Humanistic and existential movements arose in the middle of the last century in Europe as a result of the development of philosophical and psychological thought of the last two centuries, being, in fact, a consequence of the sublimation of such movements as Nietzsche’s “philosophy of life”, Schopenhauer’s philosophical irrationalism, Bergson’s intuitionism, Scheler’s philosophical ontology, psychoanalysis of Freud and Jung and existentialism of Heidegger, Sartre and Camus. In the works of Horney, Fromm, Rubinstein, and in their ideas, the motives of this movement are clearly visible. Quite soon, the existential approach to psychology gained great popularity in North America. The ideas were supported by prominent representatives of the “third revolution”. Simultaneously with existentialism, a humanistic movement, represented by such prominent psychologists as Rogers, Kelly, and Maslow, also developed in the psychological thought of this period. Both of these branches became a counterweight to already established directions in psychological science - Freudianism and behaviorism.
Existential-humanistic direction and other movements
The founder of the existential-humanistic movement (EGT) - D. Byudzhental - often criticized behaviorism for a simplified understanding of personality, neglect of a person, his inner world and potential capabilities, mechanization of behavioral patterns and the desire to control the individual. Behaviorists criticized the humanistic approach for giving super-value to the concept of freedom, considering it as an object of experimental research and insisted that there is no freedom, and the main law of existence is stimulus-response. Humanists insisted on the inconsistency and even danger of such an approach for humans.
Humanists also had their own complaints about Freud's followers, despite the fact that many of them began as psychoanalysts. The latter denied the dogmatism and determinism of the concept, opposed the fatalism characteristic of Freudianism, and denied the unconscious as a universal explanatory principle. Despite this, it should be noted that existential personality psychology is still to a certain extent close to psychoanalysis.
From the history
This branch of psychological science appeared in the last years of the 19th century, and its founder is considered to be the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who outlined the main paradigms of a new philosophical direction - existentialism. Later, already at the beginning of the 20th century, the method we are considering was significantly strengthened and developed.
The existence of this philosophical and psychological movement was greatly influenced by difficult times - numerous wars, economic and social crises, spiritual unrest of people. It is not surprising that many representatives of existentialism worked on their theories while imprisoned in prisons and camps, often experiencing serious personal tragedies at those moments. It turns out that existential psychology has become a kind of projection of the mood of most people in the 20th century.
Initially, existential psychology and psychotherapy appeared, like many other philosophical and psychological movements, in Europe, so it was there that existentialism spread most. But after the end of World War II, the theory gradually began to migrate to America and other countries and there it took its definite space in science.
Human nature in GP and EP
The humanistic approach (HA) is based on the concept of the essence of human nature, which unites its diverse currents and distinguishes it from other areas of psychology. According to Roy Cavallo, the essence of human nature is to continually be in the process of becoming. In the process of becoming, a person is autonomous, active, capable of self-change and creative adaptation, and focused on internal choice. Departure from continuous becoming is a rejection of the authenticity of life, “the human in man.”
The existential approach of psychology (EP) of humanism is characterized, first of all, by a qualitative assessment of the essence of personality and a look at the nature of the sources of the process of formation. According to existentialism, the essence of personality is neither positive nor negative - it is initially neutral. Personality features are acquired in the process of searching for his unique identity. Possessing both positive and negative potential, a person chooses and bears personal responsibility for his choice.
Basic principles of existential psychology
The focus of existential psychology is the category of personality. This is its fundamental difference from other psychological approaches and theories. It is known that behaviorism studies behavior, psychoanalysis studies instincts, psychology of consciousness studies consciousness, and only existential psychology takes the whole personality as the subject of its study.
