Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

Psychotherapy Approaches Comparison
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Psychotherapy Approaches Comparison
Introduction
Humanistic-existential psychotherapy focuses on human experiences rather than behavior rules and division of the mind into different areas. Notably, humanistic-existential psychotherapy comprises numerous theories. The most significant theory is the theory of personality, which asserts that there is an inner struggle between responsibility and freedom. As a result, there is inherent pursuit among people to resolve the internal conflict. The paper describes the humanistic-existential psychotherapy and the psychoanalytic approach, explaining the differences and their impact on the practice of a PMHNP.
Description
As noted earlier, human-existential psychotherapy comprises several theories. The theory of personality, which is among the human-existential therapy, asserts that people search for meaning and purpose in life. In this regard, they are seeking value and self-awareness. The theory also posits that building relations, forming identity, and attaining self-actualization are critical developmental processes in human beings. As a result, people will encounter fears of meaninglessness, death, isolation, guilt, lack of relationships, and emptiness at some point in their lives. Based on the angle of personality theory, it becomes clear that the humanistic-existential approach concentrates on the meaning of existence and making sense of life. Therefore, people experience existential anxiety, which is a typical form with the potential for positive outcomes. Although it is possible to overcome existential anxiety through courage, humanistic-existential counselors believe that people do not experience perpetual security and safety because uncertainties are inevitable. Therefore, counselors' techniques aim to build empathetic relationships with their patients. They use self-disclosure to model authentic behavior.
On the other hand, the psychoanalytic approach divides the mind into three parts: conscious, subconscious, and unconscious. The division is based on individuals' behavior arising from factors that the person is aware of and unaware of. Therefore, psychoanalytic counselors aim to make the unconscious conscious through experiences that recall past, childhood events, experiences, or memories. Psychoanalytic counselors believe that change is a product of acknowledging unconscious wishes and instinctual impulses and identifying ways of responding to them in a fashion that alleviates depreciated self-esteem and other forms of emasculation. It is a way of empowering an individual's self-reflection by affirming positive attributes and denunciation of the negative ones. The psychoanalytic approach centers on the existence or possibility of neurotic anxiety. The theory argues that behavior arises from mental energy, highlighting the idea that there is a struggle to form an identity based on the conscious or the unconscious mind. Therefore, people struggle to meet immediate gratification (id) and moral or ethical values expectations.
Differences Between the Therapies
Therefore, the differences between humanistic-existential and psycho...