Existential Approach

In this assignment I will summarise and compare and contrast two comparative models of counselling in terms of their underlying assumptions, key concepts, interventions and therapeutic relationship. The two models I have chosen are Existential and CBT.
• Existential counselling doesn’t use set techniques like other counselling approaches; it’s philosophical in nature. It focuses more on the truth and reality rather than personality, illness or cure as they prefer to think in terms of the client’s ability to meet challenges that life presents us with. Dreurzen, E.V. and Adams, M. (2011) p.8. It believes that we are all free and responsible for our lives and for the consequences of the choices that we make.
• Existential counselling focuses on exploring life’s challenges, Irvirn Yalom believed that there were four givens of existence which cause inner conflict in a person. Yalom, I. (1980) states, “And I mean by ‘givens’ of existence certain ultimate concerns, certain intrinsic properties that are part, and an inescapable part of the human beings existence in the world.”P.8. these givens are, freedom and responsibility, death, isolation and meaninglessness.
• A key concept of the approach is that anxiety is a condition of living and that the problems which people face are embedded in anxiety through loneliness, isolation, despair and death. Having an awareness of death and non-being gives an importance to living.
• The relationship between counsellor and client is a collaborative one, the counsellor should be aware of their own world in order to help the client work out their meaning in life. They must respect and have belief in the client to discover other ways of being.
• An existential counsellor can be confrontational, esp...

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...ling is that existential therapy is not technique focused, although sometimes they do take techniques from other approaches. This is different from CBT as it heavily relies on techniques and systems to help clients. Cognitive behavioural therapy is a practical approach to counselling, it helps the person to cope with everyday life and deal with symptoms of their negative thoughts and behaviours. CBT defines specific goals with clients and finds methods to help reach these goals. Existential therapy on the other hand stresses the basic conditions of human existence such as freedom and responsibility, isolation, anxiety and despair that shape a person’s life. Mcleod, J. (2013) states, “Existential informed therapies strive to enable a person to do something else, which is to make fundamental choices about who they are and what direction there live will take.” P.244