Existential psychology is directly related to the philosophical system of existentialism. In existentialism, the psychology of being acquired (borrowed) not only a conceptual apparatus, but also the mechanisms of formation and disintegration of personality.*
Ontological interpretation of consciousness. Existential psychology makes an attempt to find the a priori characteristics of “pure” consciousness. These a priori characteristics are understood as innate properties of human existence. Consciousness has no less essence than being. It is impossible to raise the question of the primacy of two fundamental categories. There is no existence of man without the existence of consciousness. Thus, within the framework of existential psychology, consciousness is objectified. A look at emotions. Existential psychology views emotions not as affects like fear, but as characteristics rooted in the ontological nature of man. Feelings of guilt as anxiety in connection with the unrealized possibility of authentic being. Freedom as a search for choice, which implies anxiety, is a state of personality when it is faced with the problem of realizing life potentials. Ontological and existential guilt has three modes. The first mode is associated with the impossibility of complete self-actualization and relates to the inner world. The second mode is associated with the doom of human existence to insensibility, due to the inability to fully understand another, and relates to the social world. The third mode of guilt is the most comprehensive - it is guilt in the loss of unity with nature, which relates to the objective world.
A look at a person.
Existential psychology is fundamentally pessimistic about man. “Nothing” is always on a person’s path. “I am free” means, at the same time, “I am completely responsible for my existence. Freedom always coexists with responsibility (E. Fromm “Escape from Freedom”).
“A man is what he makes of himself,” wrote J-P. Sartre. Human existence is unique and exists at a specific, specific moment in time and space. A person lives in the world, comprehending his existence and his non-existence (death). We do not exist outside the world, but our world does not exist without us, has no meaning without us (to be precise).
What is a person? Is its essence determined by genetic factors or the influence of the social environment? What is more from the environment or heredity? Existentialists reject this, in their view, as an unproductive, human-degrading debate. Man and our life are what we make of it. It is not the origin of human existence, but the essence of existence that is the truly human interpretation of the question. This is a topic worthy of thought. Not where and how he came from, but where and why he is going, what he “makes” of himself and what he does not do, cannot, does not want, betrays.
We came into this world with the destiny to realize what is inherent in us. Human life is a constant work of realizing one’s own potential to become a human being. What is difficult is never fully achievable and this cannot but cause anxiety about the possibility of finding meaning in this endless struggle, in this meaningless world. Man accepts the responsibility of finding meaning in this absurd, meaningless world. Man is a being who feels, must feel, responsibility for his destiny. There is as much humanity in a person as there is a sense of responsibility for one’s destiny. The poet Alexander Blok very accurately described this state as a “sense of the path.” Along with this responsibility for his destiny, a person is always on the verge of despair, loneliness, and anxiety. Loneliness and anxiety are both a consequence of the inability to get help in finding one’s path, and the inability to complete this path. Despite such absurdity and ambiguity of the world, a person is responsible for choosing his own path. A person can say, characterizing the essence of himself, “I am my choice” (J.-P. Sartre).
The Becoming of Man.
The formation of a person is a complex project and few will be able to complete it (psychological death in childhood by A. B. Orlov, K. Chukovsky). The concept of becoming is the most important in existential psychology. Existence is not static, it is always a process. The goal is to become fully human (or god according to Sartre), i.e. fill all the possibilities of Dasein*. It must be admitted that this is a hopeless project, since the choice of one possibility means the rejection of others.
Becoming implies a direction that can change and a continuity that can break.
A person is always in the dynamics of becoming. A person is responsible for the realization of as many opportunities as possible. True life is the realization of this condition. True existence requires more than the satisfaction of biological needs, sexual and aggressive impulses. At every moment of his time, a person is obliged (to himself) to maximize his abilities.
A person must accept the challenge, create his own life full of meaning. The other path is the path of betrayal. It turns out that it is easier to betray your destiny, your life path. What then? Unnoticed by a person, mental death occurs, which can overtake him in childhood. “Secret mental death in childhood,” so psychologist A.B. Orlov characterizes this state by quoting an anonymous author. My life only has meaning when I can realize my human nature.
Finding an authentic and meaningful life is not easy. The search is especially difficult in an era of cultural change and conflict, in an era of decline (Modern times, for example). In such eras, external, traditional values and beliefs are no longer adequate guides for life and for finding the meaning of existence.
In particular cases, in crisis situations, the same psychological mechanism operates. Proven methods of response do not work, and there is a staggering, partial loss of life’s meaning.
Not everyone has the courage to “be.” Human existence presupposes a departure from old patterns, stereotypes, the ability to insist on one’s own, and the desire to look for new and effective ways for self-actualization. It is precisely in crisis moments of life that the presence of “courage to be” is tested, the ability to self-actualize in spite of.
