The definitive account of existential psychotherapy. First published in 1980, Existential Psychotherapy is widely considered to be the foundational text in its field— the first to offer a methodology for helping patients to develop more adaptive responses to life’s core existential dilemmas. In this seminal work, American psychiatrist Irvin Yalom finds the essence of existential psychotherapy and gives it a coherent structure, synthesizing its historical background, core tenets, and usefulness to the practice. Organized around what Yalom identifies as the four "ultimate concerns of life"—death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness—the book takes up the meaning of each existential concern and the type of conflict that springs from our confrontation with each. He shows how these concerns are manifest in personality and psychopathology, and how treatment can be helped by our knowledge of them. Drawing from clinical experience, empirical research, philosophy, and great literature, Yalom provides an intellectual home base for those psychotherapists who have sensed the incompatibility of orthodox theories with their own clinical experience, and opens new doors for empirical research. The fundamental concerns of therapy and the central issues of human existence are woven together here as never before, with intellectual and clinical results that have surprised and enlightened generations of readers.

Less of an orientation and more a way of understanding the challenges of being human, existential therapy draws on rich and diverse philosophical traditions and ways of viewing the world. Traditionally it has been seen as difficult to summarise and comprehend and the air of mystery surrounding existential ideas has been exacerbated by the dense language often used by philosophers and practitioners. Existential Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques provides a comprehensive and accessible guide to a fascinating and exciting body of knowledge, and the therapeutic approach it informs. Divided into five parts the topics covered include: Existentialism – inception to present day Theoretical assumptions Existential phenomenological therapy in practice Ethics and existential therapy Bringing it all together Existential Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques will be essential reading for all trainee and qualified counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists who want to use the wisdom of existential ideas in their work with clients. It will also benefit clients and potential clients who want to find out how existential ideas and existential therapy can help them explore what it means to be alive.

An existential therapy handbook from those in the field, with its broad scope covering key texts, theories, practice, and research The Wiley World Handbook of Existential Therapy is a work representing the collaboration of existential psychotherapists, teachers, and researchers. It's a book to guide readers in understanding human life better through the exploration of aspects and applications of existential therapy. The book presents the therapy as a way for clients to explore their experiences and make the most of their lives. Its contributors offer an accurate and in-depth view of the field. An introduction of existential therapy is provided, along with a summary of its historical foundations. Chapters are organized into sections that cover: daseinsanalysis; existential-phenomenonological, -humanistic, and -integrative therapies; and existential group therapy. International developments in theory, practice and research are also examined.

"An excellent 'primer.' This is the type of text that I would have liked to have read when I was first introduced to the existential-phenomenological approach within psychology. It is clearly written and jargon-free. . . . I highly recommend this book as a very good introduction." --Mufid James Hannush in Journal of Phenomenological Psychology Are psychological problems brought on by social pressure, biology, culture, or personal pathology? Or are they the by-product of the essential paradoxes of human existence? This volume offers the practicing therapist a concrete framework for understanding both the role of the counselor and the concept of anxiety in contemporary society. But more importantly, the author demonstrates practical methods for applying an existential approach to counseling. Counseling is not presented as a problem-solving or skill-building exercise; rather, it is seen as a process enabling the client to come to terms with living life as it is, with all its inherent contradictions. Through an abundant use of case illustrations, the author clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of existential counseling in many different areas of therapy, from crisis intervention to work with chronic unhappiness. Written in a simple, elegant style by a leading authority on therapy techniques, this volume will prove an indispensable guide to the existential approach for all counselors and students of counseling. "Offers a very readable account of counselling from an existential perspective. Numerous case histories are used to illustrate common dilemmas in people's lives. . . . The book flows in a sensitive narrative on the problems of living and neurotic ways of denying and dealing withconflict. . . . It reads more like a commentary on people's lives, rather than a structured and informative introduction to Existential Counselling. . . .I enjoyed the book immensely and it is well recommended as a balance to the technically loaded manuals of today." --British Journal of Medical Psychology "This is a book worthy of wide acclaim as it fills a missing philosophical gap in therapy in Western civilization. The author writes clearly and simply in plain English. She presents existential thought as an easily accessible coherent body of work. The book is full of case histories where seemingly meaningless psychotic episodes are later explained. Also there are cases of despair, depression and meaninglessness quoted which is what makes this book so necessary for our times of mass production, mass media and mass alienation." --Suggestions: The Newsletter of the Association of Professional Therapists "A process of continuous questioning and clarification helps clients to examine their natural, public, private, and ideal worlds; to discover and explore their basic assumptions and view of the world; and thereby to learn what it means to be true to themselves. The book is intended for counselors and psychotherapists but can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in existentialism, providing a coherent, readable, and easily understood description of existentialism and its use as a treatment form. It makes a strong case for the value of fostering independence and authenticity in clients through the use of the Socratic method rather than empathy. . . . This author emphasizes the role of the counselor as an educator. She cites many case histories, some of whose outcomes seem almostmiraculous. the book is worth reading." --Readings: A Journal of Reviews and Commentary in Mental Health "A lucid, highly readable, and solid introduction to this school of thought in the helping professions. . . . An existential approach is appealing, particularly to helping professionals who concern themselves with their clients' spiritual needs." --Review and Expositor "This book provides an excellent source from which to examine the extent to which cognitive therapy is informed by existentialism. The reader is promised a logical application of the ideas of existential philosophy that translate into practical counselling methods. This promise is fulfilled. The book is full of succinct case examples which illustrate the principles clearly." --British Journal of Guidance and Counselling

