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

Explore the concept of time as it applies to the therapeutic setting Following the innovative first edition which she co-authored with her late father, Freddie Strasser, in the newly revised Second Edition of Time-Limited Existential Therapy: The Wheel of Existence, distinguished therapist Alison Strasser delivers an insightful aid to integrating and working with existential givens as they arise within a therapeutic encounter. She locates the concept of Time as central to all therapies, regardless of their theoretical modality, and demonstrates how it can be used in brief, short-term, and open-ended therapies. The book relies on the concept of The Wheel to provide a framework for understanding existential and phenomenological philosophies and to help readers put them into practice with clients. It includes meaningful case vignettes that bring existential themes to life and is accessible to both therapists and interested lay members of the public. Finally, the author highlights how our experience with COVID-19 has impacted, and been impacted by, the existential themes we all deal with on a regular basis. A thorough overview of a commonsense existential approach and a discussion of the mystery of time Practical discussions of the limitations and possibilities of time-limited existential therapies, as well as concepts and methods in the area. Comprehensive explorations of the tyranny of high morality, and examinations of the body, the "givents" and "connectedness". Time-Limited Existential Therapy: The Wheel of Existence is an indispensable resource for experienced psychotherapists, counsellors, social workers, coaches, and psychologists, as well as trainees in these fields seeking a common-sense approach to existential ideas in the context of therapy.

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.

Waiting lists in psychiatric clinics and increasing numbers of patients in long-term psychotherapy have highlighted the need for shorter methods of treatment. Existing forms of short-term psychotherapy tend to be vague and uncertain, lacking as they do a clearly formulated rationale and methodology. The bold and challenging technique for brief psychotherapy designed around the factor of time itself, which Dr. Mann introduces here, is a method he hopes will revolutionize current practice. The significance of time in human life is examined in terms of the development of time sense as well as its unconscious meaning and the ways these are experienced in both the categorical and existential senses. The author shows how the interplay between the regressive pressures of the child's sense of infinite time and the adult reality of categorical time determine the patient's unconscious expectations of psychotherapy.

Explore the concept of time as it applies to the therapeutic setting Following the innovative first edition which she co-authored with her late father, Freddie Strasser, in the newly revised Second Edition of Time-Limited Existential Therapy: The Wheel of Existence, distinguished therapist Alison Strasser delivers an insightful aid to integrating and working with existential givens as they arise within a therapeutic encounter. She locates the concept of Time as central to all therapies, regardless of their theoretical modality, and demonstrates how it can be used in brief, short-term, and open-ended therapies. The book relies on the concept of The Wheel to provide a framework for understanding existential and phenomenological philosophies and to help readers put them into practice with clients. It includes meaningful case vignettes that bring existential themes to life and is accessible to both therapists and interested lay members of the public. Finally, the author highlights how our experience with COVID-19 has impacted, and been impacted by, the existential themes we all deal with on a regular basis. A thorough overview of a commonsense existential approach and a discussion of the mystery of time Practical discussions of the limitations and possibilities of time-limited existential therapies, as well as concepts and methods in the area. Comprehensive explorations of the tyranny of high morality, and examinations of the body, the "givents" and "connectedness". Time-Limited Existential Therapy: The Wheel of Existence is an indispensable resource for experienced psychotherapists, counsellors, social workers, coaches, and psychologists, as well as trainees in these fields seeking a common-sense approach to existential ideas in the context of therapy.

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.

`One can only applaud the bravery of an author who gently send up Kierkegaard's wilful obscurantism and cleans out the acrid smoke of Gauloises from the room. With welcome clarity and sanity, Mick Cooper efficiently lays out the concepts, techniques and directions adopted by several key figures in the broad field of existentially informed psychotherapy. In an excellent first chapter, Mick Cooper pointed out my `ontic' from my `ontological'; and I could see, behind the long-words-with-dashes, the true resonance of these ideas with real human and therapeutic issues, dilemmas and goals' - Clinical Psychology `This book proves to be a real treasure chest: what you always wanted to know about existential psychotherapy but failed to find anywhere else in such a comprehensive, clear and concise manner. In that sense, this publication provides a missing link. One merit of the book is its systematic structure. As extensive, and in part as heterogeneous as existential philosophy and therapy also maybe, Mick Cooper had nevertheless been able to build convincing clusters with, on the one hand, an enormous understanding of details and, on the other, a far-sightedness that, like a map, provides orientation in the diversity of existential therapy. I really appreciate this publication and can recommend it very strongly' - Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapies `Existential Therapies will I suspect, suddenly make "existentialism" come alive. The author, Mick Cooper loves his subject, it fascinates and enthrals him, and we get to experience some of that, even though the book is "academic". The connections and overlaps with person-centred psychology are there for us to be, but so are the differences' - Person-Centred Practice `As an overview of a number of different existential therapies the book is extremely welcome and manages in a relatively short space to cover a wide arena. Overall I rate the book highly. To pull together a large and somewhat disparate literature, then make sense of it and finally retains the reader's interest, is difficult' - Existential Analysis `Mick Cooper has done an impressive job in writing a much needed, current and user friendly survey of the field of existential therapies. If I were to teach this course, I would use this book. I applaud Mick Cooper for having admirably achieved the aim he set out to achieve. All this makes Mick Cooper's book a must-read for anyone wishing to explore the topic of existential therapy' - Society for Laingian Studies Website `What makes this book unique is that all the different strands of Existential philosophy are always clearly linked to practice' - Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal `This is a very fresh book, not treading well-worn paths and genuinely informing us about a small but important field. This is really an indispensable book for anyone who wants to understand existentialist approaches to therapy' - Self and Society `This publication marks a milestone providing an excellent, clear and critical overview of the contrasting forms of the approach as it is currently practised' - Emmy van Deurzen, New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, Schiller University, London `This is a book of superb thoroughness and scholarship - an unprecedented guide to existential therapy's chief positions and controversies' - Kirk J Schneider, President of the Existential-Humanistic Institute, USA `Combines scholarship with a writing style that makes difficult concepts accessible. This book should be required reading on any course where the existential tradition plays a part, and that includes person-centred courses and all sympathetic to the idea that psychotherapy is, in essence, a human encounter where warmth, understanding and a deep respect for the individual are key values' - Tony Merry, University of East London What does it mean to practice in an existential way? What are the different existential approaches? What are their strengths and limitations? Existential Therapies addresses these key questions, and more, by providing students and practitioners with an invaluable introduction to the diverse and multifaceted world of existential therapeutic practices. Focusing on practical, face-to-face work with clients, the book: · introduces readers to six key existential therapies · discusses key figures and their contributions, including Irvin Yalom, Emmy van Deurzen, Ernesto Spinelli, Viktor Frankl and R D Laing · compares and contrasts the various approaches, highlighting areas of commonality and difference · outlines key debates within the existential therapy field · provides detailed suggestions for further reading Existential Therapies offers students and practitioners of all orientations much that they can incorporate into their own therapeutic work, and each approach is vividly brought to life through therapist-client dialogues and case studies. Written in an accessible, warm, and engaging manner, Existential Therapies is an essential introduction to this rich, vibrant and stimulating field.