COU102A - Existential Therapy Application: A Case Study of Joel

This case study explores the application of existential therapy to a 36-year-old man named Joel, who presents with feelings of unhappiness and dissatisfaction despite outward success. The analysis delves into the key principles of existential therapy, emphasizing freedom, responsibility, and the search for meaning in life. The counselor's role is defined as facilitating Joel's self-awareness and empowering him to make authentic choices, addressing his anxieties related to parenthood and career pressures. Intervention methods such as 'Holding the container' and the 'everything is everything' approach are proposed to foster trust and encourage Joel to explore his inner strengths. The therapy aims to help Joel confront his existential anxieties, take responsibility for his choices, and ultimately find a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

Running Head: COUNSELLING THEORIES
COUNSELLING THEORIES
Name of University:
Name of Student:
Authors Note:

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Key Principles of the Existential Approach.....................................................................................4
Goals of the approach......................................................................................................................5
My role as the counselor..................................................................................................................6
Explanation of Joel’s case in the light of this approach..................................................................8
Intervention methods to be adopted.................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The present case is about Joel who is 36 years old and is unsatisfied with his life, He
grew up with his father after his mother passed away. His father was a good man but had anger,
alcohol and coping with loss issues. Joel was a rebel in his teenage, gave a hard time to his
father, and worked hard to get into a university as a means to escape from him. He is presently
working successfully in a corporate law firm, is married to Anna and has a one year old boy
named Oliver. His family lives comfortably under his income and they have been planning
another child. Despite these positive events, Joel feels unhappy. He feels frustrated and although
he loves his family, he feels that the pressure of parenthood is too much for him. He is constantly
worried about himself being a good father and a good husband. He is disappointed in himself
because he feels that he does not have adequate control over his life. He has therefore come for
counseling sessions as he feels unhappy and dissatisfied with himself and the direction towards
which his life is moving. According to me, the existential therapy needs to be adopted to deal
with Joel’s situation appropriately.
Key Principles of the Existential Approach
The existential therapy is an exceptional kind of psychotherapy, which explores the
difficulties faced in the daily life from a philosophical point of view rather than using fixed
techniques. The therapists focus on the human beings as a whole; encourage people to take
complete responsibility for the attainment of any form of success in their life (Corey, 2013). The
existential theory emphasizes on human experiences, and therefore will focus on Joel rather that
the symptoms that he faces. The issues that are being faced by Joel will be viewed as a result of
him being unable to make authentic, self-directed and meaningful choices about the way he

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should live. The theory is named the same way because of its approach to help individuals deal
with existential crisis. This is an appropriate approach is present scenario because this helps
individuals face a crisis, the development of which is related to a major transition in life,
parenthood, in Joel’s case. The existential approach can be beneficial in helping people learn to
cope with things like situational anxiety, finding values that one can live by, making sense of
their current life scenarios (Friedman, 1964). This approach emphasizes that it is required to have
a subjective perspective for viewing a human condition in totality and not in parts. According
Corey (2012) Existential therapy helps in providing individuals with a perspective in
understanding freedom, guilt, commitment, anxiety, isolation and death. The three major areas of
interest in this therapy are, 1) Freedom- Every individual has the free will to choose their paths
in life. 2) Meaning – people need to find the values of their life so that they has a reason to live a
meaningful life. 3) Anxiety- therapists while practicing this approach understand that the anxiety,
which is supposed to motivate individuals to act, might just be the reason behind them not taking
control of their own life (Hoffman, 2004).
Goals of the approach
The major goals of this approach in working with Joel include 1) helping him realize that
he has numerous possibilities and freedom available, 2) challenging him in realizing that he has
more control over his life than he thinks and 3) helping him identify the variety of factors that are
blocking his freedom to gain control over his circumstances . (Corey 2012). The key concept of
this approach is that it does not have a specific or theoretical model; instead, this model stresses
that individuals need to focus on their present condition and self-awareness prior to taking
actions for shaping oneself. There are no specific techniques in this approach because therapists
incorporate a number of techniques from various approaches to address the meaning of

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responsibility, freedom and the existential issues faced by individuals. This approach of
psychotherapy might not be the most conventional form of counseling, yet it has a certain
structure, which is built specifically around the experiences and realities of the client. The
therapists while using this approach do not put much emphasis on the events that had taken place
in the past, however, the past is taken into consideration when the client is asked to use
retrospection to understand what the past events imply towards the happenings of the present
(Corey, 2009).
My role as the counselor
As the therapist, I will have to understand that Joel’s behavior, personality and reactions
are shaped by the factors like culture, biology and luck. I will have to explain to him that the
problems that he is facing are due to the fact that he does not exercise his choice and judgments
in proper direction, to find a direction to his life; he needs to understand that every individual has
the responsibility to make their own lives meaningful (McLeod, 2003). As an existential
therapist, I need to help Joel know that his life is more about confronting the negative evil forces
or environmental factors which are causing a blockage between him and his own life’s control. I
have to help Joel in finding a philosophical meaning to his circumstances on the face of his
unhappiness, dissatisfaction and anxiety. I need to form a sort of therapeutic alliance in
comparison to the modalities which may seem long term. With the help of this therapy, I will
need to the address the factors that have lead to Joel’s distance from his family and his inability
to feel more enthusiastic about his work. I have to help him in penetrating deeper into the issues
that have caused him to feel such discomfort in his life despite numerous positive components to
look forward to. This would, in turn act as a catalyst in helping Joel find alternatives to fill the
void that he has been feeling. I have to be devoid of any sort of judgments as my acceptance and