A person is responsible, completely responsible for one single life - his own.
To avoid responsibility, freedom, and choice means to betray oneself and live in a state of despair, hopelessness, to be inauthentic, inauthentic.
The connection between human existence and the existence of the world.
The formation of man and the formation of the world are always connected (M. Buber, M.M. Bakhtin). This is co-becoming (Erwin Strauss) I and You (M. Buber), dialogue (M. M. Bakhtin).
A person reveals the possibilities of his existence through the world of another (M. Buber), and the other world, in turn, is revealed by the person who is in it. With the growth and expansion of one, the other inevitably grows and expands. If one stops growing, so does the other. Crisis events express various possibilities—the impossibilities of human existence.
Methods of existential psychology.
The only reality, asserts the psychology of existentialism, known to anyone is subjective reality or personal, but biased. The significance of subjective experience is that this experience is the main phenomenon of a person’s connection with the world. After the Copernican revolution of I. Kant, which he made in epistemology: thinking is constitutive for its objects, it creates them by cognizing them - psychologists could rely on experience in the construction of their psychological models. Only in experience can one discover both the world and the human “I”; the task is to rise above it and see experience in the process of reflexive analysis.
Theoretical constructions are secondary in relation to direct experience.
That is why the methods of existential psychology are essentially built on self-reports, returning psychology to subjectivism. Existential research is subordinated to the following task: to find a project or fundamental relationship to which all behavioral manifestations are reduced. It is assumed that the structure of a person’s world is revealed through his life history, character, content of language, and dreams. Existential psychology integrates holistic psychological experience in the immediate reality of consciousness; it focuses attention on experiences. Existential psychology considers experimental methods adopted in psychology to be a consequence of dehumanization and fundamentally rejects them.
Existence
Existence - existence. Its main characteristic is the absence of predestination, predeterminedness, which can influence a personality and determine how it will develop in the future. Postponement for the future and redirection of responsibility onto the shoulders of others, the nation, society, and state are excluded. A person decides for himself - here and now. Existential psychology determines the direction of a person’s development solely by the choices he makes. Personality-centered psychology considers the essence of personality as initially given as positive.
Faith in man
Belief in personality is a basic attitude that distinguishes the humanistic approach in psychology from other movements. If Freudianism, behaviorism and the overwhelming majority of the concepts of Soviet psychology are based on disbelief in personality, then the existential direction in psychology, on the contrary, considers a person from the position of faith in him. In classical Freudianism, the nature of the individual is initially negative, the purpose of influencing it is correction and compensation. Behaviorists view human nature neutrally and influence it through shaping and correction. Humanists, on the other hand, see human nature as either unconditionally positive and see the purpose of influence as assistance in the actualization of personality (Maslow, Rogers), or they evaluate personal nature as conditionally positive and see the main purpose of psychological influence as assistance in choice (existential psychology of Frankl and Bugental). Thus, the Institute of Existential Psychology bases its teaching on the concept of a person’s individual life choice. The personality is viewed as initially neutral.
Psychology in faces
In order to most fully understand what the theory we are considering is, we need to talk in more detail about those great people who founded it.
So, Søren Kierkegaard is perhaps the main personality in existentialism. Søren is a theologically trained Danish philosopher. He owns a huge number of works on religious studies and philosophy. We recommend: What is individuality?
It was he who first began to argue that individuality is primary, and that the actions and actions of any person should be treated differently from what was previously accepted. Kierkegaard lived a relatively short number of years, and quite difficult ones at that, so it was not by chance that in crisis and problematic moments he thought about what the meaning of life is, why people exist in this world, about what death is.
https://youtu.be/MS73NIcPU0o
Another prominent representative of the teaching was Viktor Frankl. He studied the main works of Adler and Freud, they helped him understand and reveal his own psychological theories. In his works, he relied on difficult life situations, during which people think about the meaning of their own existence.
For example, this often happens when a person or someone close to him becomes seriously ill or goes to prison. Only in such moments, more than ever, does a person begin to appreciate his own existence in this world. Frankl himself had to endure five prison sentences and lose his family, but in return he became a brilliant psychologist. One of Frankl’s main merits is considered to be the concept of “existential vacuum,” which he introduced, which means a person’s complete lack of meaning in life, unwillingness to live, indifference and devastation, which can lead to deep depression or even suicide.
