Existential Therapy

Recall how often in human history the saint and the rebel have been the same person. ~ Rollo May  

There was no one founder or group that started the existential therapy movement.  Many psychologists and psychiatrists were involved.  The key figures to this movement was Soren Kierkegaard 91813-1855), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), Martin, Heidegger (1889-1976), Martin Buber (1878-1965), Ludwig Binswanger (1881-1966), Medard Boss (1903-1991), Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), Rollo May (1909-1994), James Bugental (1915-2008), Irvin Yalom (1931- ).  Other contributors were Kirk Schneider, Orah Drug, David Elkins, and Ken Bradford.

Key Concepts

Existential Therapy does not follow a set of techniques but instead is based on understanding what it means to be human.  The movement focuses on respect for the individual, exploring new aspects of human behavior, and for different methods of understanding the individual.

The basic dimensions of the human condition include:

Ø  The Capacity for Self-Awareness-Freedom, choice, and responsibility make up this proposition.  The more aware that a person is the freer they are.  This proposition means that we are both free to be creative but limited by social and environmental constraints.  Increasing self-awareness is an aim of counseling.  It is stressed that there is a price to pay for self-awareness.  The more aware we become it will be more difficult to return to thought patterns and behaviors.  In self-awareness there may be turmoil but there is also fulfillment.

Ø  Freedom and Responsibility-People are free to choose their path, which will shape their own future.  There are three values that existential therapy embraces: the freedom to become within the context of natural and self-imposed limitations; the capacity to reflect o the meaning of our choices; and the capacity to act on the choices we make.  We didn’t have a choice to be born but we do have a choice on the way we live.  An individual can make excuses by speaking about “bad faith.”  They can blame their future on the fact that they were born a certain way or grew up in a dysfunctional family but the fact remains that they choose their path.

Ø  Striving for Identity and Relationship to Others-People want to relate to others but also to be unique and be centered in self.  Individuals have a desire to be on a path of self-discovery and to authenticate themselves.  Existential writers talk about up rootedness, alienation, and loneliness that can be seen as a failure to connect to others and to nature.  Another problem that individuals have is failure to connect to self.  People often take directions, answers, values, and beliefs from significant people in their lives instead of trusting self.

Ø  The Search for Meaning-The reason that people seek counseling and therapy are centered in these existential questions: “Why am I here?”  “What do I want from life?”  “What gives my life purpose?”  “Where is the source of meaning for me in life?”  Existential therapy helps clients challenge the meaning in their lives.  People will often get rid of traditional values and not create new ones.  This therapeutic process helps clients create a value system that is based on a way of life that is consistent with the client’s way of being.  The therapist’s trust is important in helping clients create a new value system.

Ø  Anxiety as a Condition of Living-Existential anxiety is the unavoidable outcome of being confronted with the “givens of existence” – death, freedom,, choice, isolation, and meaningless.  Anxiety arises as the realities of our mortality is recognized, pain and suffering is confronted, and the need to struggle for survival.  There is a difference between normal and neurotic anxiety.  Anxiety can be a source of growth.  Normal anxiety is appropriate and is a response to a particular event being faced.  Neurotic anxiety is anxiety that is not appropriate for the given situation.  This kind of anxiety tends to immobilize the person.  Anxiety must be faced and viewed as part of the adventure.  A new life might sometimes mean new anxiety.  Self-confidence lessens the expectation for a catastrophe to happen.

Ø  Awareness of Death and Nonbeing-If we view life as being significant than it is necessary to view death as significant.  Death is not a threat but motivation for the individual to take advantage of the present moment.  Death should be the force that makes the individual live life to the fullest extent.  The fear of death bubbles inside of an individual and haunts them throughout their life.  Confronting the fear of death can assist in transforming the individual’s life into an authentic one.  A person that fears death also fears life.  When the reality of death is accepted the individual realizes that actions count, they do have choices, and they must accept responsibility for their actions.

Therapeutic Goals

Ø  To help the client become more present to both themselves and others.

Ø  To assist the client in identifying ways they block themselves from fuller presence.

Ø  To challenge clients to assume responsibility for designing their present lives,

Ø  To encourage clients to choose more expanded ways of being in their daily lives.

Techniques Used

Existential therapy is not technique oriented.  Therapists may use techniques from other models but the main goal is to understand the world of the client.  The therapist prefers description, understanding, and exploration of the client’s reality, as opposed to diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.  Therapists prefer not to be though of as repair psyches but rather as philosophical companions.  Existential therapists should adapt their interventions to their own personality and style.

The following link is movies that reflect many existential themes:

http://www.existential-therapy.com/Arts/Movies.htm

References

Corey, G. (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (9^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Existential Therapy. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.existential-therapy.com/Existential_Quotes.html

Person-Centered Therapy

The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change. ~ Carl Rogers

Carl Rogers (1902-1987) founder and a “quiet revolutionary” who continues to contributed to the development and whose influence continues to shape counseling practice today. 

