Eric Craig invites us to participate in a conversation about existential psychotherapy, which I am pleased to join, and I am able to articulate my questions and disagreements only because he has provided such a clear presentation of the relevant issues. Craig argues two major points: 1) that existential psychotherapy, at least in the United States, has lost its grounding in ontology, and that it must recover that grounding; and 2) that the only adequate ontology for (...) grounding existential psychotherapy is that of Martin Heidegger. In this commentary, I question both of these assumptions. Before proceeding to that discussion, however, we need two clarifications. The first involves.. (shrink)

This exciting volume brings together leading figures across existential psychology in a clear-sighted guide to its current practice and therapeutic possibilities. Its accessible yet scholarly presentation dispels common myths about existential psychotherapy while demonstrating core methods and innovative techniques as compatible with the range of clinicians' theoretical orientations and practical approaches. Chapters review the evidence for its therapeutic value, and provide updates on education, training, and research efforts in the field, both in the US and abroad. Throughout, (...) existential psychotherapy emerges as a vital, flexible, and empirically sound modality in keeping with the current-and future-promotion of psychological well-being. Highlights of the coverage include: Emotion, relationship, and meaning as core existential practice: evidence-based foundations. · Meaning-centered psychotherapy: a Socratic clinical practice. Experience processing as an aspect of existential psychotherapy: life enhancement methodology. Structural Existential Analysis (SEA): a phenomenological method for therapeutic work. Experiencing change: an existential perspective. Creating the World Congress for existential therapy. Clarifying and Furthering Existential Psychotherapy will spark discussion and debate among students, therapists, researchers, and practitioners in existential psychology, existential psychotherapy, and allied fields as well as the interested public. It makes a suitable text for graduate courses in existential therapy, psychological theories, and related subjects. (shrink)

Existential psychotherapy places pivotal significance upon the inter-relational aspects of human experience. By so doing, the therapeutic relationship itself becomes the principal means through which the client’s presenting symptoms and disorders are disclosed as direct expressions and outcomes of the client’s overall “way of being” rather than as isolated and disruptive impediments. At the same time, existential therapy emphasises the actual relationship that emerges between psychotherapist and client and argues that it is via the contrast and comparison (...) of this lived experience with that of their ‘wider world’ experience that clients can find the means to reconsider and reconstruct their “ways of being”. This paper seeks to demonstrate that, as well as their shared aims and methods of enquiry, it is the mutual emphasis upon inter-relatedness as a foundational value for human enquiry that reveals substantive and intriguing points of connection between existential psychotherapy and phenomenological enquiry. The paper furthermore argues that existential psychotherapy might best be viewed as a clearly formulated expression of phenomenological enquiry. (shrink)

Utilizing the definition of phenomenology originally presented by Edith Stein, it is possible to understand Viktor Frankl's existential psychotherapy as falling well within the phenomenological movement. In this article, Frankl's approach to treatment, which utilizes an induced phenomenological struggle, is examined in detail around its relationship with time. Clinical material is presented to illustrate the described treatment approach.

Only in the light of an ontological understanding of human nature can the body of material provided by psychology…be organized into a consistent and comprehensive theory. The analysis of characteristics of the existing being… these ontological characteristics…can give us a structural base for our psychotherapy. This relationship between Being and Da-sein not only makes psychotherapy possible in the first place, but also gives psychotherapy its most fundamental purpose. That is, for the therapist to respond to the appeal (...) of the patient to be. Each psychology merely dreams about man and human existence, because it must necessarily make presumptions about the constitution of the being of the.. (shrink)

In this chapter, we explore how themes of existential philosophy have been used to develop a formal orientation of psychotherapy, and we discuss the main principles of existential psychotherapy and their application in practice. We also draw upon case examples to specifically illustrate how the approach of existential psychotherapy is utilized in clinical practice. In the case examples, each patient's identify has been disguised to maintain confidentiality. The new science of meaning, represented by the (...) chapters in this volume, not only offers therapists a deep conceptual framework within which to practice older, more established techniques but should also suggest new approaches. By recognizing the centrality of meaning as sense making and acknowledging the distinction between the what and the why of sense making, therapists should be armed with a variety of epistemic and teleological tools with which to fashion therapy strategies that are unique for each individual. (shrink)

