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What is Existential Psychotherapy?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Hans W. Cohn
Hans W. Cohn*
Affiliation:
School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, Regent's College, London
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Extract

Most forms of psychotherapy are rooted in psychoanalytical concepts. Although the majority of psychotherapists and counsellors do not comply with the classical Freudian model – they do not see their clients four or five times a week nor do they sit behind them while they are lying on a couch – they accept the basic psychoanalytical project. This can perhaps be expressed in the following way: unacceptable ‘instinctual’ wishes are warded off and ‘repressed’ into the ‘unconscious’. When they try to return to consciousness, they have to do so in disguise – and a common disguise is that of a symptom. This symptom has to be demasked, so to speak – what has been unconscious has to be made conscious for the symptom to disappear. This is, of course, an over-simplified account, but it is, I think, the essence of the psychoanalytical process and has remained central to psychotherapeutic endeavour.

Type
Reading About …
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 165 , Issue 5 , November 1994 , pp. 699 - 701
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994 

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References

Annotated Reading List

Binswanger, L. (1963) Being-in-the-world. Selected papers of Ludwig Binswanger. Translated and with a Critical Introduction to his Existential Psychoanalysis by Needleman, J. 364 pp. London: Souvenir Press.Google Scholar
Unfortunately Binswanger's main works have not been translated into English, but this collection of some of his papers gives a good idea of the range of his interests and the quality of his writing. Binswanger was influenced by both Husserl, the creator of phenomenology (who was not an existentialist), and Heidegger, who modified Husserl's ideas to create a philosophy of existence. Binswanger's approach, for better or worse, lacks Boss's single mindedness – it is less systematic but richer in ideas and applications. The introduction by an American philosopher is over-long and overelaborate.Google Scholar
Boss, M. (1963) Psychoanalysis and Daseinsanalysis. Translated by Lefebre, L. B. 295 pp. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
This is one of the standard works of existential psychotherapy (here called “Daseinsanalysis” which means literally the analysis of “being there”, Heidegger's way of describing human existence). It is the author's attempt to provide Freudian practice (of which he approves) with a new philosophical (Heideggerian) foundation. This book comes as near to being a textbook of existential psychotherapy as can be obtained in English.Google Scholar
Cannon, B. (1991) Sartre and Psychoanalysis. An Existential Challenge to Clinical Metatheory. 397 pp. Kansas: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
This recent publication is the outstanding attempt of a professor of the humanities and social sciences, who is also a psychotherapist, to create a psychotherapeutic framework based on Sartre's ideas. It shows Freudian theory in the light of Sartre's critique (which is essentially contained in his chapter “Existential Psychoanalysis” in his book Being and Nothingness (1943)) and sketches in great detail the various aspects of a Sartrian psychotherapy. I know no other book with a similar aim, and considering the complexity of the task, the writing is surprisingly lucid.Google Scholar
Friedman, M. (1964) The Worlds of Existentialism. A Critical Reader. 362 pp. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago.Google Scholar
This is an anthology of frequently sizeable extracts from works by existentially orientated philosophers, theologians and psychotherapists, as well as extended comments by the editor, who has translated numerous works of Martin Buber. For anyone who is interested in this subject and lacks the time to read widely about it, this collection is indispensable.Google Scholar
Laing, R. D. (1960) The Divided Self. 218 pp. London: Tavistock.Google Scholar
This is a classic text on existential psychotherapy, and invaluable for its phenomenological descriptions of schizophrenic states, giving meaning to what had until then been seen as meaningless by professionals. The theoretical framework is perhaps more controversial; existential writers might think the concept of a ‘self$’ and its division misplaced in an existential context.Google Scholar
Macquarrie, J. (1972) Existentialism. An Introduction, Guide and Assessment. 314 pp. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Google Scholar
Twenty years after its first appearance this is still the best introduction to existential philosophy. Written by an expert – he is one of the two translators of Heidegger's Being and Time – it is a comprehensive survey, lucidly written and very accessible.Google Scholar
Spinelli, E. (1989) The Interpreted World: An Introduction to Phenomenological Psychology. 210 pp. London: Sage.Google Scholar
More recently published, this book does for phenomenology what Macquarrie does for existentialism. As the author is both a psychologist and psychotherapist, his exposition takes account of various developments in existential psychotherapy. Spinelli is particularly clear in outlining those aspects of phenomenology which are relevant to the therapist. He also gives a much-needed definition of humanistic psychology, which often presents itself as existential phenomenology.Google Scholar
Van Deurzen-Smith, E. (1988) Existential Counselling in Practice. 246 pp. London: Sage.Google Scholar
There are very few books which show the existential approach to psychotherapy in action. This is such a book. Its strength is its wealth of illustrative examples; we are introduced to a number of people with psychological difficulties, the existential implications of these difficulties are outlined, and the existential therapist's approach is indicated. The author is a philosopher and psychotherapist, and the Dean of the School of Psychotherapy and Counselling at Regents' College, London, where a special diploma in existential psychotherapy is offered.Google Scholar
Yalom, I. D. (1980) Existential Psychotherapy. 524 pp. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
This book describes what the author calls “four ultimate concerns” – death, freedom, isolation, meaninglessness – and the existential conflicts resulting from them. It has been widely praised; it is easy to read, and what some people might call journalistic smoothness, others would see as a lightness of touch. It is certainly a good if somewhat lengthy introduction to the subject.Google Scholar
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