Chapter 4 - Existential Therapy

Question 2

What is the main focus of existential therapy?

Answer 2

Exploring themes like mortality, meaning, freedom, responsibility, anxiety, and aloneness.

Question 3

How is existential therapy best described?

Answer 3

A philosophical approach that influences a counselor’s therapeutic practice.

Question 4

What are some of the fundamental existential questions?

Answer 4

Why am I here? What gives my life purpose? Where is the source of meaning?

Question 5

What are the basic dimensions of the human condition in existential therapy?

Answer 5

Self-awareness, freedom and responsibility, identity and relationships, search for meaning, anxiety, and awareness of death.

Question 6

What is the first existential preposition?

Answer 6

The capacity for self-awareness.

Question 7

Why is self-awareness important in existential therapy?

Answer 7

Greater awareness increases freedom, but also exposes loneliness, meaninglessness, and isolation.

Question 8

What is the second existential preposition?

Answer 8

Freedom and responsibility.

Question 9

How does existential therapy define freedom?

Answer 9

We are responsible for our actions and our failures to act; freedom and responsibility go hand in hand.

Question 10

What is the third existential preposition?

Answer 10

Striving for identity and relationship to others.

Question 11

What is meant by ‘the courage to be’ in existential therapy?

Answer 11

Trusting oneself to search within and find personal answers.

Question 12

How does existential therapy view relationships?

Answer 12

Authentic relationships provide fulfillment, while relationships based on deprivation lead to dependency.

Question 13

What is the fourth existential preposition?

Answer 13

The search for meaning.

Question 14

What is logotherapy?

Answer 14

A therapy approach that helps clients find meaning in their lives.

Question 15

What is the ‘existential vacuum’?

Answer 15

A sense of meaninglessness that leads to feelings of emptiness and hollowness.

Question 16

What is the fifth existential preposition?

Answer 16

Anxiety as a condition of living.

Question 17

What are Yalom’s four ‘givens of existence’ that create anxiety?

Answer 17

Death, freedom, existential isolation, and meaninglessness.

Question 18

How does existential therapy view anxiety?

Answer 18

As a normal and necessary response to life’s uncertainties.

Question 19

What is the difference between existential and neurotic anxiety?

Answer 19

Existential anxiety is normal and invites growth; neurotic anxiety is disproportionate and often unconscious.

Question 20

What is the sixth existential preposition?

Answer 20

Awareness of death and nonbeing.

Question 21

How does existential therapy view death?

Answer 21

Death gives significance to life and can be a motivating force if accepted.

Question 22

What are the four primary goals of existential therapy?

Answer 22

Helping clients become more present, identifying self-imposed blocks, taking responsibility, and expanding ways of being.

Question 23

What is the core of the therapist-client relationship in existential therapy?

Answer 23

A person-to-person journey that emphasizes respect, faith in clients, and empathy.

Question 24

Is existential therapy technique-oriented?

Answer 24

No, it focuses on deep, meaningful interaction rather than structured techniques.

Question 25

What role does existential therapy play in group counseling?

Answer 25

It helps clients take responsibility, provides a mirror for self-reflection, and fosters authentic relationships.

Question 26

What are the strengths of existential therapy from a diversity perspective?

Answer 26

It emphasizes universal human experiences and recognizes social and cultural influences on behavior.

Question 27

What are some criticisms of existential therapy regarding diversity?

Answer 27

It may be too individualistic and overlook social injustices, making some clients feel misunderstood.

Question 28

How have existentialists contributed to psychotherapy?

Answer 28

They have deepened the understanding of anxiety, guilt, loneliness, and alienation.

Question 29

How can existential therapy be integrated into other approaches?

Answer 29

Its core principles can be incorporated into various therapeutic modalities.

Question 30

What is a major limitation of existential therapy?

Answer 30

It lacks concrete techniques and may not provide sufficient structure for some clients.

Question 31

Why might some clients struggle with existential therapy?

Answer 31

Clients who prefer direct guidance or struggle with abstract concepts may find it difficult.

Question 32

How does existential therapy address meaninglessness?

Answer 32

It encourages clients to take responsibility and actively create their own meaning in life.

Question 33

What is existential isolation?

Answer 33

The realization that each person is ultimately alone, which can be a source of both fear and self-discovery.

Question 34

How does existential therapy view suffering?

Answer 34

As an opportunity for personal growth and deeper understanding of life’s meaning.

Question 35

What is the existential perspective on change?

Answer 35

Change occurs when clients embrace their freedom and take responsibility for their lives.

Question 36

How does existential therapy handle grief and loss?

Answer 36

By helping clients find personal meaning in suffering and acknowledging the reality of death.

Question 37

What is existential authenticity?

Answer 37

Living in alignment with one’s true values and not conforming to external pressures.

Question 38

What is an existential crisis?

Answer 38

A period of deep questioning about meaning, purpose, and one’s role in the world.

Question 39

How does existential therapy view avoidance?

Answer 39

Avoiding existential concerns diminishes engagement with life and prevents personal growth.

Question 40

What are some paradoxes explored in existential therapy?

Answer 40

Freedom vs. responsibility, isolation vs. connection, and life vs. death.