Existential Theory and Our Search for Spirituality

Abstract

Throughout the course of Western history, science, religion, philosophy, psychology, and counseling have struggled to find common ground and opportunities for integration. Existential theory may begin to bridge humanity's search for spirituality and psychological wellbeing. Due to it's foundation in philosophy and the search for meaning, existentialism is uniquely suited to this task. It is our search for meaning, truth, and the I-thou experience that facilitates movement from the cognitive realm to the spiritual, transcending traditional psychotherapeutic rhetoric through a greater awareness of universal truths (Tomer, Eliason, & Wong, 2008; Eliason, Hanley, & Leventis, 2007; 2001, Eliason, 2000).

KEYWORDS:

• Spirituality
• counseling
• existentialism

Portions of this article have been reprinted through the courtesy of the Journal of Counselling and Spirituality, St Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It originally appeared in the Journal of Counselling and Spirituality, Vol. 26, Number 2, Fall 2007. Special thanks to Carla Vandzura, a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, for her help in the editing of this manuscript.