Existential Psychotherapy

This video provides a brief overview of existentialism broadly, as a consideration in psychology, and as a framework for psychotherapy. My intent with this video is to very concisely provide some key existentialist thoughts, and explore how those have made their way into a style of counseling/therapy. I argue that while the current pandemic (COVID-19; video made in March 2020) is certainly a source of dread and angst, an existential orientation to mental health is helpful and as relevant as ever due to its focus on timeless core truths of human existence.
Here is a link to Irvin Yalom's "Existential Psychotherapy" which I referenced heavily: www.basicbooks...
Here is a link to Rachel Menzies' "Curing The Dread of Death" which I also referenced: www.australian...
Here is a link to "Worm At The Core" by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski: www.penguinran...
Here is a link to "The Denial of Death" by Ernest Becker:
www.amazon.com...
Here are links to a few articles of mine in this topic area:
doi.org/10.108...
doi.org/10.100...
eric.ed.gov/?i...
doi.org/10.423...
Lastly (sadly it's too small in the video to tell), the bow-tie is a skull-and-crossbones pattern which I thought was particularly fun given the topic area:
www.amazon.com...
#MementoMori
#Existentialism
#Psychotherapy

[@karolin6918]

Would you please explain how having to rebuild life or going through transitions, like retirement, are miniature deaths or abstract deaths? Is it because the individual has associated self-worth to these things (hobbies/rebuilding self/retirement/etc.) that suddenly just stopped being how it used to be?

[@ProfPash]

Hi Karolin, yup precisely! That's what I was alluding to, a sense that one's 'existence' as it were is now drastically altered, such that a prior sense of self is no more. This certainly doesn't include various components of death anxiety which can be really difficult for people (e.g., fear of the physical deterioration, fear of associated physical pain, fear of the unknown in being gone), but it does carry some similarities to the idea of closing/ending/finality regarding some aspect of self.

[@karolin6918]

@@ProfPash Makes perfect sense. Thanks for responding. Appreciate it! Sincerely, a student.

[@Jezski19]

Good video. And I am from the future thank you very much.

[@phila3946]

My thoughts exactly on covid-19