Existential Therapy

When I refer to existential therapy, I'm talking about making meaning out of your life. Viktor Frankl said "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how", so let's find your "why"!

I have a background in existential philosophy and psychology. Discovering deeper meaning by confronting the difficult questions that arise from the unique nature of the human condition. What does it mean to be alive? How do my choices define me? How can I live a life committed to action and purpose? How can I embrace my failures and celebrate my success?

"He who has a why can endure almost any how," Victor Frankl once famously wrote. One of my key tasks is to help my clients find their why. This varies greatly from person to person, but consistent themes include: core values; most important people/relationships in one's life; work and the mark one wishes to leave on the world; fun and adventure; resilience, strength, and wisdom in the face of unavoidable suffering; and clarity on one's views about the nature of reality and one's place in it.

This is a framework I utilize to help explore experiences and increase meaning making (i.e., logotherapy).

Having a background in philosophy in my undergrad, existentialism was an immediate interest of mine. As I moved through grad school, every free moment was filled with the works of Irvin Yalom and Viktor Frankl. I will sit with you and we together can explore the 4 tenants of existentialism and how the way you interact with them may be affecting your day-to-day life and relationships with others and yourself.

To be human is to endure pain and hardship. I utilize existential therapy to help clients find meaning and value in their lives, despite the challenges and hard times.

An existential approach to therapy emphasizes the importance of the meaning that each person makes in life and that the path that one takes can only be understood in the context of their unique life experience. This means that the questions, "Who am I?" and "What is the meaning of life" is a personal journey that, ultimately, only the individual can discover for themselves.

Existential Therapy is based on existential philosophy and is focused on identifying what is meaningful to you individually, and identifying how core anxieties (Death, Freedom, Isolation, and Meaninglessness) are impacting you and working through that.

I am very interested in how things are interpreted and what meaning we give to things, events, relationships, and life experiences. I believe everyone is different and are just looking for where they fit in their lives and in the universe. The meaning we give to these things influences how we behave and interact with ourselves and others.

When clients first begin therapy, one of the questions that often comes up is what it means to work through emotions or traumas. From the perspective of Existential Therapy, we address the meaning that these experiences hold for you, which comes from our ability to build context foresight around them. If the past still hurts, or if the future holds too many mysteries, it is worth exploring the meaning that we derive from our life's story as a whole.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” This quote by Viktor Frankl changed my life. I was in the middle of my own therapy journey and needed a lifeline. This was it: permission to choose my own way, no matter how hard the situation. Existential therapy is all about finding meaning in your experiences, and giving you back the power to create change in your life.

In my philosophical counseling practice, I draw on existential thinkers like Nietzsche, Sartre, De Beauvoir, Buber, Frankl to help clients to work through different versions of the "existential crisis." Together we work through the loss of meaning brought on by an experience of disillusionment, the loss of self brought on by various identity crises, and the loss of freedom and authenticity brought on by experiences of alienation, objectification, oppression or "bad faith".

My experience and studies in literature paved the way for my current philosophical and therapeutic approach in counseling. It was the influence of French authors like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus that left a huge mark on my professional development. I would later consolidate their teachings with experts in Psychology, such as Viktor Frankl and his emphasis on the "will to meaning." How we make meaning out of the suffering we endure can be one of the most powerful questions in counseling.

In my philosophical counseling practice, I help clients to work through different versions of the "existential crisis." Together we work through the loss of meaning brought on by experiences of disillusionment or disorienting change; struggles surrounding the "self" brought on by various identity crises (often at quarter-life, mid-life, retirement); and the loss of freedom and authenticity brought on by either "bad faith" or alienation in society.

Where do you find meaning? What is important to you? What does happiness look like to you? Who or what are you living for? The idea that only we can define or determine our own purpose and path is daunting and overwhelming, but can also be liberating and life-affirming.

My approach involves engaging with clients in an authentic and nonjudgmental manner, creating a space where existential concerns like mortality, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness can be openly discussed. Through exploring what it means to be human, I guide clients in gaining a heightened sense of self-awareness and empowering them to make choices aligned with their authentic values, ultimately fostering a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

Our therapists are experienced in existential therapy, humanistic therapy and other holistic therapies incorporating several modalities into their individual practices.