialism as an ethical theory (Webber 2018), reframing our conceptions of virtue and human flourishing (McMullin 2019), and even addressing current analytic debates ...
Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that prioritize the existence of the human individual, study existence from the individual's perspective, and conclude that, despite the absurdity or incomprehensibility of the universe, individuals must still embrace responsibility for their actions and strive to lead authentic lives.
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May 17, 2023 · Finally, existentialism has been applied to political activism. It can help people think deeply about the implications of their actions and how they can make a difference in the world. Existentialism encourages individuals to question existing systems and work towards creating a more just and equitable society. Existentialism