The psychotherapeutic technologies of the social sciences and humanities are the result of a long process that has shaped its theory and social and therapeutic practice, as part of a specific cultural and ideological context. The use of these technologies as a fundamental prerequisite has a human factor that determines the implementation of communicative mechanisms within the framework of set goals and objectives. Psychotherapeutic technologies are based on a “theory of the human,” which is not a scientific theory in the (...) strict sense of the word, but nonetheless allows for empirical and operational interpretation. (shrink)

The aim of this essay is to provide an overview of how Existential Therapy is fundamentally different from every kind of psychotherapy, including existential psychotherapy. Existential Therapy is no kind of psychotherapy. Confusing the practicing of the two can harm people and thoughts. Existential Therapy is therapy for existence, whereas psychotherapy is therapy for life, a remedy for the problems of living. The adequate distinction between life and existence is an issue that (...) shamefully has gone unaddressed in existential philosophy, existential psychology and research, and existential psychotherapy. This essay describes the main differences between life and existence, and then takes a look at what is healthy for existence versus what is healthy for life. What is found to be most unhealthy for existence is metacarnalizing, recoiling from carnal limits. Metacarnalizing is a primary existential reversal. Existential therapy unreverses existential reversals. Existential therapy unreverses metacarnalizing. Existential therapy essentially de-metacarnalizes. The issue of metacarnalizing and de-metacarnalizing is absolutely alien to all forms of psychotherapy for life. The essay is followed by an appendix, "An Existential View of Physics," which mainly describes the metacarnalizing basis of physics throughout its history. (shrink)

Reviews the book, The psychology of existence: An integrative, clinical perspective by Kirk Schneider and Rollo May . In light of what they see as a growing interest in existential psychology among training clinicians and researchers, Schneider and May have authored a text which introduces the existential movement and outlines clinical applications of existentialism in psychotherapy. The text's most significant contribution is the latter—the presentation of a guiding clinical framework for conducting the "existential- integrative approach" in (...) psychotherapy. While many personality and psychotherapy texts include introductory chapters about existentialism, few discuss how therapy cases are conceptualized and conducted from an existential therapeutic orientation. This text is an important contribution to the clinical psychology training literature. In traditional clinical training programs, existential approaches to psychotherapy are often overlooked, because such approaches are viewed as purely philosophical rather than clinically applicable. Schneider and May challenge this view. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)

This article describes the origin and the work of a volunteer run nonprofit agency designed to provide low cost psychotherapy. The agency was developed by psychotherapists connected with the Seattle University graduate program guided by the vision of psychotherapy as a healing relationship and in response to a growing crisis in the mental health system. We address the benefits and the challenges of this collaborative effort, and especially the difficulty involved in successfully running an agency while staying true (...) to a particular vision of therapy, collaboration, and community. (shrink)

This article describes the origin and the work of a volunteer run nonprofit agency designed to provide low cost psychotherapy. The agency was developed by psychotherapists connected with the Seattle University graduate program guided by the vision of psychotherapy as a healing relationship and in response to a growing crisis in the mental health system. We address the benefits and the challenges of this collaborative effort, and especially the difficulty involved in successfully running an agency while staying true (...) to a particular vision of therapy, collaboration, and community. (shrink)

The core insight of Dr. Angelica Tratter’s essay, as I see it, is that we can approach the question of a person’s ways of being in the world in an ‘ontological’ rather than ‘ontical’ manner. Tratter communicates this insight primarily through a rehabilitation of Ludwig Binswanger’s notion of ‘world-design.’ In what follows, I wish both to affirm Tratter’s insight, and also, through my own elaboration of it, to propose some possible divergences of thought. As Tratter notes, Heidegger was unhappy with (...) Binswanger’s appropriation of his thought. Binswanger, Heidegger claims, mistakenly begins with the subject–object divide, and understands “being in the world” as bridging this divide ;.. (shrink)

