Existential-Humanistic therapy is relational and experiential. Care is a critical therapy component: letting our clients matter to and influence us.
In many cases, caring is pretty straightforward. We love our clients. Unconditional positive regard is easy. The only risk is maybe what we do with that affection. Alternatively, we might genuinely dislike our clients. That’s hard. Can we show care by simply…
Existential-Humanistic therapy is experiential and relational. Transparency stands as a central issue for both.
For the client, openness and honesty are the ground for healing and growth. Closedness and self-deception ensure the status quo. However, when basked in presence, transparency leads to revelation. The process of transparency is therefore worth reinforcing and encouraging with sensitivity.
Existential-Humanistic therapy (E-H) is relational and experiential. Safety, transparency, and collaboration work in concert, defining the therapeutic relationship. Safety includes several different components. It also means different things to different clients, though basics arguably apply universally.
Concerning safety, an emphasis on acceptance arguably differentiates E-H from other therapeutic modalities. Acceptance means first openness and suspension of judgment.
Existential-Humanistic theory holds that the self of the client relies on protective layers. A diagram of those layers includes the following:
Both primary and secondary process matter in therapy. However, historically, psychotherapy privileged interpretation to enlivening experience. That can be challenging. For instance, it’s easy to “talk about” something and, in so doing, fail to discover, learn, integrate, heal, and grow.
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