Characteristic practices of existential psychotherapy: A worldwide survey of practitioners’ perspectives.

Abstract

Existential psychotherapy is a recognized and widespread therapeutic paradigm, with almost 100 years of clinical intervention. Despite some evidence of its effectiveness, existential psychotherapists have been criticized for a lack of a coherent framework of practice. Existential authors have been reluctant to make explicit their therapeutic methods, and an encompassing consensual understanding of its core constitutional practices has yet to be reached. To begin to address this, an online international survey was conducted and 971 existential practitioners from 46 countries and different theoretical and cultural backgrounds gave 2,611 responses to the question "which three specific therapeutic methods or practices would you consider most characteristic of existential therapy?". Responses were contentanalyzed and a total of 77 different specific practices were identified and clustered into 17 subcategories and 5 overarching categories of practice. Phenomenological practices, methods associated with specific existential branches, practices informed by existential assumptions, relational practices, and practices of other therapeutic paradigms were found to be considered the most characteristic categories of an existential practice. An empirically based, encompassing, and structured taxonomy of existential practices is now available. New avenues are opened for research concerning the applicability and effectiveness of these fundamental existential practices.

Dynamics of Existential Personality Fulfillment in the Course of Psychotherapy

“…A worldwide survey of counselors and psychotherapists' perspectives on existential psychotherapy practices revealed the need to study the specifics of the existential psychotherapy process [11]. A meta-analysis of existential therapies pointed out their effectiveness in making meaning in life and reducing distress [12].…”

The practices of existential psychotherapists: development and application of an observational grid

“…Correia and colleagues Correia et al, 2016;Correia, Correia, Cooper, & Berdondini, 2014a, 2014b Phenomenological practices was the most frequent category in the Correia et al (2016) study and covered sub-categories such as the use of the phenomenological method of enquiry, adopting a phenomenological attitude towards the contents brought to the session by clients, and interpretations from a hermeneutic stance. The next most frequent were methods of specific existential branches, which covered very specific practices associated with classic logotherapy (e.g., paradoxical intention, dereflexion), Längle's existential analysis (e.g., the method of Personal Existential Analysis) and…”

“…) and only three studies (Alegria et al, 2016;Correia et al, 2016;Norcross, 1987) have empirically investigated it.…”

“…While Norcross (1987), Correia et al (2016) and Alegria et al (2016) all identify the therapeutic relationship as a salient element of existential practice, only Correia et al's (2016) survey identifies phenomenology, existential assumptions, and methods of specific existential branches. It may be that these existential-specific selfreported practices are not actually applied by existential practitioners in real practice, or it may be that the instrument used by Alegria et al (and the instrument used by Norcross) was not able to capture existential therapy's specific practices: Although considered a valid instrument for different therapies, the PQS was initially designed for psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioural, and interpersonal therapies (Smith-Hansen, Levy, Seybert, Erhardt, & Ablon, 2012) and lacks specific items considering phenomenology, existential assumptions or methods of specific existential branches.…”

“…Until recently there was no consensual and systematized list of existential practices from which to develop observational instruments to measure these factors. The present paper's primary aim is to pilot the development of an observational grid for existential therapy, based on the self-reported most characteristic existential practices, as collected in Correia et al (2016). Accordingly, the primary research question is (Steps 1, 2 and 3 of this Study): Can the self-reported existential practices be operationalized into a reliable observational instrument to code existential therapy sessions?…”