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empathy will be playing a major role in Joel’s recovery from the helplessness that he feels at the
moment in his life. As his therapist I would have to help Joel find the opportunities so that he is
capable of making existential choices, while making informed decisions about his current
situation. With the help of this therapy, I need to help Joel in being capable of finding the
dimensions of his newfound self-respect, self-growth and self-motivation. This therapy is
accurate for the present case because with the help of this approach I will be able to help Joel be
more self aware of his responsibilities, a good father and a good husband. Therefore, he might be
able to look beyond the burdened feeling of his current life situations and envision a life where
he can reach his full potential. The key aspect of this approach is that I cannot directly address
the underlying factors causing him discomfort, rather help him, step by step to work towards a
more positive future. The aspects of this therapy that I will need to incorporate in the short
therapy sessions would include empathizing with his situation, reflective listening, encouraging
his affective components, accepting the subjective experiences faced by him. This might include
therapy sessions involving cognitive-behavior therapy, strategic theories or psychodynamic
theories (LeMay & Wilson, 2008). This approach does not essentially follow any sort of
comprehensive techniques, but my personal philosophies as Joel’s therapist must have some sort
of congruence with the theoretical bases of this therapy. I have to be very willing to engage Joel
in an authentic and genuine conversations, which would help him, make some meaningful
changes in his life. It is absolutely essential that I have enough sensitivity towards therapeutic as
well as teachable moments. I have to use this therapy effectively so that Joel is capable of
accessing his emotional experiences or is able to deal with the obstacles that he needs to
overcome. This will be done so that he can enter into the recovery phase, that is, he can act

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responsibly even though he insists that he is not capable of taking the responsibility of his
family.
Explanation of Joel’s case in the light of this approach
Joel is hard working, however, that aspect of him began due to his intense wish to move
away from his father who had a number of mental health issues. The tendency to be distant from
the family might have begun from the time his mother passed away. Although his father worked
hard to raise him, he was unable to support Joel emotionally enough. Joel started working in
corporate law, which he genuinely enjoyed, because of which he could achieve the successful
position that he presently is in. Having a baby has been a very recent change in his life, which
has caused him to take up a number of new responsibilities. Parenthood is difficult, especially
when one is a beginner and this anxiety might be the reason for driving Joel away from his
family. He has not been enjoying his work either, due the pressure he feels he has taken up.
Another factor that might be causing the amplification of his discomfort, may be the fact that
they have been planning another child. As discussed earlier, the existential approach emphasizes
on the free will of the individual while nudging him/her to muster the strength to face the
consequences and responsibilities of the decisions that has already been taken by them. The
opening therapy session is of utmost importance, because this is where I will be building the base
of the therapeutic rapport development. I already have a brief history of Joel’s case, but I will
need him to delve deeper so that I can put forward my empathy and understanding for his
situation. I will then need to emphasize on Joel’s freedom to choose the steps that he would want
to take and explain to him the potential that he has in him to bring about a meaningful change in
his life. As Joel’s therapist, I will also need to articulate the goals of this therapy. Developing the
initial rapport can be a little tricky; however, can be achieved by demonstrating openness,

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honesty and respect, reflective listening and gradually building his faith. As a therapist, I can
facilitate the therapy sessions by sharing my reactions to Joel’s thoughts while sharing similar
experiences that I might have faced. I will have to get Joel to express his feelings and then
challenge him in seeing the ways he has been avoiding his responsibilities and decisions. I will
have to share with him, that the experiences that he has been having, is essentially a unique
human quality.
Intervention methods to be adopted
Two techniques of intervention that I would incorporate in Joel’s situation for facilitating
change would include ‘Holding the container’ technique and the ‘everything is everything’
approach (Edelstein, 2018). In the first technique, I will be holding the cup so that Joel is able o
take risks of exploring the issues that are unusual for him. This will help him open up about his
current life circumstances an d I will also have the opportunity to gain his trust while expressing
to him that I will be there to support him despite what he is sharing. This technique will require
Joel to experience the inner strength that he has. In order to me to hold the container properly, I
will have to do my personal works which might include committing myself to the psychotherapy,
engaging myself to peer or paid consultation or supervision and investing a large amount of self-
care throughout my career. The other technique that I would like to use, would be everything is
everything intervention approach. According to this intervention, I would have to explain that
nothing is a coincidence and everything is the result of conscious decisions taken by individuals.
Two other areas of intervention that can be used in the present scenario include
‘universalization’, in which Joel will be explained, he is not alone in the sufferings and
‘acceptance’ which would help Joel is reflect a sense of unconditional positive regard, thereby
being capable of handling his own life situations.

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