This article provides a historical overview of the Existential-Phenomenological tradition in psychiatry and psychotherapy, tracing its development from its origin in nineteenth and twentieth century philosophical thought, through its major European psychiatric proponents and schools, to its emergence as an influential approach in North America after World War II. The emphasis is on the implicit themes that provide continuity within this movement as well as on the distinctive contributions of individual thinkers. We conclude with a discussion of the (...) present status and future prospects of this tradition. (shrink)

I wish to thank both Dr. Eagle and Dr. Thompson for their thoughtful and thought-provoking commentaries on my paper. I address some of the concerns they brought up in this response. When I began to write this paper, my first thoughts were to the effect of “How does one write a relatively brief article about a topic on which I’ve already devoted a rather lengthy book?” What do I include? And what do I leave out? Although the latter of these (...) questions left me dealing with many feelings of ‘existential guilt’ about leaving out ideas I think are important, the former took guidance from the stated purpose of this special issue to address a broad and interdisciplinary audience on the question of what.. (shrink)

Reviews the book, Everyday mysteries: Existential dimensions of psychotherapy by Emmy van Deurzen-Smith . In this book, van Deurzen-Smith carefully crafts her own vision of the meaning and import of existential psychotherapy with wit, sophistication, and an enjoyable and lively style. However, van Deurzen-Smith's text more fully explicates the wide variety of philosophical and psychological sources that feed the existentialist tradition in psychotherapy. This book should serve admirably as an in-depth introduction to existential (...) class='Hi'>psychotherapy—both for those training in the field and those already established seeking more fruitful alternatives to more mainstream approaches. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)

This book offers cutting edge research on the modifications and disruptions of bodily experience in the context of anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic illness, pain, and aging. It presents original contributions in applied phenomenology, biomedical ethics, and the use of medical technologies.

This collection of writings on existential psychology outlines the principles of the discipline, its cultural background, and its contributions to therapy.

In ancient China, a revered Taoist sage named Zhuangzi told many parables. In Existential Psychology and the Way of the Tao, a selection of these parables will be featured. Following each parable, an eminent existential psychologist will share a personal and scholarly reflection on the meaning and relevance of the parable for psychotherapy and contemporary life. The major tenets of Zhuangzi's philosophy are featured. Taoist concepts of emptiness, stillness, Wu Wei (i.e. intentional non-intentionality), epistemology, dreams and the (...) nature of reality, character building in the midst of pain, meaning and the centrality of relationships, authenticity, self-care, the freedom that can come from one's willingness to confront death, spiritual freedom, and gradations of therapeutic care are topics highlighted in this book. (shrink)

This book tracks a particular understanding of self, philosophically, from research evidence and its implications for psychotherapy.

