Existential therapy

Existential therapy is a form of psychotherapy focused on the client's lived experience of their subjective reality. The aim is for clients to use their freedom to live authentic fulfilled lives. Existentialist traditions maintain: People are fundamentally free to shape their lives and are responsible for their choices, even under difficult circumstances. Distress around existential concerns—such as death, isolation, freedom, and the search for meaning—are not pathological, but natural parts of the human condition and potential catalysts for living more authentically. An emphasis on exploring the client's subjective world and lived experience, rather than providing an authoritative interpretation of what feelings mean. A de-emphasis on standardized techniques, favoring instead a collaborative, dialogical encounter grounded in authentic presence, openness, and mutual exploration of the client's world. A critique of reductionist models of mental health that attempt to explain psychological suffering solely in terms of symptoms, diagnoses, or biological causes.