What Is Existential Therapy.
A doctor teaching you existentialism as a form of treatment?
We may be familiar with the philosophical concept of Existentialism. It posits that we ultimately are the architects in cultivating meaning. Existential therapy is an empathetic approach to helping individuals suffering from mental health to critically assess their own lives in order to usher in a healthier and stable future.
What Is It?
Existential therapy is a treatment which finds its base in existential thinking. Examining the human condition, this practice investigates the anxieties, dread, and angst usually produced when individuals are confronted with certain existential questions and concepts. (“Existential Psychotherapy” 2019) The four main points that are targeted during treatment are:
Death
Isolation
Meaning
Responsibility
These concepts which are pivotal in understanding existential philosophy also provide a framework for the therapist to work through when trying to assist their patients. (Marschall, 2023) By assessing each component the individual learns to cultivate a stronger sense of confidence and self.
What Does It Do?
This practice encourages individuals to reclaim and assume their meaningful role in the world. Existential dread can be a result of not taking into account our own perception of what reality is. Regardless of the general predicament an individual might face, existential therapy helps “find philosophical meaning in the face of anxiety by choosing to think and act authentically and responsibly.” (Barry, 1999) By encouraging the patient to determine their own reasoning for their life they slowly start to build an identity which may have not fully developed due to the refusal to acknowledge certain existential principles such as responsibility.
How Does it Work?
Similar to the humanistic approach, existential therapy seeks to build an empathetic connection between the therapist and the individual. Unlike the humanistic approach, however, existential therapy doesn’t place great importance on analysing the patient’s past; instead, it places importance on the present and future. (Barry, 1999)
Delving deep into issues, therapist are able to dissect and inform the patient on the implications of neglecting the four existential tenets. When an individual comes to an understanding regarding the cessation of experience in death, the uniqueness of our existence leading to feelings of isolation, the deliberate attempts to create meaning in a meaningless world, and to assume responsibility for our actions, they cultivate a more authentic self; leading to more self awareness and understanding. (Barry, 1999)
Why Does it Matter?
For some, a guided path is a means to live a better existence not fraught with constant states of panic and anxiety. For people nearing death, this experience can help settle their fears with understanding, cultivating more emphasis on not living a disillusioned life. For people who suffer from:
Depression
Substance abuse
Depression
Sexual assault
this therapy is a means to ease their suffering, offering the patient a guide to better live their lives based on a defined set of principles. This form of treatment has proven successful in treating individuals of their respective issues as it seeks not to treat the symptoms but the patient’s human experiences. (Marschall, 2023) To understand the nature of your existence, you slowly start to develop a unique identity devoid of existential anxieties.
Conclusion
Existential therapy is a means to rid an individual’s existential qualms of meaning, identity, isolation, and death. Through an empathic and instructive connection with the therapist, certain underlying issues are resolved leading to a more refined perception of reality.
References
Amy Marschall, P. (2023, May 4). What to know about existentialism-philosophy and existential therapy. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-existentialism-5667161
Barry, K.L. (1999) Brief Humanistic and Existential Therapies. In Brief Interventions and brief therapies for substance abuse. essay, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
GoodTherapy. (n.d.). Existential psychotherapy. GoodTherapy. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/existential-psychotherapy
[Graphic of two people sitting across from each other]. (n.d.) https://www.udemy.com/course/introduction-to-extistential-psychotherapy-for-counseling/