`Hans Cohn has given us a personal and valuable statement about the theoretical underpinnings of his work as a psychotherapist. These can be little doubt about his contribution to our thinking practice is invaluable. Students will find Cohn's easygoing exposition of complex ideas enormously helpful' - Professor Emmy van Deurzen, Existential Analysis `One of the most important books published this year. This long-awaited book by the foremost expert on the relationship between Heidegger and psychotherapy, manages to encapsulate the (...) essence of Heidegger's thinking and make of understandable and relevant to therapists without losing any of the original meaning' - Counsellingbooks.com Anyone interested in modern philosophy is familiar with the name of Martin Heidegger but there is a serious gap in even the most complete accounts of his life and thought. This is Heidegger's association with, and influence on, psychotherapy. Hans C Cohn explores the role of Heidegger's thought in providing an alternative basis for psychotherapeutic practice to the dominant psychodynamic, humanistic and cognitive approaches, also focusing strongly on the practical therapeutic relevance of Heidegger's ideas. This book will be essential reading for students and teachers of modern philosophy, as well as existential psychotherapists, and all practitioners interested in existential approaches to therapy. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Psychodramatic Psychotherapy for Schizophrenic IndividualsJohn Nolte, MD, PhD (bio)As a long-time student, practitioner, trainer, author and advocate of J. L. Moreno, MD,’s works and specifically the psychodramatic method, I am always appreciative of efforts, like Chapy’s, to commend and advocate for psychodrama. This is especially so because for a time, Moreno and psychodrama were heavily criticized, even maligned in the mental health professions. At the same time, considering (...) how poorly Moreno and his methods have been understood as well as the difficulty of accessing his original material, I feel an obligation to set the record straight when confronted with incomplete, inadequate, or sometimes incompetent expositions of Moreno’s psychodrama.Chapy’s article recommends psychodrama as a treatment method for schizophrenic people by calling upon existentialist and phenomenological concepts. Psychodrama, he proposes, opens up existence by allowing “schizophrenic patients to incorporate the experience of an ‘absolutely other.’”There are major flaws in Chapy’s presentation. His “clinical illustration,” the presentation of a psychodrama with a schizophrenic patient, while it may be considered psychodrama under the broadest definition of the term, hardly fulfills the requirements of a psychotherapeutic psychodrama. We must question the competence of the psychodramatist in Chapy’s example. Chapy’s description of the drama itself falls short of being an adequate account of a psychodrama, failing to convey the emotional intensity and realness which a well directed and reported psychodrama achieves. We do not learn, for example, if Damien’s perception of his father is introduced through role reversal with the father, a standard psychodramatic technique which is done in order to give the auxiliary ego taking that role an understanding how Damien experiences his father. We do not know if role reversals are made throughout the drama so that Damien can experience how he is perceived by father, can feel the force of his confrontation in the role of father, and is required to reply as his father to his confrontation. We are given little information about the psychodramatic techniques employed by the director other than the scene setting of the studio in which the psychodramatic [End Page 227] encounter takes place, and the soliloquy in which Damien expresses his worry and hopes for the outcome of the confrontation. It should be clear in the description of the drama whether the father’s statements in the drama were produced by Damien in role reversal, or by the auxiliary ego playing the role. There is a difference and it is significant. Although we are told that Damien “evokes a systematic relationship between him and his father” during the psychodrama, we do not see how this happens. Every psychodrama is an existential experience and its description should fully communicate its meaning and emotion.A more serious problem, however, is that this drama does not deal with Damien’s psychosis. Although Damien may be diagnosed as schizophrenic, his disorder is obviously in remission or controlled by psychotropic drugs. The drama reveals none of the hallucinations, delusions, or disorder characteristic of schizophrenic disorders. It could be psychodrama of any young man with a complaint about his father.The notion that people with schizophrenia can be successfully treated by psychodrama is not new. Moreno began developing psychodramatic psychotherapy at his Beacon Hill Sanitarium, established in 1936. He and psychodrama gained some fame because of his success in treating schizophrenic patients at a time when schizophrenic individuals were considered incapable of benefitting from psychotherapy. Moreno’s approach to the treatment of schizophrenic patients was much more robust than the psychodrama described by Chapy. During a psychotic attack, the individual’s perception of the world and self are distorted in ways that made action and interaction in the world of conventional reality impossible. Additionally, the psychotic episode makes the psychotic person incapable of being comprehended by anyone else, including the psychiatrist. Moreno’s solution was to make the chaotic, bewildering, sometimes violent and always terrifying inner world visible and tangible in the surplus reality of the psychodramatic stage. In moments of lucidity following the psychotic episode, he asked his schizophrenic patients to reenact their psychotic experiences. The result was that, “In this imaginary reality on the psychodramatic stage, the... (shrink)

