Chapter 6 –
Existential Therapy
Existential
therapy or counseling is classified as a humanistic theory by Maslow due to its
focus on helping people achieve their full potential in life. It is viewed more
as an attitudinal or philosophical approach to counseling rather than a theory
of therapy because it is loosely based on existential philosophy and it is not
tied to any particular therapeutic technique. Broadly defined, existential
therapy encourages clients to develop a full comprehension of their personal
meaning of life and purpose of existence in the universe. It is suggested that
a counselor develop his or her own personal style of counseling which is based
primarily on one theoretical perspective. The American Counseling Association’s
(ACA) Code of Ethics (2005) states that counselors should promote their
clients’ personal growth and development, including development of healthy
interpersonal relationships, while honoring the diversity of their clients’
cultural values. I chose existential therapy as my preferred theoretical base
for counseling because this theory fits well with my personal style of
counseling which includes the spiritual ‘12-step’ philosophy. Furthermore it is
not tied to any particular therapeutic technique but does promote the
collaborative therapeutic counseling relationship, which also promotes the
clients’ personal growth and development, and helps clients resolve the
ultimate struggle of determining their personal meaning (purpose) of life.
How it relates to CSA:
This type of therapy
relates to student affairs because it relies heavily on getting the client to
achieve their full potential in life. It also puts a focus on the development of
healthy interpersonal relationships in which the students will be creating as
soon as they step foot on campus, with their roommates, community advisors,
professors, and other various subjects on campus. If there is a lack of
interpersonal communication and confidence in a student this can hinder their
experience as a first year student, and contribute to a lack of success.
Video: Existential: The client talks
about what she wants to do now. She wants to be a better Mom, she wants to continue
spending time with her family which is her mom her dad sister and two brothers
and niece. She wants to continue to give in her relationship with her friends
since they have done a lot for her. There is a possibility that she wants to
get her PhD. She wants to communicate better in her relationships and to tell
how she feels. This all relates to the existential philosophy of developing an
understanding of their personal meaning and direction in life and that it is
important to have strong interpersonal relationships.
Chapter 7 – Gestalt
Therapy
In Gestalt Therapy the focus lies on the process of a
person’s contacting and withdrawing from contact with his or her human and
ecological environment as well as on the awareness of this process. Gestalt
Therapy assumes that psychological disorders stem from needs, wishes, emotions
and mental fixations of which they are not aware and which haven‘t been brought
forth as a contact target. In the psychotherapist-patient relationship,
disturbances in a person’s awareness and perception, in contact abilities,
modes of action and integration of experiences in the here-and-now are
discovered and worked through. The therapeutic relationship is a dialogic
process. The patient’s own disturbing experiences (e.g. blocks, fixations,
blind spots and split-off aspects of the personality) are brought to awareness
with the help of the therapist’s immediate reactions. This is a mutual effort
and both therapist and patient are involved in the emotional resonance,
reflection and working through processes. This encounter is present-centered.
The here-and now principle of Gestalt Therapy emphasizes the phenomenological
orientation of our psychotherapeutic interventions. Relational blocks of the
past will be re-enacted in the present, in the here-and-now therapeutic
relationship with the aim of re-owning a previously unsuccessful intentionality
of contact. Therefore the here-and-now principle is in effect focused on the
transition between now and next, on the deliberateness which is implied in the
present.
How it relates to CSA:
A student might
approach me and may be telling me about an experience that is very personal to
them, it might take me a few times meeting with the student to realize that
they have blocked certain aspects of the situation out of their mind. It is
important for me to realize that there is a mutual effort between me helping
the student, and the student giving me the feedback I need in order to assess
the situation and to begin to develop a plan. It is important to re-visit the
past only when necessary by focusing on where they were to where they are now.
Video: Gestalt: She is having a
reaction to what her mother is saying. She asks her if there is anything she
would like to say to her mother about what is going on. She says she wanted her
mother to be pleased with her for more than just because she was good, that it wasn’t
because she was the one who was getting into trouble or fighting with her. She
said her job is to give up her life to please her mother. This relates to the
theory in that the client was fixated on trying to be please her mother her
entire life and that was her wish.
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