Kirk J. Schneider - Existential–Humanistic Therapy (Theories of Psychotherapy Series®)

Theories of Psychotherapy Series

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Steven C. Hayes and Jason Lillis

Adlerian Psychotherapy

Jon Carlson and Matt Englar-Carlson

The Basics of Psychotherapy: An Introduction to Theory and Practice

Bruce E. Wampold

Behavior Therapy

Martin M. Antony and Lizabeth Roemer

Brief Dynamic Therapy, Second Edition

Hanna Levenson

Career Counseling

Mark L. Savickas

CognitiveBehavioral Therapy, Second Edition

Michelle G. Craske

Cognitive Therapy

Keith S. Dobson

Emotion-Focused Therapy, Revised Edition

Leslie S. Greenberg

ExistentialHumanistic Therapy, Second Edition

Kirk J. Schneider and Orah T. Krug

Family Therapy

William J. Doherty and Susan H. McDaniel

Feminist Therapy

Laura S. Brown

Gestalt Therapy

Gordon Wheeler and Lena Axelsson

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Ellen Frank and Jessica C. Levenson

Narrative Therapy

Stephen Madigan

Person-Centered Psychotherapies

David J. Cain

Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Therapies

Jeremy D. Safran

Psychotherapy Case Formulation

Tracy D. Eells

Psychotherapy Integration

George Stricker

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Albert Ellis and Debbie Joffe Ellis

Reality Therapy

Robert E. Wubbolding

RelationalCultural Therapy

Judith V. Jordan

Copyright 2017 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, including, but not limited to, the process of scanning and digitization, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Electronic edition published 2017.

ISBN: 978-1-4338-2738-9 (electronic edition).

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Schneider, Kirk J., author. | Krug, Orah T., author.

Title: Existential-humanistic therapy / Kirk J. Schneider and Orah T. Krug.

Description: Second edition. | Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016058351| ISBN 9781433827372 | ISBN 1433827379

Subjects: LCSH: Existential psychology. | Humanistic psychology. | Existential psychotherapy.

Classification: LCC BF204.5 .S354 2017 | DDC 150.19/2dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016058351

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record is available from the British Library.

Second Edition

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0000042-000

Contents

Series Preface

S ome might argue that in the contemporary clinical practice of psychotherapy, evidence-based intervention and effective outcome have overshadowed theory in importance. Maybe. But, as the editors of this series, we dont propose to take up that controversy here. We do know that psychotherapists adopt and practice according to one theory or another because their experience, and decades of good evidence, suggests that having a sound theory of psychotherapy leads to greater therapeutic success. Still, the role of theory in the helping process can be hard to explain. This narrative about solving problems helps convey theorys importance:

Aesop tells the fable of the sun and wind having a contest to decide who was the most powerful. From above the earth, they spotted a man walking down the street, and the wind said that he bet he could get the mans coat off. The sun agreed to the contest. The wind blew, and the man held on tightly to his coat. The more the wind blew, the tighter he held. The sun said it was his turn. He put all of his energy into creating warm sunshine, and soon the man took off his coat.

What does a competition between the sun and the wind to remove a mans coat have to do with theories of psychotherapy? We think this deceptively simple story highlights the importance of theory as the precursor to any effective interventionand hence to a favorable outcome. Without a guiding theory, we might treat the symptom without understanding the role of the individual. Or we might create power conflicts with our clients and not understand that, at times, indirect means of helping (sunshine) are often as effectiveif not more sothan direct ones (wind). In the absence of theory, we might lose track of the treatment rationale and instead get caught up in, for example, social correctness and not wanting to do something that looks too simple.

What, exactly, is theory? The APA Dictionary of Psychology (Second Ed.) defines theory as a principle or body of interrelated principles that purports to explain or predict a number of interrelated phenomena (VandenBos, 2015, p. 1081). In psychotherapy, a theory is a set of principles used to explain human thought and behavior, including what causes people to change. In practice, a theory creates the goals of therapy and specifies how to pursue them. Haley (1997) noted that a theory of psychotherapy ought to be simple enough for the average therapist to understand but comprehensive enough to account for a wide range of eventualities. Furthermore, a theory guides action toward successful outcomes while generating hope in both the therapist and client that recovery is possible.

Theory is the compass that allows psychotherapists to navigate the vast territory of clinical practice. In the same ways that navigational tools have been modified to adapt to advances in thinking and ever-expanding territories to explore, theories of psychotherapy have changed over time. The different schools of theory are commonly referred to as waves, the first wave being psychodynamic theories (i.e., Adlerian, psychoanalytic), the second wave learning theories (i.e., behavioral, cognitivebehavioral), the third wave humanistic theories (person-centered, gestalt, existential), the fourth wave feminist and multicultural theories, and the fifth wave postmodern and constructivist theories (i.e., narrative, solution-focused). In many ways, these waves represent how psychotherapy has adapted and responded to changes in psychology, society, and epistemology as well as to changes in the nature of psychotherapy itself. Psychotherapy and the theories that guide it are dynamic and responsive. The wide variety of theories is also testament to the different ways in which the same human behavior can be conceptualized (Frew & Spiegler, 2012).