Many therapists can attest to the fact that adolescents can be difficult and frustating clients-problems are seldom well defined, clearly delineated symptoms are more exception than the rule, and troubling situations often involve the entire family. Gestalt therapist Mark McConville draws on his more than twenty years of professional experience to offer clinicians an effective model for understanding and treating adolescents. He outlines the Developmental Tasks Model, which describes adolescents' struggles, "temporary insanity," and ultimately, triumph of development. He clearly demonstrates (...) that the Gestalt therapeutic model bridges the theoretical and clinical gap, and offers an indepth exploration of the various aspects of clinical work. _Adolescence_ offers valuable nuts-and-bolts advice on initiating therapy with adolescents who are not yet ready to do the self-reflective, exploratory work. In addition, the book examines the therapeutic method of engaging and cultivating the adolescent's emerging inner world. With perception and sensitivity, McConville explains how the clinician can guide the adolescent in the very personal and subjective process of birthing and existential self. The book details the process of the creative reorganization of the self during adolescence and explores the changes that take place in the adolescent's relationships with peers, parents, and others in the adult world. The author also tracks the interplay of intrapsychic and interpersonal boundary development and shows how this interplay manifests itself in relationships and evolves from early through late adolescence. The Gestalt model of therapy allows the clinician to make sense of the confusion of the adolescent world and map out the multiple possibilities of clinical interventions. (shrink)

Many therapists can attest to the fact that adolescents can be difficult and frustating clients-problems are seldom well defined, clearly delineated symptoms are more exception than the rule, and troubling situations often involve the entire family. Gestalt therapist Mark McConville draws on his more than twenty years of professional experience to offer clinicians an effective model for understanding and treating adolescents. He outlines the Developmental Tasks Model, which describes adolescents' struggles, "temporary insanity," and ultimately, triumph of development. He clearly demonstrates (...) that the Gestalt therapeutic model bridges the theoretical and clinical gap, and offers an indepth exploration of the various aspects of clinical work. _Adolescence_ offers valuable nuts-and-bolts advice on initiating therapy with adolescents who are not yet ready to do the self-reflective, exploratory work. In addition, the book examines the therapeutic method of engaging and cultivating the adolescent's emerging inner world. With perception and sensitivity, McConville explains how the clinician can guide the adolescent in the very personal and subjective process of birthing and existential self. The book details the process of the creative reorganization of the self during adolescence and explores the changes that take place in the adolescent's relationships with peers, parents, and others in the adult world. The author also tracks the interplay of intrapsychic and interpersonal boundary development and shows how this interplay manifests itself in relationships and evolves from early through late adolescence. The Gestalt model of therapy allows the clinician to make sense of the confusion of the adolescent world and map out the multiple possibilities of clinical interventions. (shrink)

Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy combines the use of psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin, with psychotherapy. PAP has shown some promise as a novel treatment for Major Depressive Disorder, and empirical research suggests that its efficacy turns on the altered states induced by psychedelic compounds. In this paper we draw on the literature of phenomenology to explain the therapeutic potential of psychedelic experiences. Svenaeus characterises mental illness as a form of suffering that entails three distinct but related experiences of alienation or (...) “unhomelike being-in-the-world”: illness suffering, which relates to embodiment; existential suffering, which relates to self-narratives, and political suffering, which relates to social relationships. Ratcliffe further characterises the experience of MDD in phenomenological terms as a loss of pre-intentional possibility that manifests as excessive noematic feeling in the experience of embodiment, restrictive narratives in the construction of self, and disconnectedness in experience of the social world. We contend that PAP ameliorates the suffering associated with MDD by inducing and consolidating a state of broadened pre-intentional possibility—one that entails sudden, profound and enduring changes in embodiment, self-narratives, and social experience. We argue further that this phenomenological account is consistent with a bio-psycho-social model of mental health and illness, and we frame it as an argument supporting the plausibility of recent claims about treatment success. This helps to justify ongoing future empirical research in this setting. (shrink)

Since its inception, existential psychotherapy has been the principal ‘site,’ whereat philosophy, psychiatry, and psychology join hands. The Swiss psychiatrist, Ludwig Binswanger, is among the first psychiatrists to develop a philosophically grounded vision of psychiatry and psychology. Binswanger is indebted to Heidegger, Husserl, and Buber and becomes the pioneer and founding father of Daseinsanalysis, an existential–phenomenological anthropology for the study of psychoses. Later, in the hands of Medard Boss and under the guidance of Martin Heidegger, Daseinsanalysis evolves (...) as the first and, so far, only psychotherapeutic approach crafted in direct collaboration between a philosopher and a mental health.. (shrink)