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) helped to further the understanding of self-actualizing individuals.  Many of Carl Rogers ideas are built on Maslow’s basic philosophy.

Key Concepts

Ø  Rogers believed that people are trustworthy, resourceful, capable of self-understanding and self-direction, able to make constructive changes, and able to live effective and productive lives. 

Ø  When therapists are real with the client and able to support, care, and understand them then that is when significant change will occur. 

Ø  Three therapist characteristics create an environment in which the client can grow.  Those three characteristics are congruence, unconditional positive regard, and accurate empathic understanding.

Ø  The therapist is not the authority while the client sits passively following the beliefs of the therapist.

Ø  This approach focuses on how the client interacts with others, how they can constructively move forward, and how they deal with obstacles.

Therapeutic Goals

Ø  The client’s goal is to achieve more independence and integration.

Ø  The person is the focus.  Not the person’s problems.  The client is assisted in their growth process and how the client can better deal with problems.

Ø  The client chooses the goals.

Techniques Used

The therapist is focused in their ways of being and attitudes.  Techniques to get the client to “do something” are avoided.  Attitude of the therapist is more important than techniques, knowledge, and theories.  The therapist is the instrument of change.  The therapeutic climate is set by the therapist’s attitude and belief in the inner resources of the client.  The therapist has a real relationship with the client.

The following video is what a person-centered therapy session might look like: 

References

Carl Rogers Quotes. (2012). Retrieved from:  
            http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologyquotes/a/rogersquotes.htm

Corey, G. (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (9^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Existential Therapy. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.existentialtherapy.com/Existential_Quotes.html

Psychoanalytic Therapy

A man should not strive to eliminate his complexes but to get into accord with them: they are legitimately what directs his conduct in the world. ~ Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis.  He dedicated most of his life defining his theory of psychoanalysis.  Although he received much criticism for his work he left behind an intellectual legacy.  Many other theorists use his views and basic concepts as a foundation for which they build on. 

Other significant people who contributed to Psychoanalytic Therapy:  Carl Jung and Erik Erikson.

Key concepts

Ø  Human nature – Human nature and experience are determined by irrational drives and unconscious impulse.  These drives and impulses develop through psychosocial stages that continue through 60+ years of age.  He believed that most everyone’s goal in life was to gain pleasure and avoid pain.

Ø  Structure of personality – The personality is made up of the id, the ego, and the superego.  The id is first system of personality and makes up a person at birth.  The id is ruled by the pleasure principle.  It never matures or thinks.  It is mostly unconscious and only acts or wishes.  The ego controls the personality and is ruled by the reality principle.  The ego attempts to weigh the benefits of satisfying a need and mediates between the external environment and instincts.  Last but not least, the superego is the moral compass of an individual.  It contains moral standards and traditional values that have been handed down from mother and father to the children.  The superego is the right and wrong of the personality. 

Ø  Conscious and unconscious – The unconscious is dreams, slips of the tongue, posthypnotic suggestions, material derived from free association techniques, material derived from projective techniques, and the symbolic content of psychotic symptoms.  The conscious is the bigger part of the mind.  Unconscious is where repressed material, memories, and experiences are kept and it interferes with healthy functioning.

Ø  Anxiety – This is a feeling of uneasiness or dismay and is a result of repressed feelings, desires, memories, and experiences.  It warns of danger and the level us usually determined by how big of a threat one is faced with.  When the ego finds it difficult to control anxiety rationally then the ego-defense mechanism kicks in.

Ø  Ego-Defense Mechanism – Some examples are denial, repression, projection, rationalization, and regression.  These behaviors can be healthy if they are used correctly.  Defense mechanisms can sometimes distort reality and they always operate on an unconscious level.

Ø  Development of personality – Freud believed that there were psychosexual stages of development that consisted of the oral stage, the anal stage, and the phallic stage.  Erik Erikson believed that there were psychosocial stages of development.

Therapeutic Goals

Ø  Reducing symptoms by increasing adaptive functioning.

Ø  Resolving conflicts by increasing adaptive functioning.

Ø  Make the unconscious conscious

Ø  Base behavior on reality and not instincts, cravings, or guilt.

Ø  Achieve insight and allow for memories and feelings to be experienced.

Ø  Assists clients with having better relationships and deal with anxiety more effectively.

Techniques Used

Ø  Blank Screen Approach – The therapist talks very little about self and stays neutral with the client.

Ø  Build relationship first and then spends time interpreting and listening.

Ø  The therapist listens for inconsistencies when the client is talking and draws a conclusion about the meaning of dreams and free associations.  The therapist is constantly sensitive to any cues that the client may be giving concerning how the client feels toward the therapist.

Fun with Freud

Speaking of techniques, would you like to have your dreams sculpted while you sleep?  Download this fun Sigmund app to your iPhone!  You will be having coffee with a raccoon while you skydive before you know it!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57414810-1/sigmund-app-delivers-aliens-mermaids-to-your-dreams/

References

Brainy Quote. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/sigmund_freud.html

Corey, G. (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (9^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Martin Evan, J. (2012). Freud, Sigmund. Britannica Biographies, 1.

