Author 10 books 54 followers. I love this book! I've heard people, again and again, make the assertion that philosophy, and in particular existential philosophy, has no real-life, down-to-earth, practical use. Well, Irvin Yalom's Existential Psychotherapy proves that to be false. Yalom draws on the insights of existentialism in order to formulate an approach to psychotherapy that is grounded in the "ultimate concerns of life;" namely the concerns of death, freedom, existential isolation, and meaninglessness.
These concerns, Yalom reports, are part of the ontological foundation of human existence, and it is our struggle with these issues that characterizes many of our neurotic difficulties. We often avoid thinking about these things consciously because they provoke "dread" in us, but Yalom insists, as do all the great existentialist philosophers, confronting these issues is absolutely crucial in the quest toward authenticity.
Ultimately there is nothing that we can do about the fact that we will die, that we are responsible for our own choices, that we are alone among others, and that we must cobble together our own form of meaning in life.
These are just facts about the nature of human existence. What we can do, however, is to grab hold of our situation, face it and dive into the flow of life rather than allowing ourselves to become cynical and detached from the world. The one aspect of Yalom's book that puzzles me is his treatment of meaninglessness. In the rest of this work, Yalom suggests that facing the reality of the human condition head-on is key to becoming psychologically healthy, mature and authentic.
However, when it comes to the issue of meaninglessness, Yalom suggests that the therapist "help patients to look away from the question" rather than grappling with it directly. Meaning, as existential philosophy tells us, is something that humans confer upon the world.
The person who becomes too focused on the question, "What is the meaning of life? Better, then, claims Yalom, to avoid this particular question and instead invest energy and effort into actually making life meaningful by becoming engaged in the flow of life. I understand Yalom's point, however I do think there is something positive to be gained by directly confronting the issue of the meaninglessness. While there may be practical utility attached to diverting one's attention from the world's lack of intrinsic meaning, there is, I think, a greater degree of existential wisdom to be gained by meditating upon just this situation.
I fully disagree with Yalom's characterization of nihilism, in particular, as a kind of "existential sickness. Nihilism is not a sickness, but an ontological condition in which humans desire a meaningless world to exhibit meaning. Understanding this, rather than simply "looking away" from the situation is, I think, a necessary part of living authentically and fully accepting our own responsibility for pursuing the life projects that we choose.
The danger of simply throwing one's self into the flow of life without first questioning why we are doing so is to run the risk of forgetting an important feature of the human condition. Each of these factors has particular importance for clients with substance abuse disorders and can be used to help explain why a group works in a particular way for this client population.
Yalom, Irvin D Existential psychotherapy. Designed by Vincent Torre 25 Imagine a happy group of morons who are engaged in work. By purchasing this item, you agree that you have read and understand the description plus you are aware that you are not purchasing physical book but digital softcopy. The digital book will be given to you via a download link and will be sent to your email address within 5 minutes.
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