“Existential Therapy” Definition: (M. Dezelic, PhD)
A growth process experience and encounter between a therapist/clinician/counselor or other professional guide and a seeker (patient, client, individual, consumer, family members, or group members), where these guides provide existential psycho-education, focusing on the human condition and “existence,” and through the encounter in the here-and-now, offer an open invitation to explore and discover one’s ontological being (mind, body, and spirit-unique essence) by examining:
(1) The inner world—how one can learn to “be” in oneself, by connecting to one’s own existence, and understanding one’s sense of self in the world;
(2) The outer world—how one can learn to “be” in oneself in relation to other human beings, animals, nature, creations, and processes.
The existential therapeutic encounter is an unfolding, creative, and dynamic process that focuses on:
* Self-Awareness
* Freedom, Choice and Responsibility for one’s unique existence
* Meaning in Life
* Meaning Constructs (through Biological, Personal, Relational-Social, and Cultural aspects)
* Meaningful Relationships
* Living in the face of inevitable Death, and Death Anxiety
* The areas of Freedom and Choice, within the Limitations and/or Tragic Aspects of life
* Experiences, Creativity, and Attitudes
* Discovering one’s own unique life
* Exploring the human condition—“being” human
* Exploring and creating a balance between dialectical experiences, thoughts, behaviors, and views.
