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Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

Humanistic-existential psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are two distinctive types of psychotherapy. The former is of greater importance to the pursuit of happiness and purpose in life, as well as personal growth and identity about a higher level of consciousness of a given person. On the same note, the latter is a directed approach with a clear goal that essentially entails changing thought and behavioral patterns deemed ‘abnormal’: Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches.

This paper reviews these two approaches, highlighting their theoretical distinctions, their application for psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs), and their significance. It then gradually outlines a case in which the applied mode of psychotherapy was humanistic-existential therapy and contemplates the results if cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) had been implemented.

Description of Approaches

Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy

Humanistic-existential psychotherapy concentrates on personal subjectivity and personal identification, accompanied by an introspective search to solve fundamental life concerns like freedom, loneliness, death, and purpose (Robbins, 2021). This approach implies the unobtrusive therapist-client interaction with the client, which allows the client to seek out and communicate existential concerns and confront factors that hamper development. In light of this, existential therapy systematized by Grande (2016) does not consider anxiety to be pathological; on the contrary, it is viewed as a natural and, occasionally, even positively valorized phenomenon since it may become a catalyst for a person’s feministic existence. That would offer a structure that would help the client navigate crises existentially and attempt self-actualization.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT, on the other hand, assumes that cognition is responsible for emotional difficulties, meaning it takes the view that the way people think about things affects how they feel. It uses directiveness and involves strategies like cognitive rebooting and exposure therapy, among others, to correct authoritarian patterns of thinking and acting.

CBT highlights the goal: it helps the clients focus on changing the parameters and provides a direct technique for dealing with the symptoms to improve their overall well-being (Nakao et al., 2021). It has also been proven through basic research to be beneficial in the treatment of conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. CBT is also less client-centered and less concerned with the subjective experience of therapy, as is humanistic-existential psychotherapy.

Differences between Therapies and Implications for PMHNP Practice

Philosophical Focus

Humanistic-existential therapy focuses on existential concerns, which are the individual’s existence, meaning, and existence in the world. It pushes clients to welcome challenges as positive platforms for development. However, whereas CBT focuses on positive solutions, it aims to change maladaptive cognitions/behaviors to alleviate symptomatology (Norbury et al., 2024).

As a PMHNP, the philosophical ideas underlying the therapy guide the use of the treatment. Those with underlying issues of existence or lack of purpose or direction in life, as the client in PsychotherapyNet’s (2009) video, can benefit from humanistic-existential therapy. On the other hand, CBT might be more applicable to clients who are seeking a more immediate treatment plan for certain manifested psychological complaints.

Techniques and Therapeutic Style

Humanistic-existential therapy is primarily indirect and consists of a working alliance and the genuineness of the counselor. In this context, therapists build a context where clients can look for their experiences and meet existential questions (Robbins, 2021). On the other hand, CBT employs more formal, direct methods like photocopying, written exercises, assignments, or behavioral data collection forms to facilitate the goal of immediate behavior or cognitive modification.

Hanis et al. (2021) note that the theoretical orientation of humanistic-existential therapy is different from that of CBT in that the former demands that the PMHNP step back and let the client explore, while the latter demands the PMHNP instruct the client on what steps to take. It does this by defining the nature of the therapeutic relationship and the role of the PMHNP in addressing the client.

Temporal Focus

As it has been found in the notion of humanistic-existential therapy, it takes all the aspects to grasp different aspects of the client’s experiences in the past, present, and future. On the other hand, the other type, CBT, puts strong, if not continuous, emphasis on presence, believing the change will modify the undesired current behaviors and thought processes (Nakao et al., 2021). Humanistic-existential therapy would also be indicated, especially if the client has not made life narratives or has some unaddressed past issues. In contrast, cognitive-behavioral treatment would be more appropriately used for situations where the focus of the concerns is more here-and-now or symptom-specific.

Media Example Analysis

Furthermore, in the PsychotherapyNet (2009) video, James Bugental saw a client who had mannerisms such as tenseness in his body and deadness in him that signified an existential issue that was profound. Humanistic-existential psychotherapy was indicated since the client could search for his existential matters and address the feelings of the void. Bugental illustrates this by using terms such as ‘life force’ emerging through the cracks to emphasize that therapy empowers the inherent potential for development. Due to a friendly and warm approach and sincere interest in this client struggling with internal conflicts, Bugental showed this man the way out into a meaningful life.

Specifically, if CBT had been employed, the processes and topics of therapy would have shifted to examining one or more particular cases of distorted thinking or problematic behaviors that potentially cause the client to feel the constriction. Indeed, although CBT may have offered him ways of coping with some of the issues for the client, such as the ability to manage the negative thoughts and feelings—the supposed cognitive and behavioral techniques—CBT is unlikely to have encompassed the existential aspects of this particular client’s experience. Therefore, while the client might have been temporarily rid of some troublesome symptoms, they were never afforded the chance at more profound personal development.

Supporting Examples from Media

Dr. Grande’s Overview of Existential Therapy

According to Grande (2016), the conception of existential therapy is based on the core concept that addresses some of the people’s archetypical anxieties, referring to loneliness, freedom, and vacuum. The author also points out that existential anxiety can be positive—to exist, be, and want to live and be alive purposely.

PsychotherapyNet (2009) Video

The analysis of Bugental in his session with the patient showed that existential therapy focuses on pursuing the core issues. His metaphor “life force” rising through cracks proved the ability of treatment to feed clients’ raw spirit to succeed despite life’s trials.

ThinkingAllowedTV (2010) Video

According to this video, handling existential issues will lead to authentic living since it involves dealing with both pain and understanding oneself. This is a non-directive and empathetic stance of the humanistic-existential therapeutic style.

