- Death is a part of existential psychology. - Jody Vrugteveen
One of the key assumptions of existential psychology is that life’s meaning is never fixed and is constantly being created and recreated. This approach is rooted in attempting to understand several basic human dimensions: the capacity of self-awareness, freedom and responsibility, creating one’s identity and meaningful relationships with others, the search for meaning and purpose, and lastly awareness of death.
Existential Psychology and Self-Awareness
Existential psychology’s first human dimension, self-awareness is one’s capacity to be aware of one’s own finite nature. The more one is aware of one’s self the more possibility for expansion and freedom, according to Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 8th ed., written by Gerald Corey, published by Thompson in 2009.
Self-awareness increases capacity to live a full and satisfying life. One can choose to expand or contract self-awareness. Consciousness of self allows understanding of alternatives, motivations, and development of personal goals.
Freedom and Responsibility in Existential Psychology
Another theme for the existentialist movement is freedom and responsibility. Although people claim they desire freedom, the existential tradition says that most will try to escape this freedom, according to Corey. People do this in order to avoid responsibility of making choices.
Freedom implies responsibility for choices and actions. Development of this human dimension allows power over life’s direction. The existential therapist assumes that one is being inauthentic when attempting to escape responsibility at the cost of freedom. However, in reality one is always free to make choices between action and inaction. Assuming responsibility is being authentic about one’s innate freedom.
Existential Psychology and Self-Identity
With assuming responsibility comes the struggle for developing self-identity and developing relationships with others. Self-awareness allows forward movement in spite of adverse situations, according to Corey.
Although people are ultimately alone in their responsibility over their own life, they also seek relatedness with others. Existential explorations are can be seen as attempting to balance the human need for self-identity and also relatedness with other human beings.
Existential Psychology and Life Meaning
The struggle of defining one’s self eventually leads to the search for meaning in life. Therapy involves questioning and possibly discarding one’s old values, according Corey. However, this may lead to a feeling of emptiness and meaningless.
Many therapists believe it is their responsibility to guide the client through this uncertain time of meaningless. The therapist may act as a support system during the client’s task in creating new meaning in life.
Existential Psychology and Death
Finally, existential therapy focuses on awareness of death. In existential thought, death provides motivation for human beings to live life to the fullest, according to Corey. Rather than fearing death as a threat, one can view death as something that is essential for life to have meaning.
Current research explores the possible positive effects of psychedelic drugs on dealing with the existential anxiety of confronting death, according to an article titled “LSD Returns – For Psychotherapeutics,” written by Loulith Galenzoga, published in Zikkir Health News on September 26, 2009. Therapists should talk directly to clients about death to show that death is not a subject matter that should be feared, according to Corey.
Existential psychology ultimately does not offer an easy answers. The patient is constantly being challenged to find his or her own meaning and truth in life. This can give the patient a sense of freedom, but this also comes with accepting responsibility for his or her circumstances.
Le Bach Pham - After graduating from UCSD with a bachelor of art in English Literature, I am now a web writer for Demand Studios where I write web ...
