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We are undergoing a tremendous spiritual renaissance. The current awakening in spirituality is unparalleled, at least in modern world history and is somewhere linked with the all-pervasive desire for a better quality of life. The authors of this article make a case for existentialism as a pathway to achieve the dual goals of spirituality and psychological betterment. The aim of this paper is to provide a review and critique of the article titled ‘Existential Theory and Our Search for Spirituality’ by Eliason, G.T., Samide, J.L., Williams, G., & Lepore, M.F. (2010).
Religion Vs Spirituality
At the outset, one must make a distinction between religion and spirituality. Any religion is an organized system of beliefs, worship and rituals, and involves membership in an externally visible sect or organization. Spirituality, on the other hand, is a lived intimate experience amid a world teeming with varied struggles and manifold paradoxes. It flows from and is based on a power or reality that is greater than ourselves. Religion by its very nature is static as it defined by set dogmas and precepts, while spirituality has the flexibility to understand and adapt to an ever-evolving world and growth in human consciousness.
Different approaches
There have been many attempts in the course of history and across diverse disciplines such as science, religion, philosophy, psychology, et al to explain the human person and provide a therapeutic framework to deal with life’s many pitfalls. Within the domain of psychology itself, the names of existential therapists such as Victor Frankl (of the logotherapy fame), Carl Rogers (famous for his person-centered therapeutic approach), Rollo May and Frederick Perls are known for their yeoman contribution to the birth and growth of different counseling models.
Existentialism
Lack of meaning is a bane of modern life and society. We are reaping the fruits of an exponential growth in science and technology. But the rapid growth in know-how and information overload has not translated into spiritual and psychological well-being. If there has been a change at all, we as human beings have become more divorced from the world outside and the reality within ourselves, leading to a deep and all-pervasive sense of emptiness and void.
Existentialism, with its focus on meaning of life, is a remedy to life’s meaningless, according to the authors of this paper. Existentialism is an approach that addresses the whole person, embracing physical, mental and spiritual dimensions of the human personality. Thanks to its origin in philosophy and the search for meaning, existentialism is uniquely positioned to strike a balance between humanity's search for spirituality and psychological wellbeing. After all, the search for meaning and truth is the defining characteristic of human endeavor. An ability to understand human existence, comprehend the certainty of death and transcend ourselves distinguishes human beings from others. No matter, existentialism is extensively used in any counseling activity and can be fruitfully incorporated in any counseling activity that I may choose to undertake.
Existential counseling
Counseling involves a therapeutic and trust-filled relationship between the counselor and client. The counselor empathically listens to the clients’ struggles in dealing with deep-seated regrets from the past, a sense of aimlessness, a feeling of hopelessness regarding the future, emptiness and dread. Moreover, the counselor provides support, affirmation and positive reinforcement at every step of the journey, and a hope for the future.
Existential counseling flows from existentialism as it focuses on the spiritual and human dimension as embodied in the question “Who am I?” It is therefore gaining increasing traction as a means of embracing spiritual well-being and psychological betterment towards the goal of developing a well-integrated personality.
Critique
The existential approach to counselling rightly focusses on exploring meaning and value and learning to live an authentic life in line with one’s ideals and values. The existential therapist helps the client in understanding his own values, assumptions and ideals. The authors are indeed right in pointing out that meaning is indeed central to the human person and is at the heart of the human journey.
However, the authors’ assertion on the superiority of existentialism as a counseling domain/theory seems over-stretched as human history has witnessed countless philosophical theories of existence and systems of therapies. Given the complexities inherent in humans, relationships and society as a whole, one cannot rely on only one particular system to deliver the goods. Existential counseling is narrower than other systems as this approach appeals to clients who are interested in philosophical investigations, but may not help those suffering from psychopathological issues. Moreover, existentialism has been criticized for ‘intellectualizing’ the client’s life situation and this may actually be a valid criticism.
References
Eliason, G.T., Samide, J.L., Williams, G., & Lepore, M.F. (2010). Existential Theory and Our Search for Spirituality. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 12:86–111, 2010
Gregory J. JOHANSON. Response to: “Existential Theory and our Search for Spirituality”. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 12:112–117, 2010
Deerbrook Counseling Services. (2016, March 26 ) Retrieved from https://deerbrookcounseling.wordpress.com/tag/existential-therapy/