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We cannot ignore James Bugental, who deduced the main principles of existential psychology:
- The problems of any person always have a deeper meaning than it seems at first glance.
- It is imperative that each individual’s autonomy and selfhood be respected.
- Each personality is subjective, so each person has his own experiences, anxieties, joys, thoughts and feelings, and they are not similar from one person to another. Therefore, it is not surprising that people can react differently to the same life circumstances.
- The main role in human behavior is given to the present, although there is a dependence on both the past and the future.
One of the strongest representatives studying the existential approach is Rollo May. Throughout his life, he was very passionate about literature and art, which significantly influenced his psychological theories.
The starting point of his teachings was that May fell ill with such a terrible disease as tuberculosis. Only at that moment did he understand that a person himself is the master of his life and can change it, and if he hopes for fate and does nothing himself, this does not lead to anything good. The concept of “anxiety” played a large role in his theories. May believed that it could be normal, that is, necessary for a person to remain alert, and nervous, which does not lead to anything good.
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The school of existential psychology would not be complete without a psychologist like Binswanger. He lived in Switzerland and studied with great psychologists: Jung, Freud, etc. It is worth noting that Binswanger was not just a psychologist, but also a psychotherapist who used existentialism techniques in practice.
Among the living most prominent representatives of the existential trend in psychology, one can name a psychotherapist such as Irvin Yalom. His main idea is that for each person it is necessary to come up with individual psychotherapy, since there cannot be any universal method.
Problems of existential psychology
The humanistic approach is based on the concept of conscious values that a person “chooses for himself” when resolving the key problems of existence. Existential personality psychology declares the primacy of human existence in the world. From the moment of birth, an individual continuously interacts with the world and finds in it the meaning of his existence. The world contains both threats and positive alternatives and opportunities that a person can choose from. Interaction with the world gives rise to the individual’s basic existential problems, stress and anxiety, the inability to cope with which leads to an imbalance in the individual’s psyche. The problems are varied, but schematically it can be reduced to four main “nodes” of polarities in which the individual in the process of development needs to make a choice.
Determinism, freedom, responsibility
The understanding of freedom in existentialism is also ambiguous. On the one hand, a person strives for the absence of external structure, on the other hand, he experiences fear of its absence. After all, it is easier to exist in an organized Universe that obeys the external plan. But, on the other hand, existential psychology insists that man himself creates his own world and is completely responsible for it. The awareness of the absence of prepared templates and structure gives rise to fear.
Existential psychotherapy
1834 Sunday. Noon. A young Dane sits in a small cafe, smokes a cigar and thinks that he will grow old without leaving a mark in this world. Thoughts arise about your successful friends. The cigar burns out. The young Dane lights another one and continues to think. Suddenly a thought arises in his mind: “You must do something, but since your limited abilities will not allow you to make anything any easier than it is, then you must, with the same humanitarian enthusiasm as others, take up for making something difficult." “When people try to make everything easier, there is a danger that it will become too easy,” he thought and decided that perhaps someone was needed to make life difficult again. Thus, Søren Kierkegaard , the founder of existential therapy, discovered his destiny.
Finding difficulties turns out to be very easy. It is enough to think about the situation of your own existence, the choices you face, your capabilities and limitations, your fear of death. These four factors - death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness - constitute the main content of existential psychodynamics .
Kierkegaard substantiated the concept of existence as the uniqueness of human life. He also drew attention to the turning points in a person’s life, which make it possible to live further in a completely different way than life has been lived until now. The word "existence" comes from the root ex - sistere , which literally meant "to stand out, to appear."
Existential psychotherapy ( existentialtherapy ) is one of the areas of humanistic psychology , which aims to cope with human despair and focuses on the basic problems of the individual’s existence. Currently, there are a number of very different psychotherapeutic approaches, denoted by the same term existential therapy (existential analysis):
- existential analysis of Ludwig Binswanger,
- Dasein analysis by Medard Boss,
- existential analysis (logotherapy) by Viktor Frankl,
- Alfried Langle's existential analysis.