Promoting recovery has become more and more important in the care of patients with severe mental disorders such as psychosis. Recovery is a personal process of growth involving hope, self-identity, meaning in life, and responsibility. Obviously, these components pertain, at least in part, to a psychotherapeutic care perspective. Yet, up to now, recovery has mainly been taken into account in transforming health services and as a general framework for supportive therapy. Existential phenomenology abdicates a theoretical stance and considers issues (...) such as death anxiety, isolation, responsibility, and meaning. Thus, it is likely to provide some insight into the psychotherapeutic aspects of recovery. Furthermore, existential psychotherapy allows powerful insights for adopting a recovery-oriented attitude and to provide useful themes for discussing issues allowing patients to gain meaning and hope. This paper describes these elements to give clinicians insights into this complex topic. (shrink)

This study represents an existential-phenomenological investigation of the experience of being accepted in individuals who have undergone psychiatric institutionalization. Written protocols of narrative accounts were collected from nine individuals drawn from a partial hospitalization programme, with the analysis of these narratives revealing seven basic constituents of the focal experience. The paper concludes with a discussion of the clinical implications of these findings for understanding this experience as it relates to psychotherapy with individuals who experience severe mental illness symptoms (...) and/or stigma. (shrink)

The authors argue that Morenian-inspired existential psychodrama turns out to be a formidable lever for opening up existence as it allows schizophrenic patients to incorporate the experience of an “absolutely other” on which the foundation of any autonomous self is built. More precisely, by relying on their clinical experiences, the authors show how psycho-dramatic play goes along with an intense movement of original projection which carries psychotic patients externally in relation to themselves. Offset from their pathological world, these patients (...) feel more inclined to “wear someone else’s shoes,” for the duration of the game, and they do so in a manner that is both sensorial and pathic. This surprising and creative “journey,” which allows them to return to the world better attuned to others and to themselves, is merely an enactment of a “true” intersubjective encounter: the very essence of existential psychodrama. By applying phenomenology to this psychodramatic method, notably by relying on the hypothesis of psychosis being a disorder of what Bin Kimura calls the “ aida,” the authors hope to contribute to the advancement of psychosis’ psychotherapy. (shrink)

The point of psychotherapy has occasionally been associated with talk of ‘life’s meaning’. However, the literature on meaning in life written by contemporary philosophers has yet to be systematically applied to literature on the point of psychotherapy. My broad aim in this chapter is to indicate some plausible ways to merge these two tracks of material that have run in parallel up to now. More specifically, my hunch is that the connection between meaning as philosophers understand it and (...) therapy as psychotherapists ought to practice it is much closer than is suggested by the field of existential psychotherapy, which expressly addresses the topic of life’s meaning and appeals to ideas from classic philosophers such Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, and the like. I instead proffer the claim that psychodynamic and humanistic therapy, clinical psychology, and counselling psychology as such, not a particular branch of them, are best understood as enterprises in search of meaning in life, in the way many present-day philosophers understand this phrase. In this chapter, I spell out what I mean by this bold hypothesis and provide some good reason to take it seriously. (shrink)

Increasing rates of psychiatric problems like depression and anxiety among Swedish youth, predominantly among females, are considered a serious public mental health concern. Multiple studies confirm that psychological as well as existential vulnerability manifest in different ways for youths in Sweden. This multi-method study aimed at assessing existential worldview function by three factors: 1) existential worldview, 2) ontological security, and 3) self-concept, attempting to identify possible protective and risk factors for mental ill-health among female youths at risk (...) for depression and anxiety. The sample comprised ten females on the waiting list at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic for teens and young adults. Results indicated that both functional and dysfunctional factors related to mental health were present, where the quality and availability of significant interpersonal relations seemed to have an important influence. Examples of both an impaired worldview function and a lack of an operating existential worldview were found. Psychotherapeutic implications are discussed. (shrink)

