Existentially humanistic approach in psychology. Existential-humanistic approach in psychology and psychotherapy. Problems of existential psychology

Existential psychology studies life, human being in its formation and development, and comes from the word existentia - existence. A person comes into this world and solves the problems of loneliness, love, choice, search for meanings and confrontation with the reality of the inevitability of death.

Existential Psychology - Definition

Existential traditional psychology is a direction that has grown out of existential philosophy, which considers a person as a unique creature, and his whole life is unique and of great value. The existential direction in psychology began to develop actively two centuries ago, and is in demand in the modern world.

History of existential psychology

Founder existential psychology- it is difficult to name one specific person, a whole galaxy of philosophers and psychologists influenced the development of this direction. Existential traditional psychology takes its development from phenomenology and ideas Russian writers L.N. Tolstoy and F.I. Dostoevsky. At the beginning of the XX century. the German psychologist and philosopher K. Jaspers, while revising the traditional approaches of psychiatry, introduced the ideas of existentialism into them.

Ludwig Binswanger, a Swiss physician, introduced existentialism into psychology by studying the works of Jaspers and Heidegger. A person becomes no longer a simple controlled receptacle psychological mechanisms and instincts, but a whole, unique essence. Then there is a rapid development of existential psychology and its offshoots, which include the famous logotherapy of V. Frankl.

The main ideas of the existential approach in psychology

Existential-humanistic psychology relies on key aspects:

consciousness and self-awareness;
Liberty;
responsibility;
search for meaning;
choice;
awareness of death.

Existential psychology, its ideas and principles are taken from existential philosophy, which is the "mother":

the free will of a person helps him to be in constant development;
knowledge of one's inner world is the leading need of the individual;
awareness of one's mortality and acceptance of this fact is a powerful resource for revealing the creative component of the personality;
existential anxiety becomes the trigger for finding one's own unique meaning in a seemingly meaningless existence.

Existential psychology - representatives

The existential psychology of V. Frankl is the clearest example of not giving up, finding in yourself the desire to live on. Frankl aroused great confidence in himself by the fact that all of his psychotherapeutic methods were tested on himself and on those people who, by a fatal coincidence, were in the dungeons of a Nazi concentration camp. Other notable existential psychologists:

Rollo May;
Irvin Yalom;
James Bugenthal;
Alfred Lenglet;
Alice Holzhey-Kuntz;
Boss Medard;
Ludwig Binswanger.

Existential approach in psychology

The existential-humanistic approach in psychology is a direction in which a person's personality is of great value due to its unique inner picture of the world, its uniqueness. Existential psychology teaching simple techniques and patient exercises in situations of doom and emptiness from being helps people find new meanings and choices, get out of the position of a victim when nothing can be done to improve.

Basic provisions of humanistic and existential psychology

Existential psychology is an offshoot of humanistic psychology, so many of the central concepts of human personality have a similar description. Humanistic and existential psychology main points:

the openness of a person's personality to the world, experiencing oneself in this world and feeling the world in oneself is the main psychological reality;
the nature of man is such that he constantly needs self-disclosure and continuous development of his potentialities;
a person has freedom, will and the ability to choose within the framework of his values;
personality is a creative, active entity;
the life of a single person should be considered as a single process of becoming and being.

Understanding Personality in the Framework of Existential Psychology

Personality in existential psychology is unique, unique and authentic. Existential psychology does not put a frame on a person, locking him in the present, but allows him to grow, to change. When describing a person, existentialists use the category of processes, and are not based like other directions. classical psychology on the description of character traits and condition. The individual has free will and

Methods of existential psychology

Existential psychology as a science must be based on specific methods, techniques, empirical research, but here one can stumble upon a number of contradictions. The most basic method is to build a relationship between client and therapist that can be described in words: authenticity, devotion and presence. Authenticity involves the full disclosure of the psychotherapist to the patient in order to create a trusting relationship.

Methods of work of an existential psychologist with the fear of death:

"Permission to Endure" - In order to work with the awareness of death, the therapist himself must work through his fears in this area and strive during therapy to encourage the patient to talk about death as much as possible.
Working with defense mechanisms. The therapist leads the patient to change his ideas about death gently but persistently, working through and identifying inadequate defense mechanisms.
Dream work. Nightmares often contain unconscious repressed fears of death.