Adlerian Therapy

No experience is a cause of success or failure. We do not suffer from the shock of our experiences, so-called trauma - but we make out of them just what suits our purposes. ~ Alfred Adler

Alfred Adler (1870-1937) was a physician and eventually turned his interests to psychiatry.  He was the founder of the Society of Individual Psychology.  Adler believed that everyone has a sense of inferiority and he was the first systemic therapist.  He believed that it is important to understand the system in which people live.  His theories have played an important role in therapy and child development.  He also contributed to equality between the sexes.

Other significant people who contributed to Adlerian Therapy: Rudolf Dreikurs, Karen Horney, Erich Fromm, and Harry Stack Sullivan.

Key concepts

Ø  View of Human Nature – The first six years of a person’s life is when they start forming their approach.  Adler believed that a person’s past influenced their future.  He believed that people are motivated socially and sexually.  He also believed that behavior was on purpose and conscious.  His approach stressed choice, meaning in life, completion, perfection, and success.  Heredity and environment does not determine behavior.  He stressed that where we are from is not is important as where we are going.  Adlerian Therapy focused on reshaping society and reeducating people.

Ø  Subjective and Perception of Reality – Adlerians try to view things from the client’s perspective.  This is described as phenomenological.  The person’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs, conclusions, and conclusions is the focus.

Ø  Unity and Patterns of Human Personality – The goal is to understand the entire person.  It is believed that the entire person is connected and all the components take part in movement toward a goal.  There is a holistic concept to this therapy and it implies that a person cannot be understood in parts.  Everything about a person is taken into consideration with this approach.  The emphasis is on interpersonal relationships and not just the individual’s internal psychodynamics.  This concept concludes that behavior is purposeful and goal oriented, feelings of inferiority and striving for perfection is innate, and that people can consciously create a new lifestyle.

Ø  Social Interest and Community Feeling – This is the most significant concept.  This is the awareness of being part of a community and how a person deals socially with others.  This concept means that a person gives and takes and strives for making the world a better place.  Social interest is to have empathy and to strive for a healthier and more social life.  This is expressed through sharing activities with and showing respect for others.  Community feeling means that a person is connected to all of humanity.  This includes past, present, and future.  Those who have no community feeling will eventually become discouraged and be useless.  It is believed that the problems that people have are the byproduct of fear of not being accepted by the groups and people that are valued.  Three universal life tasks must be mastered: social task – building friendships, love-marriage task – establishing intimacy, and occupational task – contributing to society.  These tasks must be addressed regardless of how old a person is.

Ø  Birth Order and Sibling Relationships – Special attention is given to the relationships between siblings and the birth position in a family.  The position in which a child is born increases the probability of certain experiences.  The oldest child receives a lot of attention.  She is the center of attention and tends to work hard and be dependable.  The second child has to share the attention with the older sibling.  This child normally acts as though she is in a race and she is always trying to get ahead.  The second child is usually the opposite of the first.  The middle child may often feel cheated and will sometimes assume a “poor me” attitude.  This child may become problematic or will hold things together in a family with lots of conflicts.  The youngest child is the pampered one.  This child will often become very good at being spoiled and having others serve him.  The youngest child may be totally different from the other siblings and outshine all the others.  The only child is a lot like the oldest child and may never learn to share or be cooperative with others.  The only child will usually deal with adults well due to not having other children around to interact with.  This child may be very dependent on the parents and have to have all the attention throughout their life.

Therapeutic Goals 

Ø  To help the client have a sense of belonging and to help foster behaviors and characteristics by community feeling and social interest. 

Ø  Not to cure but to reeducate and reshape society. 

Ø  To inform, teach, guide, and offer encouragement to the client. 

Ø  To build confidence, courage, and social interest by overcoming feelings of discouragement and inferiority.

Ø  To help the client see himself as equal to others.

Techniques Used

Ø  Clients are not labeled with pathological diagnoses. 

Ø  Comprehensive assessment of the client’s functioning level is completed.  This is done by doing a family constellation which is a questionnaire about all people living in the home, life tasks, and early memories.

Ø  Early memories (before the age of 10 years old) are used by the counselor to get a better understanding of the client.

Ø  A lifestyle assessment is completed.  This is to enable the counselor to better understand the client’s goals and motivations.  When this is done then the target of therapy is determined.

To learn more about Adlerian Therapy and have fun while doing it visit: 

http://quizlet.com/3828107/adlerian-techniques-flash-cards/

References

Brainy Quote. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/alfred_adler.html

Corey, G. (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (9^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Lafountain, R. (2009). Alfred Adler's Place in the Field of Psychology. The General Psychologist, 44, 22-25.

Martin Evan, J. (2012). Freud, Sigmund. Britannica Biographies, 1.