Existential Therapy
Chapter 5
EXISTENTIAL THEORY AND THERAPY
[A]ctually, I have been told in Australia, a boomerang only comes back to the hunter when it has missed its target, the prey. Well, man also only returns to himself, to being concerned with his self, after he has missed his mission, has failed to find meaning in life. —Viktor Frankl, Psychotherapy and Existentialism: Selected Papers on Logotherapy (1967, p. 9)
Some forms of counseling and psychotherapy, such as Freud’s psychoanalysis, evolved primarily from medical practice with disturbed patients. Others, such as behavior therapy, arose from experimental psychological research. Still others, such as personcentered therapy (Chapter 6) and individual psychology (Chapter 3), have roots in clinical practice, humanistic-existential philosophy, and, to some degree, psychotherapy research. In contrast, purely existential approaches to counseling and psychotherapy are more directly and deeply linked to philosophy than any other perspective. Existentialists typically eschew scientific research because of its inauthentic artificiality. Additionally, although they practice therapy with individuals, couples, families, and groups, their approach is systematically guided by a philosophical position, rather than knowledge obtained from therapeutic practice. As Irvin Yalom, a renowned existential therapist, has stated, “I have always felt that the term ‘existential therapy’ reflects not a discrete, comprehensive body of techniques, but, instead, a posture, a sensibility in the therapist” (Serlin, 1999, p. 143).
138
• About a few key existential philosophers
• Basic principles of existential philosophy
• Theoretical principles of existential and Gestalt therapy
• The four ultimate existential concerns
• Specific techniques employed by existential and Gestalt therapists
• The scientific efficacy of existential therapy approaches
• Ethical dilemmas facing existential therapists
• Multicultural issues facing
EXISTENTIAL THEORY AND THERAPY
[A]ctually, I have been told in Australia, a boomerang only comes back to the hunter when it has missed its target, the prey. Well, man also only returns to himself, to being concerned with his self, after he has missed his mission, has failed to find meaning in life. —Viktor Frankl, Psychotherapy and Existentialism: Selected Papers on Logotherapy (1967, p. 9)
Some forms of counseling and psychotherapy, such as Freud’s psychoanalysis, evolved primarily from medical practice with disturbed patients. Others, such as behavior therapy, arose from experimental psychological research. Still others, such as personcentered therapy (Chapter 6) and individual psychology (Chapter 3), have roots in clinical practice, humanistic-existential philosophy, and, to some degree, psychotherapy research. In contrast, purely existential approaches to counseling and psychotherapy are more directly and deeply linked to philosophy than any other perspective. Existentialists typically eschew scientific research because of its inauthentic artificiality. Additionally, although they practice therapy with individuals, couples, families, and groups, their approach is systematically guided by a philosophical position, rather than knowledge obtained from therapeutic practice. As Irvin Yalom, a renowned existential therapist, has stated, “I have always felt that the term ‘existential therapy’ reflects not a discrete, comprehensive body of techniques, but, instead, a posture, a sensibility in the therapist” (Serlin, 1999, p. 143).
138
• About a few key existential philosophers
• Basic principles of existential philosophy
• Theoretical principles of existential and Gestalt therapy
• The four ultimate existential concerns
• Specific techniques employed by existential and Gestalt therapists
• The scientific efficacy of existential therapy approaches
• Ethical dilemmas facing existential therapists
• Multicultural issues facing