Existential Therapy

Existential Therapy: Distinctive Features offers an introduction to what is distinctive about this increasingly popular method. Written by two practicing existential psychotherapists, with many years' experience, it provides an accessible, bitesize overview of this increasingly used psychological therapy. Using the popular Distinctive Features format, this book describes 15 theoretical features and 15 practical techniques of Existential Therapy. Existential Therapy will be a valuable source for for psychotherapists, clinical, health and counselling psychologists, counsellors, psychiatrists, and all who wish to know more about the existential approach.

Professor Emmy van Deurzen is an authority on existential therapy with a worldwide reputation. She has published 16 books in the field and is the founder of the Society for Existential Analysis, and of the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling at the Existential Academy. Dr Claire Arnold-Baker is an existential therapist, counselling psychologist and perinatal specialist. She is the DCPsych Programme Leader at NSPC, a joint programme with Middlesex University, where she also teaches and supervises. Claire also regularly runs an Introduction to Existential Therapy workshop.

Contents Introduction i List of abbreviations ii List of figures and tables iii Part 1 THE DISTINCTIVE THEORETICAL FEATURES OF EXISTENTIAL THERAPY 1 A philosophical rather than a psychological approach to therapy 2 Existential philosophy offers an understanding of what it is like to be human 3 Creating a broader perspective on the wide context of Being-in-the-world 4 Recognising the way in which we relate to Others 5 The effect Time and Temporality have on our existence 6 Intentionality: Understanding the intentional nature of our actions and reactions 7 Focusing on freedom, choice and responsibility 8 Death, Anxiety and Angst 9 Existential Guilt 10 Paradox and the tension of existence 11 Notion of the dynamic Self 12 Authenticity and Inauthenticity 13 Finding purpose and meaning: the original project 14 Values and human worth 15 A well lived life Part 2 THE DISTINCTIVE PRACTICAL FEATURES OF EXISTENTIAL THERAPY 16 Developing a phenomenological attitude 17 The quality of the therapeutic relationship: I-Thou 18 A descriptive exploration 19 Taking stock and being aware of the limitations of life 20 Getting the bigger picture: Four dimensions of existence 21 Living in the world physically 22 Living in the world socially 23 Living in the world personally 24 Living in the world spiritually 25 The emotional world of the client 26 Embodiment 27 Examining the paradoxes of life 28 Revisiting values and beliefs 29 Making meaning and discovering purpose 30 Finding freedom References Index