Engaging with the client’s existential concerns: the impact on therapists and counselors

ABSTRACT

This study examined which themes therapists identify as existential and explored what happens when therapists engage with their clients’ existential concerns. Over two simultaneous studies, 19 participants were interviewed about working with existential themes. The first study consisted of experienced person-centered and existential psychotherapists and the second study of counselors or therapists working in a setting that would evoke existential themes. The data were first analyzed separately for both groups using Consensual Qualitative Research. Subsequently, a general cross analysis was conducted to achieve a meta-synthesis. Four existential themes were identified: Death and boundaries of life; Freedom, choice and responsibility; Connection and isolation; and Meaning and meaninglessness. In addition to providing a descriptive model of these themes, this study suggests that existential training might help therapists notice more implicit existential dynamics in the therapeutic process. Furthermore, engaging with clients’ existential concerns might make therapists more aware of their own existential reality which would help them to relate to existential themes differently. Experienced therapists can identify existential themes in their clients’ stories. However, specific existential training and personal reflection can deepen therapists’ openness towards existential issues and expand insight in existential processes.

KEYWORDS:

• Person-centered
• existential
• psychotherapy
• training
• empathy
• person of the therapist
• career

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank FARA and VVCEPC for their collaboration in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The original studies on which this qualitative meta-synthesis is based will be provided by e-mail if requested.