In our country, the American branch of existential therapy has become widespread: existential-humanistic psychotherapy by J. Bugental and existential therapy by I. Yalom .
Developing, moving forward, striving for individuality, a person on his way may encounter loneliness, he may be visited by a feeling of insecurity, fear of something. At a certain stage in life, every person is faced with dark thoughts. The first thing he does when fear becomes unbearable is to retreat, to want to dissolve in another person, to renounce his individuality. But this is only imaginary comfort. Existential psychotherapy is associated with the analysis of a person’s values and can help in any situation and life difficulties: cope with depression, fears, loneliness, addictions, obsessive thoughts and actions, emptiness and suicidal behavior, grief, crises and failures, indecision . The goal of therapy is acceptance of the universe, the most complete, rich and meaningful existence.
In existential psychotherapy, life issues, life itself in close connection with the outside world, are taken as the basis, and not the study of manifestations of the psyche and not symptoms. From an existential point of view, exploring deeply does not mean exploring the past; this means putting aside everyday worries and reflecting on what is outside of time - about the relationship between your consciousness and the space around you . This means reflecting on what we are , not on how we came to be who we are.
Most people turn to a therapist when they lose something in themselves, some meaning. Problems can take over a person’s life and make it unbearable, but at any moment there is an opportunity to take a step in favor of living differently. A person is able to understand the uniqueness of his life situation, is able to make a choice how to relate to his present, past and future . He can also develop the ability to act by accepting responsibility for the consequences of his actions.
The existential therapist seeks to understand the patient's personal world, rather than to determine exactly how his world deviates from the “norm.” He does not give answers, but asks and helps a person come to them himself.
Put everything aside, sit down, relax and think about your life, your existence in this life. The answers are within a person .
A person can be whoever he decides to be . In his very existence lies the possibility of going beyond himself and going out decisively. Such an exit is always associated with risk and uncertainty, but “the game is worth the candle.” Sartre wrote , “man is not moss, not mold, or cauliflower.”
Life is an art. Each of us has the talent to live, and existential therapy only helps a person enter a new phase in the development of this talent .
Do you want to live life to the fullest? So what's the deal?
Each person is given ownership of his existence, and at the same time, he is also given full responsibility for existence. This is optimistic news. The only thing that allows a person to live is action.
“Initially, I had doubts that psychotherapy could help, but it turns out that it helps,” these are the words of a man who decided to change his life. How did she help him? He began to live a meaningful, full, rich life.
Authenticity and conformity. Guilt
Humanistic psychologists, based on the principle of a person’s personal choice, identify two main polarities – authenticity and conformity. In an authentic worldview, a person shows his unique personal qualities, sees himself as an individual who is able to influence his own experience and society through decision-making, since society is created by the choice of individuals, and therefore is capable of changing as a result of their efforts. An authentic lifestyle is characterized by inner focus, innovation, harmony, sophistication, courage and love.
An externally oriented person, who does not have the courage to take responsibility for his own choices, chooses the path of conformism, defining himself exclusively as a performer of social roles. Acting according to prepared social templates, such a person thinks stereotypically, does not know how and does not want to recognize his choice and give it an internal assessment. The conformist looks into the past, relying on ready-made paradigms, as a result of which he develops uncertainty and a feeling of his own worthlessness. There is an accumulation of ontological guilt.
A value-based approach to a person and faith in personality and its strength allow us to study it more deeply. The heuristic nature of the direction is also evidenced by the presence of various angles of view in it. The main ones are traditional existential, existential-analytical and humanistic existential psychology. May and Schneider also highlight the existential-integrative approach. In addition, there are approaches such as Friedman's dialogical therapy and Frankl's logotherapy.
Despite a number of conceptual differences, the person-centered humanistic and existential movements are unanimous in their trust in people. An important advantage of these directions is that they do not seek to “simplify” personality, place its most essential problems in the center of their attention, and do not cut off intractable questions of the correspondence between a person’s existence in the world and his inner nature. Recognizing that society influences the formation of personality and its existence in it, existential psychology is in close contact with history, cultural studies, sociology, philosophy, social psychology, at the same time being an integral and promising branch of modern science about personality.
