Existence therapy focuses on the problems of existence, such as meaning, choice, and responsibility, it also promotes self-knowledge, as well as emphasizes free will, the human ability to make choices(). This type of therapy is effective in treating depression and feeling like ones has no self-worth, or meaning in life. When existential therapy is successful, it brings about a renewed sense of purpose and a reappraisal of what’s important in life. Some clients even experience an emotional rebirth, as if they had survived a close brush with death (Coon & Mitterer,2013).…
Existential Therapy is the “philospohphical” form of therapy. According to Irvin D. Yalom (1980) there are four concerns that ultimately will be the core of any human problem, which are death, freedom and its attendant responsibility, existential isolation, and finally meaninglessness. Existential Therapy delas with a sense of loss from an individual. An individual might have lost their sense of being, their freedom, they might feel isolated, and…
Both theories stress the client's ability to change and the fact that the client is the expert on their own life and worldview. Further both theories focus mostly on the client's future and do not concentrate on the problems of their clients past. They both believe that their should be an authentic and collaborative relationship between clients and counselors and that the client is in charge of their own change. Both therapies also do not stress diagnosis. Existential therapy in contrast to SFBT does not have a lot of techniques that are used in therapy. Therefore it serves well as a foundation of this integrative approach. When working with this foundation the counselor sees their client as capable of self-awareness, responsible and able to choose their own future, in search of meaning in their life and faced with anxieties that are part of the human condition. This can work well with SFBT techniques that are goal-oriented, positive, and focus on the future. Techniques from SFBT that can be integrated with the existential therapy foundation are pretherapy change, the exeption questions, the miracle question and scaling questions. Pretherapy change looks at what the client has already done to change before the first therapy session. This can help demonstrate to the client the importance they have in the design…
Fernando, D. M. (2007). Existential theory and solution-focused strategies: integration and application. Journal of Mental Health Counseling , 29 (3), 226-241.…
References: Fernando, D.M (2007) Existential Theory & Solution Focused strategies. Journal of mental health counseling :volume 29, number3, p. 226-241…
Corey, G. (2005) Existential Therapy. In Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (7th ed.) (pp.128-161). Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole.…
Anxiety is one common emotion that everyone will face various times in his or her life. Too much anxiety will break one’s mind, yet anxiety within a limit certain amount also helps a person to advance. This topic was explored by a freelance writer, James Lincoln Collier, in his essay “Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name”. In this article, James writes “The great Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard believed that anxiety always arises when we confront the possibility of our own development. It seems to be a rule of life that you can’t advance without getting that old, familiar, jittery feeling.” Personally, I did become more mature as I was facing an unescapable challenge few years ago. In addition, the feeling of anxiety companied me all the…
Do you approve of Kierkegaard’s father’s teaching technique? Explain. Are there similarities between his technique and virtual reality? Are there differences?…
Human beings are born everyday and when brought into this world, the only wish many parents have for them is to pursue their dreams and be themselves. This life can be absurd at times, but containing the absurdity and making life realistic is the ultimate goal. The world thrives off human existence as well as individuality. Human beings are taught to behave a certain way and are encouraged to stick to the status quo. By sticking to the status quo, they are to take on responsibility and accept what is expected of them. Existentialists push themselves to break the mold and find their own meaning in this absurd world. Existential philosophers created theories designed to help struggling, lost souls find a purpose for their own existence.…
Kierkegaards believed that each individual goes through three stages in their life. The first stage he called The Aesthetic Stage, according to Kierkegaard we are all born into this stage, although this stage can occur at anytime in a person's life. A person, in the aesthetic stage is extremely carefree, basically only thinking of themselves and how they can get the most pleasure out of their life, they have little regard for others, rules, structure, and how their actions may affect anyone else in their life. The goal in their life it basically, eat, drink and be merry, no matter what the cost. The people just want to gain as much pleasure out of their life without causing themself pain. During this stage the person's life has no real sense of direction. But the aesthetic stage may also be found at the end of a person's life, maybe after they have already gone through the ethical stage, and the religious stage. If a person suddenly…
Existentialism reflection when Hamlet questions why he exists and what his fundamental purpose in life. In the passage, Hamlet lists all the negative things that come with living- for example, all the anxieties that come with certain events or the troubles that comes with love. Hamlet(s) contend that it is better to die than to endure all the pain that comes with living, which illustrates absurdism. However, he then argues that there's another possibility of overcoming trouble than ending life. Hamlet convinced the readers that what makes an individual tolerate suffering for so long is the idea of not experiencing everything in life. Thus, even though life gives the presence of dread, Hamlet concludes that the process of thinking makes us forget…
Known as the “father of existentialism,” Kierkegaard’s works emphasize mankind’s despair. In his book The Sickness Unto Death, published in 1849, Kierkegaard attempts to show how one is lost without God, and how one’s separation from God leads to sin or despair. Though Kierkegaard did incorporate the notions of God and sin into his works, his philosophy is still existential and influenced later existentialists, such as Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, who were atheists. Existentialism emphasizes mankind’s state of being, and their need to explain the world around them, while at the same time not understanding it. This idea led to absurdism which stresses the absurdity that exists between man and the world. The…
-Franz Kafka was an important literary author in existentialism. His story, which is surreal, is one of many modernist literary works that was influenced by existentialist philosophy.…
In Education, Existentialism is very important, because as an Educator we should know each child’s life, existence and story behind their attitudes and characters, for us to become an effective educator. For example, a child has a problem and suddenly changed his/her attitude; we have to know the reason behind it for us to understand him/her. We should know also their philosophy and belief in life so that we could better adjust, know and appreciate their existence as well.…
EXISTENTIALISM is a 20th century philosophy that is centered upon the analysis of existence and of the way humans find themselves existing in the world. The notion is that humans exist first and then each individual spends a lifetime changing their essence or nature.…