Explores the theoretical and ethical implications inherent in Freudian psychoanalysis, Rogerian client-centered therapy, and Existentialist psychotherapy, under the premise that these are essentially ideologically motivated utopian statements. Because each of these 3 traditions privileges an idyllic conception of mental health and well-being, achievable only through strict adherence to restrictive codes of prescribed beliefs and behaviors, they ultimately reduce human freedom and possibility. In contrast to these traditional approaches, an alternative which seeks to radically reunderstand psychotherapeutic theory and practice in (...) light of writings of the French philosopher E. Levinas is explored. In this alternative approach, psychotherapeutic praxis is seen to break from its absorption in an imaginary order so as to fulfill an ethical obligation to "dwell-with" an Other in the here-and-now immediacy of their suffering. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)

After a brief review of different definitions and types of loneliness I offer an analysis of the concept of existential loneliness and its philosophical background. In contrast to the interpersonal aspects of other types of loneliness, existential loneliness has been characterized as an intrapersonal default state of incommunicability or profound aloneness, part of or based on a fundamental ontological or transcendental structure in human existence. There are both conceptual and practical issues with the notion of existential loneliness, (...) with implications for psychotherapy. I offer a critical approach, and argue that there is no good philosophical basis for this conception of existential loneliness, and that although loneliness can be existential in some respect, it typically manifests itself in interpersonal contexts, and should not be considered a fundamental ontological structure of human existence. (shrink)

In this article, I will try to illustrate some ways in which an existential ontology, based on a phenomenological elaboration of the basic structures or themes of human existence, may prove useful to us in psychotherapeutic theory and practice. A number of philosophers as well as a number of theorists and practitioners of psychotherapy have weighed in on the topic of whether ontology and psychology can or should influence each other and how. In many cases, these discussions have (...) hinged upon the ontological/ontic distinction, particularly as articulated in Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time. In brief, I characterize that distinction by saying that the ontological discussion falls clearly within the.. (shrink)

In response to cancer, patients may be thrown into precarious processes of remaking their purpose, identity, and connections to the world around them. Thoughtful and thorough responses to these issues can be supported by person-centered phenomenological approaches to caring for patients. The importance of perspectives on illness offered by theoretical phenomenology will become apparent through the example of the experience of nausea, or perhaps more accurately put—chemo sickness. The focus here is on how chemo sickness alters one's way of relating (...) to the world. I will examine the phenomenon of nausea through the lens of the phenomenological concept of mood—an existential feeling that engenders a diffused tone permeating through one's world and shapes the envisioned possibilities on one's horizon. (shrink)

The article is a description of Rimas Kociunas’ seminar “The picture of human life and the therapeutic process: the introduction of an existential psychotherapist”, held in Moscow from February 13 to 16, 2020. The seminar was devoted to the study of the basic philosophical principles of existential psychotherapy on which work with a client is based. A specificity of existential therapy is the lack of specific technical methods and methods of working with a client, therefore the (...) content of therapeutic work is determined by a particular vision of a person and his problems. From the point of view of existential therapists, the personality is in constant interaction with the world, the result of which is continuous formation; therefore, instead of studying the qualities and structures of the personality, one should study its life world and ways of building relationships with reality. (shrink)

One of the concerns of the existential-phenomenological tradition has been to examine the human implications of living in a world of proliferating technology. The pressure to become more specialised and efficient has become a powerful value and quest. Both contemporary culture and science enables a view of human identity which focuses on our 'parts' and the compartmentalisation of our lives into specialised 'bits'. This is a kind of abstraction which Psychology has also, at times, taken in its concern to (...) mimic the Natural Sciences. As such it may unconsciously collude with a cultural trend to view humans as objects like other objects and so, fit 'normatively' into the emerging world of specialised and efficient systems. The present paper examines how the findings of a phenomenological study of psychotherapy reflects a movement by people in psychotherapy to recover their sense of human identity in ways that always transcend any form of objectification. Their human complexity is somewhat restored as they move back towards the concrete details of their lives where the human order has its life. In addition to considering the implications of these findings for restoring the uniquely human dimensions of human identity, the paper will also consider the methodological role that an existential-phenomenological approach can play in supporting a broader view of science. In wishing to be faithful to the human order, it champions the value of the human individual as a starting point in human science and this includes a return to concrete experiences, the balance between unique variations and the ground that we share, and the movement from the particular to the general. As such, a phenomenologically-oriented psychology may have an important role to play in helping the broader sciences remember the 'human scale' of things. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology , Volume 2, Edition 1, April 2002. (shrink)

