Existential Thought and Therapeutic Practice: An Introduction to Existential Psychotherapy / Edition 1

by Hans W Cohn

Overview

The theoretical framework used by many counsellors and psychotherapists is predominantly 'psychodynamic', rooted in psychoanalytic theory and frequently felt to be inadequate for an understanding of the many-shaded spectrum of disturbances experienced by clients within themselves and in their relations to others. Although many practitioners have discovered existential-phenomenological thought, they may wonder what relevance these philosophical ideas have to their actual practice, to their day-to-day meetings with clients and to the relation between client and therapist. There is often a divide between thought and practice, and this book bridges that gap.

The author introduces the history and ideas of existential phenomenology and existential psychotherapy, and shows how therapeutic phenomena familiar to all therapists and counsellors can be understood from an existential viewpoint. Hans W Cohn also demonstrates how the existential approach opens up access to issues that other therapeutic orientations have neglected, such as the difficulty of choice, the burden of responsibility and the inevitability of death.

Existential Thought and Therapeutic Practice is clearly written and jargon-free. The existential approach is constantly compared to the relevant psychodynamic counterpart, so that readers can assess the unfamiliar against a background of the more familiar. The book will be of interest to trainee and practising therapists and counsellors, and to anyone concerned with new approaches in philosophy and psychotherapy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761951094
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/11/1997
Series:	Clinical and Counseling Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

Hans W Cohn is a psychotherapist in private practice and lectures at the School of Psychotherapy and Counselling at Regent's College in London, where he also supervises students who have chosen to engage in a programme leading to an Advanced Diploma in Existential Psychotherapy.

Table of Contents

What Is Existential Psychotherapy?
Philosophical Background
Existential Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
A Comparison
The Therapeutic Relationship
Existential-Phenomenological Dimensions of Groups
Mind and Body
Aspects of Anxiety and Guilt
The Question of the Unconscious
Dreams and Symptoms
Being-in-the-World Sexually
Withdrawal and Delusion
Aims of Psychotherapy