The Importance Of Existential Therapy

Benjamin Braddock would be best treated with existential therapy. Existential therapy’s primary focus is based on the four “ultimate concerns of existence:” death, freedom and responsibility, isolation, and meaning/purpose. Every person has deep anxiety stemming from the overwhelming task of the responsibility for their existence. Yet most shy away from this burden. However, awareness of death is ultimately what gives the ability to reflect inward on values and take true responsibility for the time one has. People engage in different types of distractions to escape responsibility such as work, religion, or in Ben’s case obsessive love. However, anxiety is inescapable; it will last a lifetime. The more Ben tries to escape his anxiety the more

Freedom is the belief that we are responsible for our own lives. Through our decisions, choices, shortcomings, and successes we are creating who we are. As Jean-Paul Sarte states “we are condemned to freedom,” therefore, we have no choice but to be free. Ben lacks assertiveness and he is severely indecisive. He suffers from existential guilt, which we all have, when making decisions. In essence, by choosing one thing he is also choosing not to do something. The more choice someone he has the more overwhelmed he becomes. For example, Ben chooses to have an affair with Mrs. Robinson and he is not choosing his responsibility. Ben’s inability to take accountability for his freedom hinders him from pursuing the direction he wants to take his life. He feels controlled by his surroundings stating he feels “this kind of compulsion that I have to be rude all the time... It's like I was playing some kind of game, but the rules don't make any sense to me. They're being made up by all the wrong people. I mean no one makes them up. They seem to make themselves up.” By saying this, Ben refuses to take responsibility for his own autonomy and truly embrace his existence. He needs to stop believing his major problems are caused by his circumstances or others around him; he needs to understand that he always has a choice in every situation and he is responsible for his actions and consequences.

Existential therapy is an authentic human experience and the success of the therapy is due to the willingness of both parties (the client and the therapist) because it is a shared experience. I will build connection through the self-disclosure of my personal experiences of my recent graduation. Together we will focus each session on the here-and-now. Here-and-now indicates what is happening in this space and in this relationship (here) and now in this present moment. I will need to confront Ben about the defenses he engages in and together we will find solutions. Exercises will include having Ben make decisions starting with minor decisions and working our way up to larger decisions surrounding his future in order to increase his awareness of the control he has over the decisions he makes. I will ask him the important question “What would you be thinking about if you were not thinking about Elaine?” This will bring attention to his obsessive love distraction with Elaine and focus his thoughts elsewhere. An important concern to note is Ben’s obsessive love with women in the past few weeks. First of all, a patient who is lost in obsessive love is difficult to treat, but secondly as a female therapist attempting to help him serious precautions will need to be taken to ensure Ben does not attach inappropriate feelings towards me.