EXISTENTIAL DIRECTION
The existential direction includes theories and systems of personal correction based on the theory of existentialism, which emphasizes the importance of the problems of human development and a person’s responsibility for his personal development, when the emphasis is on “free will”, awareness of a person’s responsibility for the formation of his own inner world and the choice of life path. With this approach, the goal of correction is to bring to a person’s understanding the meaning that he wants to give to his life
S. Kierkegaard, , is considered the founder of existentialism . The term "existentia" is translated from Late Latin as "existence". In the 20s of our century, with the advent of M. Heidegger’s work “Being and Time”, as well as the works of K. Jaspers, J.-P. Sartre, A. Camus, E. Husserl and others created key concepts in the concept of human existence, which, together with the development of new physics, became the basis of one of the most influential and fruitful trends in modern counseling psychology and psychocorrection.
D. Bugental, one of the theorists of the existential approach, put forward the following basic premises:
. man is a whole, irreducible to the sum of his parts; . a person exists in the context of his own human problems; . a person is capable of awareness and is able to act rationally; . man always
has a choice;
.Human behavior is always intentional, i.e. has a reason, is always intentional, a person can make informed decisions.
61 Basic concepts and provisions of the existential approach
The basic concepts of a particular representative acquire a different emphasis, but in general they constitute the conceptual existential certainty of the concept :
"Dialogue" —
a concept put forward and developed by M. Buber. According to Buber, there are basic words in a language that form word pairs. The difference between basic words is that they do not designate something existing, but, when spoken, give rise to existence. These words: “I-you”, “I-it”. According to Buber, the basic word “I-thou” generates and affirms the world of relationships, in contrast to “I-it”, which generates experience.
“Experience” is a concept, the attitude towards which in science and philosophy has resulted in a dramatic struggle. The category “experience” is correlated not with objective truth in relation to “my” existence, but with the subjectivity of “my” ontologically, and not epistemologically, comprehended existence. In this sense, the life experience of a 5-year-old child is no less true than the life experience of a gray-haired old man.
Therefore, in close connection with the concept of “experience” is the concept of “experience”.
“Experience” is a concept that characterizes a special way or state of being. Proposed in 1965 by Gendlin, it is described as follows: an experience that is felt rather than thought, known or verbalized; the experience occurs in the immediate present. Experience is a changing flow of feelings that makes it possible for each individual to feel something at any given moment. Particular importance is attached to peak experiences that accompany self-actualization and personal growth. Peak experience is the maximum feeling of the fullness of being and all your potentialities.
“Authenticity” (authenticity) is a concept introduced by M. Heidegger and developed by K. Jaspers in connection with the central problem of human philosophy, namely -
the problem of transforming inauthentic human existence into genuine. Authenticity, according to Jaspers, is being unconstrained and unstrengthened by any one concept, idea or possibility that is imposed from the outside and predetermines a person’s choice. In other words, this is sincerity to the end both in relation to others and in relation to oneself, in which the individual is free from both external manipulation and self-manipulation, manifesting himself in a directly clear and responsibly free being.
"Self-actualization." According to one of its creators, A. Maslow, this concept is synonymous with such concepts as “growth”, “self-development”, “individuation”. It is determined by two essential features: 1) acceptance and expression of the inner core
(“selves”), i.e.
actualization of latent abilities and potential; 2) minimal presence of ill health
(neuroses and other losses of capacity). The origins of understanding the concept lie in the search for the original value paradigm, which can be called health, and complete (mental, social, physical), i.e. health as the fullest development of human potential in individual life.
"Value" —
a concept that in existential psychocorrection reflects the content related to the direction and aspiration of experiences. Value is not yet meaning, but at least its condition. Realizing value
can create meaning in life. The following values are distinguished:
cognitive preferences, aesthetic, moral, cultural “I”. A. Maslow proposed the following dichotomy of values:
1. V-values -
everyday values, values of the fullness of being.
2. D-values -
deprivation values, values arising from a shortage of something.
The type of value inherent in a person determines his existence. According to Maslow, the values include: goodness, justice, beauty, truthfulness, self-sufficiency, etc. in the traditional formulation, which presents the basic ones, i.e. basic life needs. They can also be distinguished in this way: B-values are the creations of the individual and his experiences aimed at the world, while 0-
values are the requirements of the individual and his experiences, directed from the world to himself.