The paper is an interdisciplinary study, which describes the results of applying phenomenological analysis in Sartre’s analysis of being, as well as the main emphases in Merleau-Ponty’s explorations of body/consciousness problem. It also shows the possibilities of applying the phenomenological approach in psychotherapy, in particular in the logotherapy of Victor Frankl. The author’s intention is to show the relationship between the intentional consciousness with its possibilities and limits and the conception of phenomena, which differs strongly with the respective thinkers. (...) While for Sartre the phenomenon is a means of selfalienation and for Ponty a means of embedding the embodied consciousness, with Frankl the phenomenon is a medium of meaning for the intentional consciousness itself. (shrink)

ObjectiveThe current study examined whether compliance with anti-pandemic measures during the COVID-19 pandemic relates to importance of the fulfillment of core psychological needs, namely, relationship, self-esteem, efficacy, and pleasure; coping behavior styles, namely, surrender, self-soothing, divert attention, and confrontation; and worries or concerns beyond COVID-19 which may impair wellbeing.MethodsThis study used a cross-sectional design and online survey data from responses to a structured questionnaire developed within the theoretical framework of schema-based psychotherapy on psychological needs and coping behavior styles from (...) 740 participants in Central Europe and West Africa.ResultsAnalysis indicated that people with the psychological needs of “pleasure” and “efficacy” and the coping style of “surrender” were more likely to comply with anti-pandemic measures. We also found that people with the coping style of “confrontation” were less likely to comply. There were no statistically significant relationships between compliance and “relationship,” “self-esteem,” “self-soothing,” “divert attention,” and “existential concerns.”DiscussionOur findings indicate that how likely a given individual is to comply with prescribed pandemic countermeasures varies based on their specific psychological needs and behavior styles. Therefore, to control contagion during a pandemic, authorities must recognize the relevance of human need fulfillment and their behavior styles and accordingly highlight and encourage admissible and feasible actions. The findings demonstrate that some individual differences in core psychological needs and coping behavior patterns predict compliance behavior. (shrink)

A signal challenge of twenty-first century psychiatry is the effective treatment of existential/spiritual suffering in palliative care. This chapter will concentrate on research to assess the therapeutic potential of psilocybin to assuage that suffering. If a “psychedelic experience” can facilitate an acceptance of impending death, and reduce the existential suffering of those who endure it, it could prove to be a valuable intervention where one is sorely needed. The therapeutic use of psilocybin with dying patients (hereinafter patients) raises (...) numerous questions about research trial design, the model of psychiatry that might accommodate it, and the kind of experience it induces. Are these the sorts of experience that psychiatric treatment should effect on troubled patients? Is spiritual care within the ambit of psychiatry? There are epistemological questions as to the veridicality of the psychedelic experience. How much credence should we give it? I will argue in cautious support of ongoing research to evaluate the therapeutic use of psilocybin in palliative care. This argument can be extended to research on its therapeutic use in psychotherapy. The chapter will focus on four questions: (1) what is the ethical justification for this research on patients? (2) What types of research trial design are best used to assess the purported benefits of a psychedelic drug experience? (3) What is the epistemic warrant of the “mystical” and “noetic” facets of this experience? (4) What models of (a) psychiatry and (b) drug action could accommodate the therapeutic use of psilocybin in palliative care? (shrink)

By juxtaposing a phenomenological-existential mode of understanding with the mainstream therapeutic modality of cognitive behavioural therapy, this paper considers how the mode in which a therapist chooses to understand a client's thoughts may manifest in practice, and the potential implications thereof for the authenticity and effectiveness of the therapeutic process. In conclusion, the author points to the similar challenges confronting both client and therapist when thoughts are heard, despite the clamour of the collective voice, as a call from the (...) lived to the self to explore its own possibilities. (shrink)