C6436 4th Existential
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Transcript of C6436 4th Existential
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Existential Therapy
C6436 Individual Counseling
Theory and Practice
James J. Messina, Ph.D.
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Victor Frankl 1905-1997
Born & educated in Vienna, Austria Prisoner, Nazi Concentration Camps-Auschwitz
& Dachau 1942-45-lost parents, brother, wife &children
Love is the highest goat to which humans canaspire-our salvation come through love
We have choices in every situation in our lives
Spiritual freedom & independence of mind canbe had in the worst situations Essence of humans lies in searching for
meaning & purpose
Logotherapy: Therapy through Meaning
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Frankls Perspective
He who has a WHYto live for can bear withalmost any HOW Nietzsche quoted by Frankl,1963
That which does not kill me, makes mestronger-Nietzsche quoted by Frankl, 1963
Modern person has means to live but often has
no meaning to live for-malady of our times ismeaninglessness or existential vacuum Purpose of therapy-challenge people to find
meaning and purpose through suffering, work &
love
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Rollo May 1909-1994 Born in Ohio, moved to Michigan-five brothers
and one sister-unhappy homelife He had two failed marriages Studied with Alfred Adler in Vienna Had TB in sanitarium 2 years Anxiety-The Meaning of Anxiety, 1950 Love and Will, 1969- love & intimacy Help people discover meaning of lives
Be concerned with problems ofbeingrather thanwith problem solving-sex, intimacy, growing old,facing death-coping with being alone & dying-work at ways to better society in therapy
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Mays Perspective
It takes courage to BE-our choicesdetermine kind of person you become
Constant struggle in people: Want to grow toward maturity &
independence But realize expansion & growth is often
painful process So struggle between security of dependence
and delights & pain of growth
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Existentialism
Area of philosophy concerned with the
meaning of human existence
Asking questions about issues of love,death and the meaning of life
How one deals with the sense of value
and meaning of ones life
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Being-in-the-World
Martin Heidegger (1962) Nothing would exist in the world if people
were not here to see it vs laws govern all
behaviors and the behaviors & their lawsexist no matter if there people there atthe time
If a tree fell in a forest, and there was noone to hear it, would the tree makenoise?
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Existentialists Believe:
The world changes as peoples ideas
about it change.
Ideas of world = human construction Beings-in-the-World = Self cannot exist
without a world and the world cannot
exist without a person (a being) to
perceive it Must study human beings in their worlds
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Existentialists: Dont ask why-
Just accept what is
Do not considerwhy questions but
They considerthat statements
They do not ignore or explain away theissues of man such as ethics or morals
They do not concern themselves with the
conflict of choosing ethics or morals but
rather accept that it is essential part of
humans to do so
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Phenomenological
Peoples perceptions or subjective
realities are considered to be valid data for
investigation Phenomenological discrepancy = two
people perceiving save situation differently
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Nondeterministic
Existentialist argue that it is anoversimplification to view people ascontrolled by fixed physical laws
People cannot be viewed simply as cogsin a vast machine
Encouragement of theories that considerindividual initiative, creativity, & self-fulfillment
Focus on active, positive aspects ofhuman growth and achievement
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Dialectical Tension
People having contradictory traits which
produce this tension
Dialectic = process by which twocontradictory forces or tendencies lead to
a resolution or synthesis
E.g.: masculine & feminine inclinations,extroverted & introverted etc.
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I-Thou dialogue vs I-It dialogue
Our relationship comes from our relationships
with others (Martin Buber, 1937)
I-thou = human confirms the other person asbeing of unique value-direct mutual relationships
I-it = person uses others but does not value
them for themselves-utilitarian
Self-disclosing of therapist emotional response
to clients demonstration of valuing of clients
feelings and perspective
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Existential TherapyPhilosophical/Intellectual Approach to Therapy
BASIC DIMENSIONS ~ OF THE HUMANCONDITION The capacity for self-awareness The tension between freedom & responsibility The creation of an identity & establishing
meaningful relationships
The search for meaning Accepting anxiety as a condition of living The awareness of death and nonbeing
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The Capacity for Self-Awareness
The greater our awareness, the greater ourpossibilities 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, andisolation
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Freedom and Responsibility
People are free to choose among
alternatives and have a large role in
shaping personal destinies Manner in which we live and what we
become are result of our choices
People must accept responsibility fordirecting their own lives
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Identity and Relationship Identity is the courage to be ~ We must trust
ourselves to search within and find our ownanswers Our great fear is that we will discover that
there is no core, no self
Aloneness ~ we must tolerate being alone withself-must have a relationship with self Struggling with identity-trapped in doingmode to
avoid experience ofbeing
Relatedness ~ At their best our relationships arebased on our desire for fulfillment, not ourdeprivation Relationships that spring from our sense of
deprivation are clinging, parasitic, and
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The Search for Meaning Meaning ~ like pleasure, meaning must be
pursued obliquely 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; the individualmust create and discover meaning
Goals deal with Discarding old values Coping with Meaninglessness
Creating new meaning
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Anxiety A Condition of Living
Anxiety-arises from strivings to survive &maintain own being
Existential anxiety is normal - life cannot belived, nor can death be faced, without anxiety Anxiety can be a stimulus for growth as we
become aware of and accept our freedom
We can blunt our anxiety by creating theillusion that there is security in life If we have the courage to face ourselves and
life we may be frightened, but we will be able
to change
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Awareness of Death & Nonbeing
Awareness of death is a basic humancondition which gives significance to living
We must think about death if we are tothing significantly about life
If we defend against death our lives canbecome insipid & meaningless
We learn to live in the now, one day at atime-results in zest for life & creativity
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Aim of Existential Therapy
Rejects deterministic outlook on mankind People are free & responsible for their choices &
actions People are the authors of their lives Existential Therapy encourages clients to reflect
on life, recognize range of alternatives, & decide
among them Goal: recognize ways they passively accepted
circumstances & surrendered control-so to startconsciously shaping own lives by exploring
options for creating a meaningful existence
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Two Central Tasks of Existential
Therapists
Inviting clients to recognize how they haveallowed others to decide for them
Encouraging clients to take to take stepstoward autonomy
Although you have lived in a certainpattern, now that your recognize the priceof some of your ways, are you willing toconsider creating new patterns?
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Relationship Between Therapist
and Client Therapy is a journey taken by therapist and
client
The person-to-person relationship is key
The relationship demands that therapists bein contact with their own phenomenological
world
The core of the therapeutic relationship
Respect, & faith in the clients potential to
cope
Sharing reactions with genuine concern &
empathy