Problems of existential psychology

The main ideas and theories of existential psychology were reduced by specialists in this direction to a general number of problem areas that existential psychology faces. Irvin Yalom identified 4 sets of key issues or knots:

Problems of life, death and time - a person realizes that he is mortal, that this is an inevitable given. The desire to live and the fear of death form a conflict.
The problems of communication, loneliness and love are the awareness of loneliness in this world: a person comes to this world alone and leaves it just as lonely, awareness of himself alone in the crowd.
Problems of responsibility, choice and freedom - a person's desire for freedom and the absence of patterns, restraining, ordered structures, and at the same time the fear of their absence gives rise to conflict.
The problems of the meaning and meaninglessness of human existence - stem from the first three problems. A person is constantly in the knowledge of himself and the world around him, creates his own meanings. The loss of meaning comes from the realization of one's loneliness, isolation and the inevitability of death.

Existential Crisis in Psychology

The principles of existential psychology come from the presence of problems that arise in a person. An existential crisis overtakes any person from youth to old age, everyone at least once wondered the meaning of life, their existence, being. For some, these are ordinary thoughts, for others, the crisis can be acute and painful, leading to indifference and a lack of further motivation for life: all meanings have been exhausted, the future is predictable and monotonous.

An existential crisis can penetrate into all spheres of human life. It is believed that this phenomenon is inherent in people of developed countries who have satisfied all their own and there is time for analysis and reflection on own life. A person who has lost his loved ones and thought in terms of “We” is faced with the question: “Who am I without them?”

Books on existential psychology

Rollo May's "Existential Psychology" is one of the unique publications of an authoritative existential therapist, written in simple language, it will be useful for reading by both ordinary readers interested in psychology and experienced psychologists. What else can you read on this topic:

« existential psychology deep communication » S.L. Bratchenko. The book examines in detail the history of the emergence of the existential-humanistic approach in psychology, much attention is paid to counseling.
« Life options. Essays in existential psychology". V.N. Druzhinin. The problems of life and death, how to find meaning in all this for a tired person, and how an existential psychologist can help - all these issues are covered in the book.
« existential psychotherapy» I. Yalom. The books of this famous psychoanalyst can be read endlessly, the author is talented not only in his profession helping people, but also as a writer. This book is a fundamental work with a set of existing techniques and techniques.
« Psychotechnics of existential choice". M. Papush. Learning to live efficiently and fruitfully, to enjoy and work is just as real as learning something, for example, playing the piano is difficult, but everything comes with practice.
« Modern Existential Analysis: History, Theory, Practice, Research". A. Langle, E. Ukolova, V. Shumsky. The book presents a holistic view of existential analysis and its valuable contribution to the development of existential psychology.

... We are living beings, and therefore, to a certain extent, we are all existentialists.

(J. Bugental, R. Kleiner)

The existential-humanistic approach is not among the simple ones. Difficulties begin with the name itself. To deal with this, a little history.

It is important to note that the influence of existentialism on psychology was not limited to the appearance of an existential direction proper - very many psychological schools to some extent assimilated these ideas. Especially strong are the existential motives of K. Horney, S.L. Rubinshtein and others. This allows us to speak about a whole family of existentially oriented approaches and to distinguish between existential psychology (therapy) in a broad and narrow sense. In the latter case, the existential view of a person acts as a well-realized and consistently implemented principled position. Initially, this proper existential direction (in the narrow sense) was called existential-phenomenological or existential-analytical and was a purely European phenomenon. But after the Second World War, the existential approach became widespread in the United States. Moreover, there among its most prominent representatives were some leaders of the third, humanistic revolution in psychology (which, in turn, was largely based on the ideas of existentialism): Rollo MAY, and others.

Apparently, this is why some of them, in particular, J. BUGENTAL prefer to talk about the existential-humanistic approach. It seems that such a combination is quite reasonable and has deep meaning. Existentialism and humanism are certainly not the same thing; and the name existential-humanistic captures not only their non-identity, but also their fundamental commonality, which consists primarily in recognizing a person's freedom to build his life and the ability to do so.