"Being in the World." The category is analyzed by almost all representatives of existential psychology and denotes a whole set of essential features and phenomenology of experiencing one’s own “I” as being in the world:
firstly, it is pure existence, i.e. presence, given to oneself and the world;
secondly, it is the true existence of the “self”;
thirdly, being is the transcendence of man into something else;
fourthly, being is “tosiiz ѵіѵеpsiі” in contrast to “tosiiz oregapsii”;
fifthly, this is a certain quality of existence, characterized by unlimitedness, completeness and dedication.
Therefore, the category of becoming is closely related to the category of being, and the category of being itself is commensurate with the category “world”.
“Lifeworld” is a concept introduced and developed by E. Husserl. This is what has significance for consciousness. “Life world” is a concept that captures the self-integration of the experienced, conscious, perceived, spoken world as such a factual one. The concept of “life world” not only recognizes ontology (an independent reality of human consciousness), but also requires mandatory consideration of this internal ontology of consciousness, taking it seriously when working with a client.
"Event" —
rather not an objectively related concept, but a principle for constructing correctional work in existential psychology. The principle of eventfulness presupposes a rejection of instrumental activism (with its infantile desire for
self-affirmation at any cost) and assigns a different place to the subject of activity in a much more complex interconnected world than it seemed in the era of classical scientific ideas.
Correction goals. The main goal of existential correction is to help the client find the meaning of life, realize personal freedom, responsibility and discover their potential as an individual in full communication. And the simultaneous task of existential interaction is the unconditional recognition of the client’s personality and his destiny as the most important, unique and unconditional life world deserving recognition, the very existence of which is valuable.
Psychologist's position. The basic premise of the psychological position is to understand the client in terms of his own life world, self-image and reality. The psychologist pays main attention to the current, momentary moment of the client’s life and his “now” experiences. The complexity of the position also lies in the fact that the psychologist must be able to combine understanding of the client and the ability to confront what is called the limited existence in the client. The ability or property of a psychologist to “be in the world” is the most obvious condition for his successful correctional activities.
The main tasks of a psychologist involved in the process of existential correction
· Be fully present to facilitate the client's immersion and assist him in more fully describing his interest in solving the problem.
· Form and maintain the client’s belief that he is capable of doing something for himself.
· Help the client discover the forces within himself that are destroying him and his life, help him find conservative structures that he himself has built and, accordingly, can change himself.
· Be sympathetic and caring, especially in moments of difficult, deep experiences of the client.
· Be deeply confident that the client is able to help himself.
Requirements and expectations from the client. In existential psychocorrection, the main efforts are aimed at helping the client take his phenomenological world seriously, realize the reality of his conscious or unconscious choices and their consequences. Therefore, the client’s position is not limited to the achievements of insight, but is formulated as an expectation of actions stemming from the clarified value of the personality and its potentials. Therefore, it is encouraged in clients openness, spontaneous activity and focus on main issues
life
birth, love, anxiety, fate, guilt, death, responsibility,
i.e. on existential problems that do not have a rational solution, but confrontation with which allows solving the client’s current psychological problems
The client must be interested, deeply involved, attentive to himself and his life, this reveals a deep level of his subjectivity. He must be able to respond to deep interest in himself. Sometimes this interest can be damaged, so the client needs correction
The client’s description of his interest pushes the boundaries of his capabilities in finding a solution through fixing attention on subjective experiences. The search process is carried out through complete immersion in himself, awareness of his bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts and anticipation of discovery
65 Techniques
The process of existential correction consists in the development of internal self-awareness, modifying one’s own structures of perception, changing the construct “I and the external world”
On this path, client resistance is possible, since a person is limited in access to his internal potentials by how he forms the construct “I and the outside world”
In existential psychocorrection we are not talking about psychotechnics as a set of techniques used to solve problems of basic personal existential problems, but approaches to solving these problems
First approach#
—
emphasis on the development of self-awareness
Awareness of one’s own motives, choice of preferences, system of values, goals and meaning In the context of existential
paradigm, the emphasis is on the liberated function of self-awareness, since primacy is given not to reflexive self-awareness, but rather to the valuable experience of one’s “I”, the discovery of the significance and value of one’s own life world. Allowing the client to realize and experience his limitations, his potential freedom from the past, the value of his “I” and life in the present - these are the basic prerequisites and the corresponding attitudes of the existential psychologist.
