Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHistoryExistential TherapyEffectivenessInterventionsRisks and Limitations

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Table of Contents

History

Existential Therapy

Effectiveness

Interventions

Risks and Limitations

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Existentialism is a philosophy of human nature that identifies people as having free will to determine the course of their lives. It emphasizes individual responsibility to create meaning rather than relying on a higher power or religion to determine what is important, valuable, ormorally right.nm

History of Existentialism

Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher from the 1800s who is considered the father of existentialism. He was critical of Christianity and religious philosophy, emphasizing living as an individual within reality rather than abstract thought experiments.

He believed that individuals must give meaning to their own lives rather than receiving it from society or religion. Kierkegaard additionally focused on human emotion, particularly the anxiety that comes with making choices and discovering meaning and value in life.

Other early existential philosophers, including Friedrich Nietzche and Fyodor Dostoevsky, wrote about creating one’s own identity to give meaning to existence. The inability to identify meaning in one’s life causes anxiety, known as anexistential crisis.

Throughout the nineteenth century, existential writers created novels and plays containing analogies and metaphors for existence and the importance of individuals determining their own meaning.

Many existential philosophers have explored theanxietythat comes with the responsibility to create your own meaning in life. In a world where you create your own meaning, it is easy to fall into the belief that life has no meaning. However, existentialists believe it is important to make the choice to continue on and find this individual meaning.

What Is Existential Therapy?

The German psychoanalyst Otto Rank is considered the first therapist to practiceexistential therapy. He emphasized present feelings and thoughts rather than focusing primarily on one’s past experiences or subconscious in treatment.

He believed that people need to learn more effective ways of thinking and acting in order to overcome mental health issues.

Existential therapy is based on the following:

Existential therapists believe that anxiety comes from uncertainty about the changing nature of the meaning of life and uncertainty about existing in the world, including the physical world, the “world” involving relationships with other people, and the relationship each person has with themselves.

An existential therapist will help clients confront anxiety about their existence, such as fear of death, fear of loneliness, fear of making the wrong choices with the freedom they have, and fear of living a life without meaning. When confronting these fears, you experience psychological distress.

An existential therapist helps the client “focus on personal responsibility formaking decisions.”They help the client develop insight into the reasons why they make their decisions and make future choices based on the value and meaning that they identify for themselves.

Is Existential Therapy Effective?

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, researched patients in inpatient drug dependence treatment and noticed that substance use might be a method of coping with perceived meaninglessness in life.

Research suggests that existential therapy focused on meaning can help alleviate mental health symptoms but has not been shown to impact a personal sense ofwell-being.

Additionally, experiential and cognitive approaches to existential therapy have not been shown to alleviate symptoms.Supportive and expressiveexistential therapy has shown only a small impact on mental health symptoms and has not been shown to improve a sense of well-being.

However, many existential therapists note that “evidence-based practice” requires specific, controlled treatment settings, which are not conducive to an existential approach to treatment. Components of existential therapy, including an emphasis on thetherapeutic relationshipand finding a sense of meaning, are difficult to measure objectively in a research setting.

Existential Therapy Interventions

Existential therapy offers specific interventions that can help clients develop a sense of meaning and alleviate mental health symptoms.

Existential interventions include:

What Is Psychodrama?

Risks and Limitations of Existential Therapy

As described above, existential therapy lacks solid research backing to demonstrate its effectiveness. Although existentialism is difficult to study empirically, it can be difficult to understand what progress looks like in treatment if this is not clearly defined.

Similarly, existential therapy has faced criticism for having vague approaches and goals,though this allows individual clients to find meaning in the way that works best for them.

Can Existential Therapy Treat Trauma?Additionally, because existentialism focuses on individual freedom and choice, this treatment approach is often not ideal for survivors oftraumaand abuse. Emphasizing personal responsibility for one’s state in life can be seen asvictim blamingfor these clients.

Can Existential Therapy Treat Trauma?

Additionally, because existentialism focuses on individual freedom and choice, this treatment approach is often not ideal for survivors oftraumaand abuse. Emphasizing personal responsibility for one’s state in life can be seen asvictim blamingfor these clients.

What Is Trauma Therapy?

A Word From Verywell

Existentialism can help people better understand themselves as individuals and in relation to others in the world. Although it has its limitations, it can be valuable to help clients better identify their values and make choices to create their most meaningful life.

