Existential Therapy: Why therapy? Why existential?

Why is Existential Therapy an experience of self-knowledge?

Making the decision to go to a specialist in affective, relational and mental health is not a simple choice, because in view of the Wide range of possibilities of clinical and psychotherapeutic intervention (approximately more than 400 psychotherapeutic techniques, not all of which are endorsed by the International Federation of Psychology, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association), an exhausting search is required on the part of the consultant to find the right therapist and approach, making the experience of starting the process less encouraging and, in many cases, unpleasant and regrettable in the face of experiences resulting from therapeutic malpractice.

This is one of the reasons why I share this content, because within the official models and endorsed by various internationally renowned organizations, Existential Analysis is one of the most innovative models and approaches, Existential Analysis is one of the most innovative models and approaches, but for this reason not so well knownbut therefore not so well known, and often misunderstood.

Before starting, it is essential that you take this content specifically informative, and you give yourself the task of consulting with the specialist you consider convenient and clarify your doubts, allowing you the opportunity to know their professional and specialized work in more detail.

Why Existential Therapy?

The existential approach therapy is an official psychotherapeutic perspective, with philosophical bases.. It is considered an approach because it encompasses a diversity of views and theoretical and practical perspectives; however, this is perhaps its most complex challenge when trying to define it. I will try to define it for you as simply as possible.

Philosophical-existential views and perspectives have in common the philosophical work in depth, and is characterized by paying more attention to the experience of the human being, beyond reducing it to a clinical psychodiagnosis.The human being is considered to be more than the sum of its parts, i.e., he is not limited to his psychology and/or behavior, but is free to decide how he responds to such conditions.

However, this is not the only reason for consultation, because when dealing with the dilemmas and tensions present in humanity, the analytical-existential approach accompanies in different ways, considering the following points as the main ones:

• Bond and therapist-patient relationship (relationality).
• There is no major importance in temporality (past, present, future), however, these times are focused on immediate choices and decisions in the here and now.
• The human condition (the pleasurable, pleasant, negative, tragic) is the main focus.

Existential Therapy attempts to illuminate the way in which each human being constructs, discovers and sustains his or her own existence, his or her destiny..

Why is it so called?

Because it is an approach with philosophical bases and support, the model he uses is known as the "phenomenological method". whose main purpose is to try to capture the experience (phenomenon) of the person and thereby reveal a meaning, a response or, as it is known in psychology, an insight.

This disciplinary model allows the therapist to be more receptive, flexible and more willing to capture and discover with the client his subjective reality.

How does this type of therapy work?

It works mainly by means of the dialogue and the experience that is unveiled in it.between therapist and client. This can be achieved through the phenomenological, hermeneutic and dialogic method.

This is why it is a therapy that emphasizes the need to maintain and preserve the relationship between the two, to care for it, and to provide honesty and empathy, while maintaining a challenging tension in the bond, recognizing the importance of this in the effective outcome of the entire therapeutic process.

This is a challenge mainly for the existential therapist, as he/she must be aware of the difficulties of not imposing his or her own perspective, personal experience, world and value system over those of the client.. The attempt to avoid their appearance and maintenance aims at making possible, opening and putting on the table, those inconsistent, incongruent or contradictory points, in the way and manner in which each consultant/patient habitually chooses his or her way of being.

Sometimes, existential therapy can be confrontational, uncomfortable or painful (not by the therapist's choice), as it is the result of the therapist's choice.The analyst will not hide aspects of reality as it is for each patient, simply to avoid intense or "unpleasant" emotions in the patient, since these are the product of his experience and experience of his being-in-the-world and not given by the analyst. in the client, since these are the product of the experience and experience of his being-in-the-world and not given by the analyst.

This process is very liberating, as it facilitates the unburdening and exploration in depth of the consultant's experience without masks or incentives that minimize it, generating the most authentic and sincere experience possible.

What makes Existential Therapy different from other approaches?

Existential Therapy or Existential Analysis is not only different because of the philosophical underpinning it presents, but also because, thanks to the phenomenological attitude and the dialogical disposition, its focus of attention goes beyond the traditional clinical model. (not leaving aside the psychodiagnosis when the process is carried out by a health professional trained in existential therapy).

It does not try to "pathologize" the psyche and behavior of the patient, since it allows the person being analyzed to take a free and responsible position, allowing to value the experience as a whole and not only the traits that accompany it.

This allows the existential perspective to permeate the entire human experience of each patient.

Furthermore, this approach makes it evident that it is not useful to try to avoid relieving symptoms immediately or with the naïve objective of achieving this at the request of the client; on the contrary, unlike most approaches, the existential perspective is not afraid of the expression of "uncomfortable or unpleasant" symptoms such as anguish, fear, deep sadness, etc. (wrongly called depression, although, if it were depression in clinical terms in itself, it also leaves the doors open) or anger, which, in this perspective, are recognized for their rich endowment of meaning and potential value as responses to the context and biography of each human being.

Thus, the Existential Analysis seeks to explore the experience with the symptoms that are present, even if they are intense or even disturbing.The main purpose of Existential Analysis is to explore the experience with the symptoms that are present, even if they are intense or even disturbing; it keeps on trying to know and discover them, rather than to eliminate and avoid them at all costs.

The main purpose of the Existential Therapy is the knowledge, exploration, clarification and recognition of the experience instead of only trying to explain it, to interpret it or to try to "cure" the experiences of each person.

Why use Existential Therapy?

As you may have noticed, the existential therapy allows the participants to get to know through exploration their lived experiences, but doing so in an honest, sincere and comprehensive way..

Through joint exploration with the therapist, the client can look more clearly at the different perspectives of the same experience and the meanings that are revealed. Both the most complex and philosophical challenges as well as the most rudimentary and everyday experiences are linked in each therapeutic process with the commitment to understanding, challenging and challenging, enabling the person the opportunity to accept and be responsible for their experience, from a more resilient and resilient attitude.This allows the person the opportunity to accept and be responsible for his/her experience, from a more resilient and flexible attitude with which he/she is able to modify and design his/her subsequent project, with a view to the near future.

These are the the phenomena for which the existential consultation is a good option:

• Anguish and anxiety
• Fear of death or grieving process
• Existential emptiness / lack of meaning
• Crisis due to illness, accidents or radical changes in their way of life
• Loss of status, employment, financial constraints
• Suffering
• Guilt
• Anticipatory anxiety
• Breakdown of family, social and emotional ties
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Freedom and Responsibility
• Difficulty in deciding between two or more circumstances
• Fear of life
• Radical isolation and relational avoidance
• Lack of creativity
• Tragic and unavoidable situations

Conclusion

Although this article has been written to be understood in a simple way, the aspects that support Existential Analysis are much more complex than what is shared here. This specialty requires a preparation of years of professional study, requiring the therapist to have, as a minimum, a profession in the areas of health and philosophy, in addition to a postgraduate degree in existential philosophy with a phenomenological-hermeneutic perspective.

The existential perspective is recognized worldwide as one of the most challenging, complex and novel approaches, since its constitution is given through empirical research from the second half of the twentieth century; however, it encompasses the basis of anthropological studies and even millennial knowledge that philosophy has contributed to humanity and will continue to contribute in the twenty-first century.

If, after what you have just read, new questions and queries have arisen for you, how wonderful! Part of the objective has been achieved, since this is a philosophical and reflective invitation, questions being the first step of the journey.

If you consider that the current situations in your life raise more doubts that you do not know how to answer and you wish to face this challenge, you can contact me to explore and unveil together this experience for the sake of discovering your way of being-in-the-world.