What is existential therapy anyway?
Many therapists may call themselves “existential,” but unlike other therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), there doesn’t seem to be one unifying definition of what that means. For clients, this may be confusing. So allow me to explain.
Existential therapy is a framework encompassing multiple therapeutic approaches informed by existentialism and phenomenology, which focus on a person’s subjective experience of the world. At the heart of these approaches are themes such as meaning, freedom, life, and autonomy.
Every existential therapist is different because every therapist is inherently different. I would even go one step further and say that each client experiences the same therapist differently because the focus of their sessions will differ greatly. With that in mind, the point of this post is to broadly describe my approach, not to argue that therapy with me will follow a step-wise, neat fashion. Nor is it to argue that my way is the definitive way of practicing.
As a therapist, I take an integrative approach inspired by many of the existential pioneers, but most closely aligned with the existential analysis* developed by Alfried Längle and existential therapy developed by Emmy van Deurzen. * Although I am not an analyst, but a therapist.
Although Längle and van Deurzen differ in their approaches, I would argue that both approaches share the basic assumption that people don’t simply just live, but have unique experiences. Moreover, these experiences are not only informed by one’s own thoughts and feelings, but are influenced by external factors, which include other people and the social environment. It’s important to note that this is not a static exchange, but a continuous, back-and-forth one between the Self and external factors (Längle, 2011).
Where Längle and van Deurzen differ is most obvious in how they describe the subjective and external factors of a person’s life. While Längle (2011) describes four fundamental motivations for existence, van Deurzen (2012) describes the four dimensions of living.
Längle's four fundamental motivations
Längle (2011) describes the four fundamental motivations as the world, life, being, and meaning. Each motivation can be described through a question, and each motivation has its inherent needs.
the world: can i be (like this)?
Are my needs for protection, space, and support met?
Life: Can I like it here?
Are my needs for relationships, time, and closeness met?
Being: Can I be myself in the world?
Are my needs for attention, justice, and appreciation met?
Meaning: Do I have something to live for?
Are my needs for a specific activity to undergo, a structural/environmental context to live in, and defined values for the future met?
Van Deurzen’s Four Dimensions
Van Deurzen (2012) describes the four dimensions of living as the physical world, the social world, the personal world, and the spiritual world, each with its own challenges and possibilities. Often these are represented as themes that feel like they compete with one another, such as life vs. death.
The Physical World
This includes the themes of life vs. death and harmony vs. chaos.
The Social World
This includes the themes of love vs. hate and belonging vs. isolation.
The Personal World
This includes the themes of identity vs. freedom and confidence vs. confusion.
The Spiritual World
This includes the themes of good vs. evil and meaning vs. meaninglessness or futility.
Some final thoughts
For both of the described approaches, the theme in a session does not need to move from one motivation to another or one dimension to another. I think we can all appreciate that life can feel messy and often things feel at odds with one another. However, working existentially, I will often take note of what appears to be impacting a person and use clarifying questions to help them discover for themselves what needs to be done, if anything needs to be done at all.
I also don’t tell a person what they should or should not do. Existential therapy is not solution-focused therapy (SFT) or accelerated resolution therapy (ART). While I might provide an interpretation from my own clinical judgment and lived experience, it is never meant to replace a person’s ability to make their own decisions and live their own life. So if someone is looking to me to provide answers for them, they will unfortunately be very disappointed.
A person doesn’t need to know much about philosophy to benefit from existential therapy. While it’s definitely informed by philosophy, I won’t usually quote Sartre or Heidegger in a session. One, because that isn’t normally necessary. And two, because I will likely fumble the quote entirely!
This post can’t possibly summarize everything about how I work as a therapist. But hopefully, it explains a bit about my approach to prospective clients and other therapists who are curious about other therapists’ work. To read more about existential therapy, you can check out the citations below.
Längle, A. (2011). The existential fundamental motivations structuring the motivational process. In D. A. Leontiev (Ed.), Motivation, consciousness and self-regulation (pp. 27–42). Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Van Deurzen, E. (2012). Existential counselling & psychotherapy in practice (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Ltd.