Recently, a section of existential-humanistic therapy has been created in the St. Petersburg Association for Training and Psychotherapy. It would be more accurate to say that a group of psychologists and therapists who actually worked in this direction since 1992, when in Moscow, within the framework of International Conference in humanistic psychology, we met with Deborah RAHILLY, a student and follower of J. Bugental. Then Deborah and her colleagues Robert NEYDER, Padma KATEL, Lanir KLANCY and others conducted during 1992 - 1995. in St. Petersburg 3 training seminars on EGP. Between workshops, the group discussed the experience gained, the main ideas and methodological aspects of work in this direction. Thus, as the basic (but not the only) section of existential-humanistic therapy, the approach of J. Budzhental was chosen, the main provisions of which are as follows. (But first, a few words about our long-standing problem: what should we call them? Many well-known foreign psychologists in Russian transcription not only receive a very peculiar interpretation, for example, one of the largest psychologists of the twentieth century is known to us as, although, if you look at the root, then he is Abram Maslov, and if in the dictionary, then Abraham Maslow, - but they take on several names at once, for example, Ronald Laing, aka LANG. Especially unlucky - he is called three or more options; I think it is best to pronounce it as he does it himself - BUDGENTAL.)

So the most important provisions of J. Budzhental's approach, which he himself calls life-changing therapy.

Behind any particular psychological difficulties in a person's life lie deeper (and not always clearly realized) existential problems of the problem of freedom of choice and responsibility, isolation and interconnectedness with other people, the search for the meaning of life and answers to the questions What am I? What is this world? etc. In the existential-humanistic approach, the therapist manifests a special existential hearing that allows him to catch these hidden existential problems and appeals behind the façade of the client's stated problems and complaints. This is the point of life-changing therapy: the client and therapist work together to help the former understand the way they have answered the existential questions of their lives, and to revise some of the answers in ways that make the client's life more authentic and fulfilling.
The existential-humanistic approach is based on the recognition of the human in every person and the initial respect for his uniqueness and autonomy. It also means the therapist's awareness that a person in the depths of his essence is ruthlessly unpredictable and cannot be fully known, since he himself can act as a source of changes in his own being, destroying objective predictions and expected results.
The focus of the therapist, working in an existential-humanistic approach, is the subjectivity of a person, which, as J. Budzhental says, is an internal autonomous and intimate reality in which we live most sincerely. Subjectivity is our experiences, aspirations, thoughts, anxieties ... everything that happens inside us and determines what we do outside, and most importantly - what we do from what happens to us there. The subjectivity of the client is the main place of application of the therapist's efforts, and his own subjectivity is the main means of helping the client.
Without denying of great importance past and future, the existential-humanistic approach assigns the leading role to work in the present with the fact that in this moment really lives in the subjectivity of a person, which is relevant here and now. It is in the process of direct living, including the events of the past or future, that existential problems can be heard and fully realized.
The existential-humanistic approach sets rather certain direction, the locus of the therapist's understanding of what is happening in therapy, rather than a specific set of techniques and prescriptions. In relation to any situation, one can take (or not take) an existential position. Therefore, this approach is distinguished by an amazing variety and richness of the psychotechnics used, including even such seemingly non-therapeutic actions as advice, demand, instruction, etc. Bugental's position: under certain conditions, almost any action can lead the client to strengthen work with subjectivity; The art of the therapist lies precisely in the ability to adequately apply the entire rich arsenal without going over to manipulation. It was for the formation of this art of psychotherapist that Bugental described 13 main parameters of therapeutic work and developed a methodology for developing each of them. In my opinion, other approaches can hardly boast of such depth and thoroughness in developing a program for expanding the subjective possibilities of a therapist.

The existential-humanistic approach in psychotherapy is one of the three main approaches in this area. The existential-humanistic approach is based on the works of G. Allport, G. A. Murray, G. Murphy, K. Rogers, R. May, A. Maslow.

The essence of this approach is primarily in recognizing a person's freedom to build his life and the ability to do this, in understanding a person as a unity of body, psyche and spirit. Representatives of the humanistic trend in psychotherapy tend to see a person as an innately active, struggling, self-affirming, self-empowering being, with an almost limitless capacity for positive growth. Therefore, the efforts of the psychotherapist are aimed at the personal growth of the patient, and not just at the elimination of some painful symptoms.

Love, creativity, growth, higher values, meaning - these and similar concepts characterize the basic needs of a person. "A person, by his very nature, seeks to find a purpose and fulfill his destiny in life"(V. Frankl).

