EXISTENTIAL

APPROACH
Victor Emil Frankl
 In 1942, Frankl and his parents, wife, and brother
were arrested and sent to the concentration camp.
 In an effort to prevent suicide attempts, Frankl and
others tried to help other inmates facing severe
depression by encouraging them to reflect on
positive memories, scenes, and thoughts.
 His experiences in the camps leads to the
development of logotherapy. He believed that
even in the midst of dehumanizing and atrocious
conditions, life still had meaning and that suffering
had a purpose.
 Frankl wrote Man’s Search for Meaning, a
groundbreaking book that detailed his perspective
of living through the ordeal that was the
concentration camp.
Rollo May
 May attributed his interest in psychology
to his troubled family life and the
conflicting relationship of his parents.
 His primary aim was to understand the
underlying mechanisms and reality
behind human suffering and crises.
 Rollo May, his book “The Meaning of
Anxiety” came from his first-hand
experience with it when he had to stay in
a sanitarium for 2 years because of
tuberculosis. His book “Love and Will”
reflects his own personal struggles with
love and intimate relationships.
 leading figure in the development of
existential psychotherapy in the USA.
 EXISTENTIAL
COUNSELING/THERAPY

• focus is on “understanding what it means to be human”

• A philosophical approach that emphasizes our freedom to
choose what to make of our circumstances
• not a specific technical approach that presents a new set of
rules for therapy. It asks deep questions about the nature of the
human being and the nature of anxiety, despair, grief,
loneliness, isolation,
BASIC CONCEPTS
1. Individual writes their own life story by the choices they make.
 Human is in a constant state of transition. Thus, existential approach
contends that there is no fixed self and that we are continually in a
process of emerging, evolving and “becoming”.
“Who Am I”
“What Can I Know”
“Where Am I Going”

2. Anxiety/Angst
seen as the motivational force that helps the clients to reach their
potential. Conversely, anxiety is also seen as the paralyzing force that
prevents clients from reaching their full potential. Therefore, through
awareness, this anxiety can be helpful in living more fully.
3. Each person searches for meaning in life.
• by doing a deed (accomplishments or achievements)
• by experiencing a value (beauty, love, nature, and arts)
• by suffering (reconciling ourselves to fate)
4. People are free and responsible for their own choices and behavior.
 Six basic dimensions of the human
condition

1. Capacity for Self-awareness

To expand our awareness is to increase our capacity to live fully. 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
 Existential Anxiety - as we increase our awareness of the choices
available to us, we also increase our sense of responsibility for the
consequences of these choices.
2. Freedom and Responsibility
 We are free to choose among alternatives, we have a role in
shaping our destinies
 “Bad Faith” (Jean-Paul Sartre, 1971)
 The inauthenticity of not accepting personal responsibility
 “Naturally I grew up this way b/c I’m from an alcoholic family”
(playing the victim role; blaming external forces)
 Existential Guilt – feeling that we experience when we don’t live
authentically; being aware of having evaded a commitment, or
having chosen not to choose
 Inauthenticity is assuming external forces control our lives
 Assuming responsibility is a basic condition for change
3. Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others
 As human beings we strive for discover or create a self - that is our
personal identity and we strive for connectedness with others and
with nature.
 We must learn to enjoy being alone before we can enjoy being
with others.
 The experience of relatedness will improve once you’re
comfortable with yourself
 We alone must give a sense of meaning to our life
Identity is “the courage to be”
 We must trust ourselves to search within and find our own
answers

“DON’T GET SO BUSY MAKING A LIVING THAT

YOU FORGET TO MAKE A LIFE”
4. Search for Meaning
 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; WE must create and discover
meaning
Why am I here?
What do I want in life?
What gives my life purpose?
 Existential Vacuum - a loss of life interests and a lack of initiative
and proactiveness
5. Anxiety as a Condition of Living
 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.
 If we have the courage to face ourselves and life we may be
frightened, but we will be able to change
 Opening up to NEW life means opening up to anxieties
 People need normal anxiety to be able to survive (we don’t strive
to eliminate this)
 restricting anxiety in our lives means reducing choices
6. Awareness of Non-being
 Death is a basic human condition, and awareness of it gives
significance to living.
 We have LIMITED time to complete our projects! Each moment is
crucial!
 Our awareness of death is the source of ZEST for life & creativity!
 “If you knew you had 1 week to live, how would you spend it?
 “If you knew you had 1 year to live, how would you spend it?
 “If you knew you had 10 years to live, how would you spend it?
ROLE OF THE COUNSELOR/THERAPIST

1. Understanding the subjective world of client.

2. Focus on client’s current life situation.
3. Deal with clients who have a “restricted existence” (clients have
limited awareness of self, clients vague about nature of their
problem)
 GOALS OF EXISTENTIAL
THERAPY/COUNSELING

1. To expand self-awareness.
2. To increase choice potentials.
3. To help clients accept the responsibility of choosing.
4. To help the client experience authentic existence
 TECHNIQUES
Existential therapy does not define itself predominantly on the basis of
any particular predetermined technique(s).
 The quality of counselor-client relationship is of prime importance.
Counseling may include making the paradoxes of life stand out.
 Many existential therapists also make use empathic reflection,
and active listening. Some may also draw on a wide range of
techniques derived from other therapies such as psychoanalysis,
person-centered and gestalt therapy.
 Confrontation is also used by existential counselors, when they
challenge the clients with their own responsibility for their lives.