Existential Psychotherapy Case Study

Introduction of Existential Psychotherapy Existential psychotherapy is a philosophical method of therapy that operates on the belief that inner conflict within a person is due to that individual's confrontation with the givens of existence (Yalom, 1980). According to Yalom, these givens are: the inevitability of death - the fear that death is unescapable can make people feel hopeless in their life isolation - people are ultimately alone, at birth and death. Consequently to fill the void, some individuals depend on others to validate and counteract the sense of loneliness. meaningless - sometimes, people believe their life has no meaning; thus they feel empty and unmotivated to live life. freedom and responsibility - the freedom to make choices and the …show more content…
Even though Dr. Yalom, Mike, and Marie shared the same hour session, all three of their perspectives were significantly different. An experience can be viewed rather dissimilar reflecting on the information provided and how one interpret it. One could say Marie’s curative was the hypnotherapy. Through hypnotherapy, Marie was able to grasp some understanding of her feelings of herself and people around her. Marie began to be more authentic and honest toward Dr. Yalom as they confronted her fear of dependency, gratitude, and anger. She became more expressive, her depression improved, her anger lessened, and her facial pain subsided after the hypnotherapy session. However, Dr. Yalom still wasn’t able to transform her into a wholesome person the way he had wished, for she remained proud, somewhat judgmental, and resistive to new ideas. Nonetheless, I believe Marie has finally able to accept and positively respond to these feelings of herself . It was not Dr. Yalom’s job to change the way Marie chooses to live her life, but to rather assist her in accepting it. In the end, she ended up marrying a sweet, elderly man and never smoked