The second approach is cultivating freedom of responsibility.
In accordance with this attitude, the psychologist seeks to help the client discover ways to avoid responsibility and freedom and encourages risk-taking in relation to these values. Explanations that the client always has a choice, encouragement of open recognition of his own refusal to accept responsibility, encouragement in defending his own independence (autonomy) and emphasis on the client’s personal desires and experiences, on his personal choice in a given life situation - these are the main prerequisites for the implementation of this installation.
There is no direct training in existential psychocorrection. A person can only learn by himself. Therefore, the nuances in the behavior and attitudes of the psychologist are of particular importance. Developing openness and sensitivity of the client to the nuances of relationships in communication - this is the path in existential psychocorrection.
The third approach is to help discover or create meaning.
In implementing this attitude, the technique of fixing on the meaning, proposed by Yu. Gendlin, is useful. Its content consists of focusing on bodily sensations in the process of any action. The client is asked to remain silent, try to feel and understand his true experiences, their significance for him. An important point in the application of technology is the discovery of the existential vacuum, i.e. the meaninglessness of life, and confrontation with the client or alleviation of his possible experiences in connection with this.
The psychologist does not indicate what the meaning of the client’s life is, but only creates the conditions for the client to discover or create his own meanings. Moreover, it should be remembered that meaning for an existential psychologist is not given directly, but comes along the way, with a person’s involvement in creativity, creative activity, in which his intentions are usually directed not at himself, but outward.
The fourth approach is uniqueness and identity.
The key to the implementation of this mechanism of psychocorrection is to encourage the client to openly express his feelings and to be aware of the differentiation between feelings and experiences: reactive, situational and deep (personal). The main line of implementation of this premise is the discovery of one’s own authentic “I” and inauthentic “I”, when the client does, says and feels not what is characteristic or wants, but what is associated with imitation of life, with games, and not with genuine relationships intimacy or alienation with another. Own identity, where is “I”, “Mine”, and where is “Not I”, “Not Mine”, and the experience of one’s identity, one’s “I” as a unique, unrepeatable life world - this is the main guideline of this psychocorrectional premise.
The fifth approach is working with anxiety.
In existential psychocorrection (unlike other areas) there is no mandatory rule to reduce the client’s anxiety level. Anxiety is considered as one of the manifestations of existence, so the psychologist is interested in how the client tries to cope with anxiety; what function does anxiety perform (personal growth or limitation of its personal existence); whether the client tends to accept his anxiety or seeks to suppress it.
Anxiety as a manifestation of the borderline situation in which the client is or is placing himself is an important phenomenon for correctional work. Its study, manifestation, acceptance, sharing, respect for the client in connection with his anxiety and his attitude towards it are components of the psychotechnics of a representative of existential psychocorrection.
1. Relationship with time. Although the main attention is paid to the actual experience, the attitude towards time (future, past) is an important point and technique in correctional work. A simple question: “How do you imagine us meeting you in 10 years?” - can cause a whole range of experiences associated not only with understanding one’s own life, but also with the elaboration of its possible meanings. In addition, projective research into possible ways of self-realization can increase the degree of personal fulfillment in the present time.
2. Relationship between psychologist and client. In existential correction, relationships are of particular value, because, as is already clear from the analysis of psychotechniques,
these relationships are valuable in themselves. Their unique personal shade, personal meaning, nuance, the whole range of experiences in connection with communication with a person as a significant other are a source of powerful influences and personal changes; respect, trust and faith in the client; self-disclosure and honesty with oneself; refusal to manipulate and willingness to accept an attitude towards oneself in response to one’s transparency, with the help of which the psychologist models productive ways of experiencing with his personality, without taking responsibility for imposing one’s behavior on others - this is the correctional core.
The main results of successful existential psychocorrection are an expansion of the client’s sense of being and an increase in his vitality (vitality).
