Existential Therapy

Each of us has had the sudden, baffling experience of being “thrown” into the world from a previous state of non-being. This primordial shift shapes our ongoing process of becoming and can be understood through our fears, desires, fantasies, hopes and dreams. Faced with uncertainty about our place in a sometimes strange and alien universe, and with the knowledge that we will once again cease to exist, we are nevertheless left with the task of defining ourselves in this fleeting moment of time that we are given.

Existential therapy is a philosophical and psychological approach that explores the fundamental questions of human existence, such as the meaning of life, freedom, responsibility, anxiety, and the inevitability of death. Developed in the 20th century by existential philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger, this therapeutic modality emphasizes self-awareness and self-acceptance as the key to understanding and addressing emotional and psychological struggles. Existential therapy doesn't provide ready-made solutions, but rather encourages individuals to confront the anxieties and dilemmas that arise from the human condition, promoting a more authentic and meaningful way of living. It is a deeply introspective and reflective approach that helps people grapple with the complexities of their existence and make choices that align with their values and aspirations.

Anxiety is the price we pay for our freedom

Emmy Van Deurzen

Existential therapy is a deeply humanistic approach to understanding our world of feelings and senses, and our relationships with ourselves, with others, with our fears, and with life itself. I studied this approach at the basic and advanced levels for 5 years through the GLE (Society for Logotherapy and Existential Analysis) International, and often employ the insights of existential therapy when other models don’t do justice to the suffering, complexity and wonderment of existence. As humans we are meaning making creatures. In this way, and in a culture bombarded with surface level distractions and easy answers, we are all philosophers making sense of our place in the universe.