Irvin Yalom's Four Givens

The client does not have any medical conditions that would be affecting his mental health. The client is slightly overweight which causes him to have lower-self-confidence. The client also has supplemental issues within his primary support group, especially with his parents and older brother. The client has reported difficulties with his father threatening to commit suicide and being unstable psychologically. He has also expressed that his mother puts a lot of pressure on him because he is the one that “she can count on”. The client’s older brother also causes him stress due to him stating he is going through a transition and his poor social skills. Although the client does not currently live in the household, his family is still involved with his life and he finds it difficult to separate himself. Also, the client has difficulties with his peer group. His friends recently moved away and he has had to make new friends. He was also just recently in an

To help conceptualize this client, the clinician is going to use Irvin Yalom’s Four Givens: death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness (Messer & Gurman, 2011). The clinician believes that the client does not understand that life is finite and that life will eventually end (Yalom, 1980). The client often states that he will “get around to doing things” or that he “should do that”, but often has difficulty following through with commitments. The client has also had recent thoughts of suicide. Typically, the idea that life is finite is motivation for people to live to their fullest potential. If the client were to commit suicide, he might not be able to establish a source of meaning or purpose due to his lack of motivation to live (Yalom, 1980). While the client is probably not actively thinking about death because his suicidal thoughts have subsided, it is important for him to make this connection between meaning, lack of motivation, and