Today’s Class - 20 JuneTwo Thousand and Seven - the days are ticking

Time - Pink FloydExperiential Exercise Begin Existential Theory Existential Psychotherapy - Review Principles

and goals of therapy Case study - Anthony Jr. Other videos

Pink Floyd - Time Ticking away the moments that make up the dull day You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town Waiting for someone or something to show you the way Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the

rain You are young and life is long and there is time to kill

today And then one day you find that ten years have got behind

you… No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

Time, part II And you run and run to catch up with the sun, but it's

sinking… And racing around to come up behind you again The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older Shorter of breath and one day closer to death Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time Plans that either come to naught or a half page of

scribbled lines Hanging on in a quiet desperation is the English way The time is gone the song is over, thought i'd something

more to say

Important Influences Victor Frankl

Prisoner, Nazi Concentration Camps-1942-45-lost entire family; Spiritual freedom & independenceof mind can be had in the worst situations;Essence lies in searching for meaning & purpose

Rollo May American psychiatrist; many books on existential therapy, integrated psychoanalysis and existential therapy - He had two failed marriages- wrote extensively regarding questions of intimacy, monogamy, morals of relationships, studied with Adler

Irvin Yalom:

Therapy through Meaning, therapeutic love themes of existential work

Existentialism Area of philosophy concerned with the meaning of

human existence Asking questions about issues of love, death and the

meaning of life How one deals with the sense of value and meaning

of one’s life Frequently referenced as more of a philosophy than a

specific theoretical approach - SOME DEBATE HERE…

Nondeterministic

Similar to client-centered approaches Existentialist argue that it is an oversimplification to view people as controlled by fixed physical laws

Focus on active, positive aspects of human growth and achievement

Existential perspective to key therapeutic dynamics:

Resistance - Occurs when a client does not take responsibility, is not aware of feelings, or otherwise is inauthentic in dealing with life. Rarely directed at therapist-- rather a way of dealing

with overwhelming threats, an inaccurate view of the world, or an inaccurate view of the self.

Transference - important to note when client’s attention focuses on the therapist - Work to make progress in the process of developing a real and authentic relationship

The Capacity for Self-Awareness

The greater our awareness, the greater our possibilities for freedom

Awareness is realizing that: We are finite - time is limited We have the potential, the choice, to act or not to

act Meaning is not automatic - we must seek it We are subject to loneliness, meaninglessness,

emptiness, guilt, and isolation

Freedom and Responsibility

People are free to choose among alternatives and have a large role in shaping personal destinies

Manner in which we live and what we become are result of our choices

People must accept responsibility for directing their own lives

The Search for Meaning Meaning ~ like pleasure, meaning must be pursued

Finding meaning in life is a by-product of a commitment to creating, loving, and working

“The will to meaning” is our primary striving Life is not meaningful in itself; the individual must

create and discover meaning

Tony Jr - Sopranos

What is Tony Jr. Struggling with What is the therapist trying to overview to

Tony relative to the lecture? What is the Grandmother in the nursing

home struggling with - and how she has been able to overcome certain existential themes in her life…

Steve Jobs commencement talk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA What did people see that had relevance to the

lecture?

Anxiety, continued: 2 types

Normal anxiety (also called “existential anxiety”):Proportionate to its cause, does not require repression, and can be used constructively to identify and confront the dilemma from which it arose.

Neurotic AnxietyWhen a person tries to evade normal or existential anxiety. It commonly manifests itself as a loss of a subjective sense of free will and an inability to take responsibility for one’s own life.

Primary Goals & Techniques Pertaining To Anxiety Eliminate neurotic anxiety to degree possible Help the client learn to tolerate the unavoidable

existential anxiety of living. Help client’s to reach higher levels of authenticityTechniques:

Identifying instances when the patient avoids responsibility, helping the patient to consider options make decisions, and pointing out how grief reactions and sadness about life milestones COULD BE related to underlying fears of isolation and death.

Role of the therapy relationship

Very important - strive toward an honest, open, and egalitarian relationship with patients.

The goal is development of an authentic and intimate relationship between the therapist and the client. -- Serves to model authenticity, freedom of choice, and appropriate handling of anxiety circumstances

Awareness of Death & Nonbeing

Awareness of death is a basic human condition which gives significance to living

We must think about death if we are to thing significantly about life

If we defend against death our lives can become meaningless

Central Tasks of Existential Therapists

1. Inviting clients to recognize how they have allowed others to decide for them

2. Encouraging clients to take responsibility3. Recognize ways clients passively accepted

circumstances & surrendered control-

“Although you have lived in a certain pattern, now that your recognize the price of some of your ways, are you willing to consider creating new patterns?”

Stance on Techniques

Little to not specific techniques designated within theory

Commonly integrated within other frameworks

Pros and Cons

PROS: Something to offer all counselors, stresses self-determination, accepting the personal responsibility, provides perspective for understanding the value of anxiety and guilt, the role of death, and the creative aspects of being alone and choosing for oneself.

CONS: Lacks a systematic statement of principles and practices; writers use vague and global terms or abstract concepts; little research, limited applications for lower-functioning clients, clients in extreme crisis who need direction, poor clients, and those who are nonverbal.