Key Concepts Of Existential Therapy

1165 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Existential Therapy

The “Givens” The key concept of Existential Therapy is that of the “givens”. It follows the idea that we all have inner conflicts with ourselves, which happens when interact with one of the “givens” of existence. “Givens” are inevitable conditions of life that we all have to experience at some point, it is an inseparable part of human existence. The theory says there are four primary “givens” in our life. Liberty and associated responsibility Death Separation Futility or Meaninglessness A direct confrontation with any of these givens can make a person down spirited and anxious, which we commonly call anxiety. This anxiety and stress that happens due to the confrontation with the givens of life can make us mentally, physically, socially, …show more content…

The physical world The social world The mental world The spiritual world On each of these measurements, individuals experience the world and shape their disposition out of their own specific interpretation of experiences. Their perception of the world characterizes their existence and give an everlasting four-dimensional power field for their reality. Each of these worlds have their own unique conflict and special ways to resolve them.The first three dimensions were explained by Binswanger, while the fourth dimension was added by Van Deurzen in the light of Heidegger's description of “the other world”. Physical World In this dimension, people identify with their physical state of being and to the “givens” of the common world around them. Their perception in this dimension incorporates The mundane things they are surrounded with (like their house) The atmosphere and the climate The articles and material belonging The groups of other individuals, their own real …show more content…

While most individuals go for security on this measurement (through well-being and riches), life keeps bestowing them with lessons that such security is only impermanent. Resolving Conflict Perceiving our confinements and realizing that we are only a speck in this vast Universe can bring help in resolving the conflict. Social World In this part of the four worlds, people identify with others and collaborate with the general world around them.This dimension includes their perceptions of the society they live in, the community they belong to and the attitudes they bear towards people outside their own cultural group. Common patterns of behavior in this dimension include affection, empathy, competition, and cooperation. Conflict The dynamic conflicts in the social world are between acknowledgment and rejection, approval and disapproval, sociability and isolation. While some people blindly follow social groups in order to gain conformity, others prefer to live their lives in isolation. Resolving

Show More
Related

  • Chapter Summary Of 'Problems From Philosophy' By James Rachels

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    This chapter is composed of concepts that try to differentiate between reality and what is actually happening in your mind, and are we living in a matrix? The Vats and Demons idea creates a vivid

    Read More

  • Rod Sterling's Imagination: Clearly From theTwilight Zone

    1971 Words  | 4 Pages

    “There is a fifth dimension beyond that known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, science and superstition and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is a dimension of imagination. It is an area we call The Twilight Zone!”

    Read More

  • Gender Criticism and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... middle of paper ... ... Everything is basically relative and is what each separate person perceives it to be, just like the answers to the infinite questions posed by The Turn of the Screw. Works Cited Burrows, Stuart.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Spell Of The Sensuus By David Abram

    191 Words  | 1 Pages

    A phenomenologist, David Abram, in his book The Spell of the Sensuous, discusses that human is “inter-subjective.” (Abram, 36) Phenomenology is a method of getting to truth through observing how phenomena present themselves to the senses and to the mind, as Abram defines, “phenomenology would seek not to explain the world, but to describe as closely as possible the way the world makes itself evident to awareness, the way things first arise in our direct, sensorial experience.” (Abram, 35) Phenomenology poses the terms inter-subjectivity to describe what is real. Subjectivity refers to the essence of the “I”—first-person perspective. Inter-subjectivity is the perspective developed between, called a kind of “We-ness”. In phenomenology, reality is a collective construction—it is not subjective to the individual or is objectively determined by things, but rather it is inter-subjective.

    Read More

  • Conformity In Never Let Me Go

    1486 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Social conformity has been practiced in societies around the world since ancient times,” and the reason it is so effective is that humans have an inherent need to be accepted as part of a group (Sadat). Furthermore, Hossna Sadat reports that:

    Read More

  • Sensations And The Brain Essay

    1919 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper aims to endorse physicalism over dualism by means of Smart’s concept of identity theory. Smart’s article Sensations and the Brain provides a strong argument for identity theory and accounts for many of it primary objections. Here I plan to first discuss the main arguments for physicalism over dualism, then more specific arguments for identity theory, and finish with further criticisms of identity theory.

    Read More

  • Freudian Psychoanalysis: Understanding and Addressing Anxiety

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    We may nevertheless say that existentialism is a form of phenomenological philosophy that relies on certain reflective methods of studying human consciousness instantiated in the individual, society, and culture, which emerged as a popular general movement characteristic of 20 century European thought represented thought represented across many disciplines including literature, the humanities, and the social sciences. Existential psychology rejects the mechanistic views of the Freudians and instead sees people as engaged in a search for meaning (Trull & Prinstein, 2013, p. 382), therefore an existential psychotherapist may attribute the cause of the person’s anxiety to lost meaning of life. As Trull and Prinstein (2013) stated, the ultimate goal of existential psychotherapy is "to help the individual reach a point at which awareness and decision making can be exercised responsibly" (p. 383). The role of an existential psychotherapist is to enable the client to come closer to experience. By experiencing self, the client can learn to attach meaning and value to life. Sometimes the therapist will confront the client with questions “that force the client to examine the reasons for failure to search for meaning in life” (Trull & Prinstein, 2013, p.