Expected Outcomes

Humanistic-existential psychotherapy provided the client in Bugental’s video with orientation to existential issues and search for deeper understanding and genuine self-conception. This helped the client become aware of restricted emotions and start to work towards change to live a valuable and authentic life of their choosing.

Using CBT, while keeping a profile of personality disorders, perhaps rooted in a more profound existential level of human nature that might have been constructively addressed in the past but not in this kind of cognitive-behavioral analysis, it was perhaps only able to offer a first level pro-tem solution of symptom relief and immediate problem solving that addresses the symptoms narrowly but leaves the existence of the matter of conflict intact. Therefore, most probably, if the client had challenged these existential concerns, while they may have been relieved at a certain point, those challenges would have remained.

Explanation of Scholarly Sources

Nakao et al. (2021) is a peer-reviewed article in BioPsychoSocial Medicine that demonstrates the most recent information regarding CBT procedures. The authors are professionals in the field, and for this reason, their observations are supported by evidence of the use of CBT in the treatment of mental health and stress-related disorders. This makes the article useful for CBT’s efficiency discussions, provided the present techniques and technologies are taken into account.

In the same way, the study by Hanis et al. (2021) titled Differential Sexual Satisfaction Improvement Across Existential, Cognitive-Existential, and Humanistic-Existential Group Psychotherapy for Women with Type-2 Diabetes is an article published in the Journal of Counseling Research. This is an academic article because it has been published and reviewed by other professionals in the field and presents data that adds to the existing knowledge on counseling interventions. This is evidence that one of the interventions is better than the other, and in this case, it suggests that fabric softeners are more effective than dryer sheets. For this reason, the research helps shed light on the clinical applicability of humanistic-existential therapy.

Norbury et al.’s (2024) publication also falls under the scholarly category as it was published in Science Advances. The journal is accurate for the same reasons that it has a valid peer review and that it publishes current research papers. This approach helps understand several facets of CBT, including individual cognitive procedures.

The study has some empirical evidence that will help in arguing for the need to apply CBT to treat mental disorders. However, one of the considerations from such reflections is that this study is needed to develop how CBT can be conceptualized and empirically understood as a treatment methodology.\

Lastly, in his article in Frontiers in Psychology, Robbins (2021) explains how the existential-humanistic approach can be applied to positive psychology and experiences like the pandemic. This article is considered scholarly because it is based on an evidence-based analysis conducted on one of the types of therapy called existential-humanistic therapy and published in an academic, peer-reviewed journal. This paper adds to the discussion of existential issues and their incorporation within counseling psychology, providing more contributions to the debate on how to approach clients when grappling with hopes and fears concerning life.

Conclusion

Existential-humanistic psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy are two approaches to mental illness that are incompatible but possible. It is mentioned that existential therapy is a humanistic therapy appropriate to clients seeking information about existing questions and Self-actualization.

However, no other type of therapy would come with as many constructive tools about specific signs and signs of recovery. Consequently, a PMHNP needs to determine which technique to consider when considering the client. However, if targeted individually, PMHNP intervention can give the patient worthwhile and valuable therapeutic gain of current concerns and possibilities.

References

Grande, T. (2016, January 9). Theories of counseling – Existential therapy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvAvc2aWup0

Hanis, G. N., Sadeghi, M., & Gholamrezaei, S. (2021). Comparing the effectiveness of existential, cognitive-existential, and humanistic-existential group psychotherapy on sexual satisfaction in women with type-2 diabetes. Journal of Counseling Research, 20(78). https://doi.org/10.18502/qjcr.v20i78.6782

Nakao, M., Shirotsuki, K., & Sugaya, N. (2021). Cognitive–behavioral therapy for management of mental health and stress-related disorders: Recent advances in techniques and technologies. BioPsychoSocial Medicine, 15(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-021-00219-w

Norbury, A., Hauser, T. U., Fleming, S. M., Dolan, R. J., & Quentin. (2024). Different components of cognitive-behavioral therapy affect specific cognitive mechanisms. Science Advances, 10(13). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adk3222

PsychotherapyNet. (2009, June 29). James Bugental Live Case Consultation Psychotherapy video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl8tVTjdocI

Robbins, B. D. (2021). The joyful life: An existential-humanistic approach to positive psychology in the time of a pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(2), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648600

ThinkingAllowedTV. (2010, September 20). James Bugental: Humanistic psychotherapy (excerpt) — A thinking allowed DVD w/ Jeffrey Mishlove [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjDNKGIvWPQ

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Question

Week 7: Assignment

Understanding the strengths of each type of therapy and which type of therapy is most appropriate for each patient is an essential skill of the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. In this Assignment, you will compare humanistic-existential therapy to another psychotherapeutic approach. You will identify the strengths and challenges of each approach and describe expected potential outcomes.

RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources

To prepare:

  • Review the humanistic-existential psychotherapy videos in this week’s Learning Resources.
  • Reflect on humanistic-existential psychotherapeutic approaches.
  • Then, select another psychotherapeutic approach to compare with humanistic-existential psychotherapy. The approach you choose may be one you previously explored in the course or one you are familiar with and especially interested in.

THE ASSIGNMENT
In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following:

  • Briefly describe humanistic-existential psychotherapy and the second approach you selected.
  • Explain at least three differences between these therapies. Include how these differences might impact your practice as a PMHNP.
  • Focusing on one video you viewed, explain why humanistic-existential psychotherapy was utilized with the patient in the video and why it was the treatment of choice. Describe the expected potential outcome if the second approach had been used with the patient.
  • Support your response with specific examples from this week’s media and at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources. Explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.

Note: The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates ). All papers submitted must use
this formatting.

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Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

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