What is Counseling...??

In the field of psychology, counseling is a broad specialization within professional psychologist

concerned with using psychological principles to enhance and promote the positive growth, well-
being, and mental health of individuals, families, groups, and the broader community.
Counselling psychologists bring a collaborative, developmental, multicultural, and wellness
perspective to their research and practice. They work with many types of individuals, including
those experiencing distress and difficulties associated with life events and transitions, decision-
making, work/career/education, family and social relationships, and mental health and physical
health concerns.
Different Perspective of Psychology related to the Counseling:
1. Psychoanalytical Perspective
2. Cognitive Perspective
3. Behavioral Perspective
4. Person Centered Perspective
5. Existential Perspective
6. Adlerian Perspective
7. Gestalt Perspective

Existential Perspective of Counseling:

Existential perspective deal with the dynamic or ever-changing transitions that individual
encounter as they merge evolve and become. Individual must aware of their own being in the
world, asking, “Who will I be? Who am I? Where do I come from?” Human beings are
responsible for their own plans and destinies. Existentialism is concerned with how individual
relate to their objective world, to other human beings and their own self of self. Existential
psychology emphasizes the importance of time – past and future but particularly the present
about understanding the oneself and one’s world.
Existential counseling takes a philosophical/intellectual approach to therapy. It sees humans as:

 Having the capacity for self-awareness, experiencing tension between freedom and
responsibility
 Creating an identity and establishing meaningful relationships
 Searching for the meaning, purpose and values of life
 Accepting anxiety as a condition of living
 Being aware of death and non-being

Accepting freedom and responsibility:

Existential counseling holds that we have the freedom to choose between alternatives, and thus
we are responsible for our lives, actions, and failure to act. If clients blame others for their
problems, therapists in this modality would help them acknowledge how they allowed others to
make decisions for them and the cost of doing so, as well as encourage them to consider
alternative options.
Relationship to others:
Existential counselors suggests that we are all alone. As humans, we must give meaning to our
lives, decide how we will live, develop a relationship with ourselves, and learn to listen to
ourselves. Humans require close relationships with others. Therapists may question clients about
what they gain from their relationships, as well as how and why they avoid close relationships.
Search for meaning:
Existential counselors encourage clients to consider what they want from life and where they
find meaning in their lives. A trusting counsellor relationship is essential in teaching clients to
believe in their own ability to discover their own way of being. Finding meaning in life is an
unintended consequence of engagement, which is a commitment to creating, loving, working,
and building.
Anxiety as a natural state:
Existential counsellors regard anxiety as a natural state of being that arises from a person's
struggle to survive. This is known as 'existential anxiety,' and it is a normal reaction to
confronting life's four ultimate concerns: death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness.
Awareness of death:
Death is seen as motivating us to live our lives fully and to seize every opportunity to do
something meaningful.
 EXISTENTIAL COUNSELING TECHNIQUES:
Existential counselling sessions will differ for each counselor and client because the approach is
client-centered; however, the setting is one of a standard conversation room, where the counselor
offers the emotional and physical context for clients to securely disclose feelings and
experiences. The counselor’s purpose in existential therapy is to assist their clients in uncovering
restrictive beliefs that are ultimately creating distress. 
The existential approach is unlike most other counseling techniques and perspectives in that is
not technique oriented. Although existentially oriented counselors may incorporate many
techniques from other models, these interventions are made within the context of striving to
understand the subjective world of the client. While there is no one right approach or set of
instructions for this type of counselling practice, counsellors may adopt one or more of the
techniques listed below:
 Remains present, engaged, and expectation-free, with no preconceived ideas about the
healing process.
 Conducts open-ended, philosophical, and Socratic questions that, in an empathic and
gentle manner, challenge the client's restricted viewpoints.
 Enables customers to arrive at their own meaning and significance.
 Maintains empathy with the challenges in establishing reality and existence.
 Trusts in the client's ability to find meaning and helps them take responsibility for their
actions.
 When necessary, uses CBT, person-centered therapy, somatic therapy, and Gestalt
therapy.

Phases and process of existential counseling:

The process of existential therapy involves the following phases:

Initial Phase: During the early phases of existential counselling, counselors use strategies such
as Socratic inquiry, listening, and meaning reflection to investigate their beliefs about their lives
and the universe. They explain how they make sense of their experiences in various phases,
including the difficulties they bring into treatment to assess how relevant the situation is.

Middle Phase: During this middle phase, after the client has developed some insight into the
choices- behaviors, thoughts, and feelings, - they make that sustain the problem, efforts are made
to explore their value systems that sustain these choices.

Final Phase: Clients are encouraged to apply what they have learned about themselves in
counseling to the actual world during the final phase of existential counseling setting.