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at Physicalism

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    Physicalism, or the idea that everything, including the mind, is physical is one of the major groups of theories about how the nature of the mind, alongside dualism and monism. This viewpoint strongly influences many ways in which we interact with our surrounding world, but it is not universally supported. Many objections have been raised to various aspects of the physicalist viewpoint with regards to the mind, due to apparent gaps in its explanatory power. One of these objections is Frank Jackson’s Knowledge Argument. This argument claims to show that even if one has all of the physical information about a situation, they can still lack knowledge about what it’s like to be in that situation. This is a problem for physicalism because physicalism claims that if a person knows everything physical about a situation they should know everything about a situation. There are, however, responses to the Knowledge Argument that patch up physicalism to where the Knowledge Argument no longer holds.

    Read More

  • Understand The Lesbian Identity By Henry Tajfel

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    To some degree everyone is influenced by social identity, the theory composes the idea that the social world is divided into ...

    Read More

  • Difference Between Existential And Humanistic Theories

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Logotherapy it has been widely used as a subcategory of existential psychiatry. They want to see the patients as other people in their daily lives and then begin to develop relationships with them. This therapy is used from the loss of purpose in no genic neurosis. There is “I Thou relationship” which is a dialogue between the client and the therapist. The client is not treated as just a case file but there is more engagement and will receive a higher level of respect and concern. In existentialism is the theory that an individual is a free and responsible agent and develop through free will. “In psychotherapy there is phenomenology which is the attempt to describe in a way that a man understands himself and interprets one’s own existence” (Frankl, 1967). There is an importance of treating humans as humans and mothing more or nothing less. For example, if that individual was a prisoner you would look them as a peer. They will better understand you as you get a better understanding of them. “Daseinsanalysis it is a basic form of psychoanalysis as an area of openness to everything they encounter” (Frankl, 1967). Humans should be able to show and express themselves just as they are and be respected and understood by

    Read More

  • Existential Therapy And Gestalt Therapy

    1492 Words  | 3 Pages

    Existential therapy is concerned with one’s being; the world in which they live, the implication of time, and the mindfulness of being whole. The basic dimensions of the human condition, according to the existential approach, include (1) the capacity for self-awareness; (2) freedom and responsibility; (3) creating one’s identity and establishing meaningful relationships with other; (4) the search for meaning, purpose, values, and goals; (5) anxiety as a condition of living; and (6) awareness of death and nonbeing. All give significance to living and explore the degree to which a client is doing the things they value.

    Read More

  • Yalom's Perspective of Existential Therapy

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    Existential therapy through the eyes of Dr. Yalom is very fascinating. There is never a fixed life that each person is supposed to live. In his therapy the clients are allowed to find out for themselves what it is they need by receiving adequate questioning from Dr. Yalom. His questioning guides them down the existential path to freedom and responsibility.

    Read More

  • Existential Therapy Essay

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    Existential therapy is a technique that brings awareness to the power of our choices. “This existential approach has opened the way for a more agentic view of human nature and has taken into consideration some of the most fundamental concerns of humanity, which were previously underappreciated in the field of psychology” (Bartz, 2009, p.70). It has been shown to be successful in a variety of groups. Some of these groups are; children, people who have been adopted, incarcerated youth, and victims or culprits of abuse. One doesn’t have to only use one theory or approach during their practice. When it comes to existential therapy, the person using the approach can adapt their interventions to fit their style and personality. At the end of the day, it’s about what will work for the

    Read More

  • Cosmology and Moral Philosophy

    3113 Words  | 7 Pages

    The real world of our universe one can present as consisting of the totality of the interconnected (through the known fundamental interactions) units of the nature, for example, photons, atoms, molecules, cells, living organisms, men, stars, galaxies and ets. Their materiality is shown, for example, in the outwards activity (the power), in which the units of nature come forward as integrated formations in the relation of other units of nature; their spirituality, enlightened through the materiality, in the form (in order of the growth of the spirituality) of the inside activity (that is of the spontaneous transitions into their different states), in the form of the senseorganized unity ( regulated by any laws), of the soul, and of the spirit. Different units of nature have different degrees of the spirituality, which are shown in the spontaneity, statisticality, selforganization, freedom of the will and so on, therefore one can say about corresponding spiritual aspects of any units of nature.

    Read More

  • The Mind: Evil or Good?

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1950s America, the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis were beginning to be reexamined and expanded as more cases of mental distress and disorders were uncovered that no one knew how to treat. These cases could often related back to one main theme, which was unhappiness in one aspect of an individual’s life. This problem area could be home life, work, social status, or a number of other areas. No matter what the root of the problem, the issue always caused a person to feel inconsequential and their minds would spiral down a negative path until they were no longer, by society’s terms, sane. Existentialists, those who believe individuals should be responsible for developing how they want and when they want, viewed these allegedly crazy people as developing at their own pace. They did not believe, however, that these people were discovering the meaning of their life as they were, more often than not, unhappy with their lives. The existentialists believed that when one does not aim for a specific goal or yearn to find meaning in their life, they are not living their life the way it was intended. The existential view emphasized a person or individual being responsible for determining their development on their own terms and discovering the meaning in life. When the mind gets in the way, in cases such as psychopathy, it does not allow for the individual to discover the true meaning of their own life as their judgment may become clouded by their current state of mind. The mind has a great deal of power in the matter of deciding whether a person will succeed on the existential path or if they will go down the path of psychopathy. This power can do a person a lot of good but it may also cause them a lot of stress and harm ...

    Read More

More about Key Concepts Of Existential Therapy

Open Document