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Dictionary.com.Existentialism.Gardiner, P.Nineteenth Century Philosophy.The Free Press: 1969.Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse.Brief Humanistic and Existential Therapies.May, R., and Yalom, I. Existential psychotherapy. In: Corsini, R.J., and Wedding, D., eds.Current Psychotherapies. 5th ed. F.E. Peacock; 1995.Frankl, V. E. The Spiritual Dimension in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy.Journal of Individual Psychology. 1959; 15(2): 157.Hoffman L, Vallejos L, Cleare-Hoffman HP, Rubin S.Emotion, relationship, and meaning as core existential practice: evidence-based foundations.J Contemp Psychother. 2015;45(1):11-20.Vos J, Craig M, Cooper M.Existential therapies: A meta-analysis of their effects on psychological outcomes.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2015;83(1):115-128.Iacovou, S.; & Weixel-Dixon, K.Existential Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques.Routledge: 2015.Henry CD.Humanistic psychology and introductory textbooks: A 21st-century reassessment.The Humanistic Psychologist. 2017;45(3):281-294.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Dictionary.com.Existentialism.Gardiner, P.Nineteenth Century Philosophy.The Free Press: 1969.Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse.Brief Humanistic and Existential Therapies.May, R., and Yalom, I. Existential psychotherapy. In: Corsini, R.J., and Wedding, D., eds.Current Psychotherapies. 5th ed. F.E. Peacock; 1995.Frankl, V. E. The Spiritual Dimension in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy.Journal of Individual Psychology. 1959; 15(2): 157.Hoffman L, Vallejos L, Cleare-Hoffman HP, Rubin S.Emotion, relationship, and meaning as core existential practice: evidence-based foundations.J Contemp Psychother. 2015;45(1):11-20.Vos J, Craig M, Cooper M.Existential therapies: A meta-analysis of their effects on psychological outcomes.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2015;83(1):115-128.Iacovou, S.; & Weixel-Dixon, K.Existential Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques.Routledge: 2015.Henry CD.Humanistic psychology and introductory textbooks: A 21st-century reassessment.The Humanistic Psychologist. 2017;45(3):281-294.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Dictionary.com.Existentialism.Gardiner, P.Nineteenth Century Philosophy.The Free Press: 1969.Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse.Brief Humanistic and Existential Therapies.May, R., and Yalom, I. Existential psychotherapy. In: Corsini, R.J., and Wedding, D., eds.Current Psychotherapies. 5th ed. F.E. Peacock; 1995.Frankl, V. E. The Spiritual Dimension in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy.Journal of Individual Psychology. 1959; 15(2): 157.Hoffman L, Vallejos L, Cleare-Hoffman HP, Rubin S.Emotion, relationship, and meaning as core existential practice: evidence-based foundations.J Contemp Psychother. 2015;45(1):11-20.Vos J, Craig M, Cooper M.Existential therapies: A meta-analysis of their effects on psychological outcomes.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2015;83(1):115-128.Iacovou, S.; & Weixel-Dixon, K.Existential Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques.Routledge: 2015.Henry CD.Humanistic psychology and introductory textbooks: A 21st-century reassessment.The Humanistic Psychologist. 2017;45(3):281-294.

Dictionary.com.Existentialism.

Gardiner, P.Nineteenth Century Philosophy.The Free Press: 1969.

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse.Brief Humanistic and Existential Therapies.

May, R., and Yalom, I. Existential psychotherapy. In: Corsini, R.J., and Wedding, D., eds.Current Psychotherapies. 5th ed. F.E. Peacock; 1995.

Frankl, V. E. The Spiritual Dimension in Existential Analysis and Logotherapy.Journal of Individual Psychology. 1959; 15(2): 157.

Hoffman L, Vallejos L, Cleare-Hoffman HP, Rubin S.Emotion, relationship, and meaning as core existential practice: evidence-based foundations.J Contemp Psychother. 2015;45(1):11-20.

Vos J, Craig M, Cooper M.Existential therapies: A meta-analysis of their effects on psychological outcomes.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2015;83(1):115-128.

Iacovou, S.; & Weixel-Dixon, K.Existential Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques.Routledge: 2015.

Henry CD.Humanistic psychology and introductory textbooks: A 21st-century reassessment.The Humanistic Psychologist. 2017;45(3):281-294.

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