It is believed that the reason psychological problems are deeper (and not always clearly realized) existential problems: freedom of choice and responsibility, loneliness and interconnectedness with other people, acceptance of the inevitability of death, the search for the meaning of one's life. In therapy, the client and the therapist work together to help the former understand the way they answer existential questions and to revise some of the answers in ways that make the client's life more fulfilling.

Therapeutic change through experience usually occurs through real, congruent interpersonal relationships between the patient and the therapist. Emotional human relationships, in which each person tries to communicate sincerely with others, both verbally and non-verbally, are of paramount importance. At the same time, the psychotherapist serves as a "mirror" and "catalyst" through which the patient explores his inner world and realizes its latent abilities for self-development. For example, Rogers C.R.'s client-centered psychotherapy is based on the positive belief that each organism has an innate tendency to develop its optimal abilities for as long as it is in an optimal environment.

Representatives of the existential-humanistic direction use such broad concepts as self-determination, creativity, authenticity, and a methodology that seeks to maximize the integration of the mind, body and soul of a person in the absence or violation of its integrity. Pathology is understood as a decrease in opportunities for self-expression, as a result of blocking, suppression of internal experiences or loss of correspondence with them. neurotic personality is seen as suffering from repression and fragmentation, and neurosis as the basic, universal, leading to despair result of the alienation of the individual from himself, his society (or world).

In the existential-humanistic direction in psychotherapy, 3 main approaches can be distinguished:

1. A philosophical approach that uses existential principles as the basis for psychotherapy. In the process of mutual dialogue or meeting (“here and now”), verbal psychotherapy (for example, client-centered therapy and logotherapy) is carried out.

2. Somatic approach, which is based on the use of non-verbal methods leading to the integration of the "I" by focusing on subjective bodily stimuli and sensory responses (for example, Gestalt therapy), and / or physical, motor methods of intense response and emotional "flooding" , in which the emphasis is on bodily stimulation and the release of feelings (for example, Lowen's bioenergetic analysis and Janov's primary therapy).

3. The spiritual approach, in the center of which is the final affirmation of the "I" as a transcendental or transpersonal experience, the expansion of human experience to the cosmic level, which ultimately, according to the representatives of this approach, leads to the unification of man with the Universe (transpersonal psychology).

Psychotherapy of this kind is the awakening or evoking of the life hidden within the client, the inner sensitivity that he has been taught to repress, the possibilities of being that have been realized too rarely.

The humanistic direction in psychotherapy includes a variety of approaches, schools and methods, which in the most general form are united by the idea of personal integration, personal growth, restoring the integrity of the human personality. This can be achieved through experiencing, awareness (realization), acceptance and integration of experience that already exists and received during the psychotherapeutic process. But the ideas of what this path should be, due to which the patient in the course of psychotherapy can gain a new unique experience that promotes personal integration, differ among representatives of this direction. Usually in the "experimental" direction there are three main approaches.

Philosophical approach

His theoretical basis are existential views and humanistic psychology. The main goal of psychotherapy is to help a person in becoming himself as a self-actualizing personality, help in finding ways of self-actualization, in revealing the meaning of one's own life, in achieving an authentic existence. This can be achieved through the development in the process of psychotherapy of an adequate image of the Self, an adequate self-understanding and new values. Personal integration, the growth of authenticity and spontaneity, the acceptance and awareness of oneself in all its diversity, the reduction of the discrepancy between the self-concept and experience are considered as the most significant factors in the psychotherapeutic process.

This approach is most fully expressed in the client-centered psychotherapy developed by Rogers, which has become widespread and has had a significant impact on the development of group methods. For Rogers, the tasks of psychotherapy are to create conditions conducive to new experiences (experiences), on the basis of which the patient changes his self-esteem in a positive, internally acceptable direction. There is a convergence of the real and ideal "images of I", new forms of behavior are acquired, based on their own system of values, and not on the assessment of others. The psychotherapist consistently implements in the course of work with the patient three main variables of the psychotherapeutic process.

empathy is the ability of a psychotherapist to take the patient's place, to feel his inner world, understanding his statements as he himself understands it.
unconditional positive attitude towards the patient, or unconditional positive acceptance, - involves treating the patient as a person with unconditional value, regardless of what kind of behavior he demonstrates, how it can be assessed, what qualities he has, whether he is sick or healthy.
the psychotherapist's own congruence, or the authenticity of the psychotherapist, means the truth of the psychotherapist's behavior, conformity to what he really is.

