Guidance for Academic Essays (PSC702) Existential.

Purpose: to evidence the student's understanding of existential thought and how it informs good
practice, demonstrating a lived engagement with the question under discussion, and the ability to
be self-reflexive and constructively critical.

The essay topics should be focused on;

a) an existential concept and how it relates to psychotherapy (and life in general). For instance,
'What does Sartre's concept of the 'Look' imply for the therapeutic relationship and the power
relations within it?'; 'What is the significance of Buber's concept of the 'I-Thou' for the
therapeutic relationship and what might its limits be?'; 'The concept of 'Bracketing' within
psychotherapy and its significance to descriptive phenomenology.' 'What does Heidegger's
concept of the four ways of revealing imply for the therapeutic stance?'

b) an issue relevant to problems in living in general (and psychotherapy in particular) and how
existential concepts help to understand these in new ways. For instance; 'How might Merleau-
Ponty's ideas of embodiment help to understand and work with depression (or any other relevant
presenting problem that speaks to you such as anxiety, low self-esteem etc.)?'; 'How might
existential concepts help inform the decision to self-disclose in the therapeutic relationship?'; 'How
might existential ideas on death inform work with loss, be that of employment, a relationship, or
bereavement?'

c) comparing and contrasting an existential idea either with others from the existential tradition, or
those from other psychotherapy orientations. For instance; 'How does Nietzsche's concept of the
'Death of God' compare with Kierkegaard's idea of commitment?'; 'How does Sartre's concept of
non-reflective consciousness differ from the psychoanalytic concept of the unconscious?; 'How do
differing understandings of the Epoché show up in practice?' (these kinds of questions will tend to
be more conceptual and theoretical and so care should be taken to keep them grounded).

Prompts to help you engage with your question:

'What is my understanding of this idea, and does the concept itself stand up to examination?'

'How does it inform, challenge, or otherwise throw light on my current understanding of

psychotherapy as I wish to practice it?'

'What does this phenomenon actually look like in practice?'

All questions ultimately go back to the fundamental guiding question of this term: 'Who am I, and
how am I to live?'

Please confirm your essay subject with me before the end of term. Each week you have been
presented with a number of questions that you could use as the basis of your essay, but I strongly
recommend finding one of your own that you feel enthusiastic to explore and better understand, as
the requirement to write this essay offers this opportunity.

Format: Essays should follow general academic convention. That is, they should have a clear
introduction, laying out the question to be answered and what the reader is to expect, followed by
the body of the text, and a conclusion summing up what has been said (new material should not be
introduced in the conclusion, although reference to what else might need to be explored is
acceptable).

I recommend the use of sub-headings as I believe these help students bring a more coherence
and logical progression to their argument as well as signposting the reader through the journey,
although these are not a requirement and will not directly affect the mark.
Essays that have a question to be explored (and tentatively answered) tend to be stronger, and
easier to engage with, than comparative essays (c. above) that have a tendency to become too
conceptual and abstract. In all cases, lived examples - from your life, or your therapy - are
beneficial in both demonstrating that the ideas have been fully digested, as well as keeping the
essay grounded in lived experience. In all cases relevance to therapy should be addressed
although the explicit use of 'Case Study' material is not required.

You could use a work of art, a poem, or a film as a medium through which to examine an
existential concept, but the focus needs to be on the existential concept(s) and not on the art itself,
so that the essay does not become a review. For instance, if you were to include an examination of
Andrei Tarkovsky’s 'Solaris' in terms of identity, or the 'unconscious', or memory etc., the film
would be there as a demonstration of how existential ideas can elaborate and help make sense of
the film. Be careful if you choose to go down this route.

Important: although you will be informed by Regents Library Services that personal pronouns are
not to be used in academic essays this is not the case in these existential essays where speaking
to and from your own experience is encouraged and rewarded.

I am primarily interested in your understanding and interpretation of the ideas you engage with,
rather than with Spinelli's, or van Deurzen's or instance. Having said that, it is important to situate
your thoughts in light of, and in response to, the existential tradition and show that you have
understood the ideas you are then critically engaging with. In this regard, expressing a personal
point of view is perfectly acceptable as long as it arises in response to this tradition and that you
justify your claim.

Common errors to be avoided:

• All concepts need to be referenced to the original philosopher/thinker i.e. 'The Look' to
Sartre (1957), 'Being-in-the-world' to Heidegger (1962), but only direct quotes need page
numbers to be included as well.
• Date of references of direct quotes should be to the copy that you are reading, with an
acknowledgment of first publication in the reference section.
• Don’t forget to include the translation you are using for foreign books, as there are
sometimes more than one.
• Long quotes (approximately over forty words) should be indented.
• Book titles, both within the body of the text, as well as in the reference section should be
italicised (as should Journal titles, but not the Paper titles within the Journals).
• Pay close attention to word count, as this is not something I have any degree of flexibility
regarding (the reference section is not included in the word-count).
• Refer to the marking sheet to check that you have fulfilled all requirements against which I
am expected to mark (if you don’t mention culture, for instance, I can’t put much in that
section).
• Evidence of independent research and the use of primary sources will always gain better
marks.
• Be aware of the interpretational nature of the many secondary sources that you have been
presented with this term.

I hope this helps, and further general guidance can be found in the handbook.

Paul mcginlep@regents.ac.uk