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Existential Counselling Psychotherapy FINAL
Existential Counselling Psychotherapy FINAL
Counselling &
Psychotherapy
Deena SUMESSUR 1412220
Sonia WONG KAM LAN 1414981
Elisa TRAVAILLEUR 1414686
Sean RUNGEN 1414808
Camille BASTIEN 1410389
Table of Content
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)
Choice
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
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
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
for advice
Look
Successfully treated:
Mental health issues e.g.
depression, anxiety, substance
dependency, posttraumatic
stress (from military combat,
rape, interpersonal violence, life
threatening experiences)
Results:
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.