All three parameters included in the literature under the title " Rogers triad, directly follow from the views on the problem of personality and the occurrence of disorders. These are, in fact, "methodological techniques" that contribute to the study of the patient and achieve the necessary changes. The patient perceives the relationship with the psychotherapist that has developed in this way as safe, the feeling of threat is reduced, the protection gradually disappears, as a result of which the patient begins to speak openly about his feelings and experiences. The experience distorted earlier by the defense mechanism is now perceived more accurately, the patient becomes more “open to experience”, which is assimilated and integrated into the “I”, and this contributes to an increase in congruence between experience and the “I-concept”. The patient develops a positive attitude towards himself and others, he becomes more mature, responsible and psychologically adapted. As a result of these changes, the ability to self-actualize is restored and acquires the possibility of further development, the personality begins to approach its “full functioning”.

In psychotherapeutic theory and practice, within the framework of the philosophical approach, the most famous are Rogers' client-centered psychotherapy, Frankl's logotherapy, Binswager's Dasein analysis, A. M. Tausch's conversational psychotherapy, as well as the psychotherapeutic technologies of R. May, J. T. Byodzheitalya (J. T. Bugental), I. D. Yalom (I. D. Yalom).

Somatic approach

With this approach new experience, contributing to personal integration, the patient acquires through communication with himself, with various aspects of his personality and his current state. Both verbal and non-verbal methods are used, the use of which contributes to the integration of the "I" due to the concentration of attention and awareness of various aspects (parts) of one's own personality, one's own emotions, subjective bodily stimuli and sensory responses. Emphasis is also placed on motor techniques that contribute to the release of repressed feelings and their further awareness and acceptance. An example of this approach is Perls' Gestalt Therapy.

Spiritual Approach

With this approach, the patient acquires a new experience that promotes personal integration through familiarization with a higher principle. The focus is on the assertion of the "I" as a transcendental or transpersonal experience, the expansion of human experience to the cosmic level, which, according to the representatives of this approach, leads to the unification of man with the Universe (Cosmos). This is achieved through meditation (for example, transcendental meditation) or spiritual synthesis, which can be carried out by various methods of self-discipline, training of the will and practice of de-identification.

Thus, the experiential approach combines ideas about the goals of psychotherapy as personal integration, restoration of the integrity of the human personality, which can be achieved through experiencing, awareness (comprehension), acceptance and integration of new experience gained during the psychotherapeutic process. The patient can get a new unique experience that promotes personal integration in various ways: this experience can be facilitated by other people (a psychotherapist, a group), a direct appeal to previously closed aspects of one's own "I" (in particular, the body) and connection with a higher principle.

T. B. Karasu (Karasu T. V., 1977), considering the existential-humanistic direction in psychotherapy, gives the following main categories:

the concept of pathology (based on the recognition of the existence of existential despair as a consequence of a person's loss of opportunities, splitting of the "I", disagreement with one's own knowledge);
health (associated with the realization of a person's potential - the development of the "I", the achievement of authenticity, immediacy);
desired changes (immediacy of experiences, perception and expression of sensations or feelings at the moment);
temporal approach (ahistorical, focuses on the phenomenological moment);
treatment (short-term and intensive);
the task of the psychotherapist (reduced to interaction in an atmosphere of mutual acceptance that promotes self-expression - from somatic to spiritual);
the main psychotherapeutic method (meetings with equal participation in dialogue, conducting experiments, games, dramatizations or “acting out” feelings);
healing model (existential: a dyad of equal people, or "Adult-Adult", that is, a human union);
the nature of the patient's attitude towards treatment (considered real, in contrast, for example, to the recognition of the existence of transference in a dynamic direction, and is of paramount importance);
position of the psychotherapist (interacting and accepting; he acts in a mutually resolving or satisfying role).

The continuity between the personal concept, the concept of pathology and the actual practice of psychotherapeutic work is an indispensable condition for evidence-based psychotherapeutic schools (Karvasarsky B.D., 2002).