Existential Psychotherapy

“Life cannot be lived, nor can death be faced without anxiety. Anxiety is guide as well as enemy and can point the way to authentic existence. The task of the therapist is to reduce anxiety to comfortable levels and then to use this existing anxiety to increase a patient’s awareness and vitality.”

Irvin D. Yalom

Existential Psychotherapy focuses on free will, self-determination and the search for meaning. It is a dynamic approach that focuses on concerns rooted in human existence. Each of us craves continuity, groundedness, community and pattern; and yet we must all face inevitable death, groundlessness, isolation, and meaninglessness. Existential Psychotherapy suggests that anxiety is a response to these four ultimate concerns. It is in this context that someone can be filled with a feeling of dread or existential angst. While existential angst may be part of being human, it can lead to psychological, physical and spiritual issues leading to long-term problems. Therapy can help clients focus on taking personal responsibility for life’s problems and decision making.

Existential Psychotherapy can help with issues of life, issues of existence, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and addiction.

https://www.yalom.com/existential-psychotherapy