Existential psychotherapy has emerged as an approach that is distinctively different to that of the other models and systems within psychotherapy. It provides a set of significant challenges to, and critiques of, contemporary Western psychotherapy both at the level of theory and of practice. Although a substantial amount of writing that seeks to describe and delineate the theoretical underpinnings of existential psychotherapy already exists, this is not the case with texts dealing with the application of theory in the form of practice. Practising Existential Psychotherapy examines the unique qualities and possibilities of an existential approach to psychotherapy. Drawn from Ernesto Spinelli's own experience as an internationally recognised theorist, lecturer and practitioner, the book's overall aim is to provide a thorough and accessible explication of existential psychotherapy in practice. Beginning with an overview of the theoretical underpinnings and distinguishing features of existential psychotherapy, the text describes and develops a three-phase structural model for its practice. As well as describing the key components of each phase, the text provides descriptive examples and topic-focused exercises designed to assist readers in developing their own practice-based understanding of existential psychotherapy. Ernesto Spinelli is a Professor in the School of Psychotherapy and Counselling at Regent's College, London.

A classic in art therapy literature since its introduction nearly two decades ago, this book is an expression of the author's desire to link the practice of art psychotherapy to the core issues of life as presented in existentialism. The inclusion of existential in this book's title denotes an interest in human struggle with issues of life in the face of death. The Canvas Mirror is the story of connections: the author's connections with his patients, their connections with each other, and, ultimately, the author's connections with the reader. We are provided in this book with a philosophy of how to be rather than a manual of what to do. The author shows us that it is possible to speak in plain language about the difficulties of therapists' patients if art therapists also speak to themselves in that same language. Unique features include: existential values and artistic traditions; metaphor, ritual, and journey; structuring chaos; existential emptiness and art; tenets of existential art therapy; the frame of The Canvas Mirror; listening to images and relating to artworks; dimensions of creative action; artists of the cutting edge; the changing face of illness; existential leadership and basic tasks; and dialoguing with dreams. Replete with numerous illustrations, this text will serve as a valuable resource to medical and mental health professionals, occupational therapists, artists, students and theorists of art, and rehabilitation professionals. The current state of mental health care, with short stays and a problem-focused approach, makes this book even more relevant today than when it was first published in 1990.

As people struggle with a sense of crisis and confusion they search for clarity and meaning. Increasingly they turn to psychotherapists and counsellors, who will find in this book a powerful existential approach to therapy that helps people to make sense of themselves by addressing their social, cultural and political context as well as their personal and interpersonal issues. It makes room for paradox and the acceptance of the inevitable. It allows for questioning and re-evaluation. The existential approach lends itself to time-limited work. Existential therapists do not encourage dependence. But this book also shows that such a brief, tough approach does not mean it is task oriented or superficial, rather that it is possible to allow for the free play of existential concerns and cover much territory in limited time. Clients and therapists will find this approach effective, topical and relevant. "... an important contribution to the literature on existential psychotherapy. The book brings forward two valuable innovations. One is the demonstration of the idea that brief or time-limited therapy can be done very effectively on existential principles, dealing with deep life issues. The other contribution is the idea of the Existential Wheel which is embodied in charts that depict and clarify the essential concepts and methods of existential psychotherapy, a powerful device that will be useful to experienced therapists as well as those less familiar with existential therapy." Bo Jacobsen, University of Copenhagen "... provides an overview of the principal ideas and concerns of existential therapy and an accessible exposition of the authors' model from an applied standpoint. Case material derived from the authors' practice illuminates and makes plain that, even if time limited, their approach makes accessible many of the deep issues that are usually viewed as emerging only in long term therapy. These instructive, and often deeply moving, contributions succeed in conveying the human meeting that exemplifies the authors' work with clients, and personifies the existential approach to the therapeutic encounter." From the Foreword by Emesto Spinelli, London