Rollo May1909-1994

The School of AthensRaphael Sanzio

Less of a specific framework for therapy than a Philosophical orientation of the Therapist.

Existentialism is inherently anti-theoretical in it’s contention that scientific theory clashes with the subjective experiences of one’s existence.

It’s an appreciation for being in the moment of existence that empowers us to make use of our freedom.

Individuals are responsible for making use of this freedom to form the conditions of their existence.

Biographical

Outline

Born in Ada Ohio, April 21 1909 to Earl Tittle May and Matie Boughton May.

Early childhood spent in Marine City, MI.

Not close to either parent, described mother as, “bitch-kitty on wheels.” and sister suffered from Psychosis.

Found solace in St. Clair River where he swam and skated and learned more from it’s tranquility than he did in school.

Biographical

Outline

(cont.)

Bachelor’s degree in 1930 from Oberlin College in Ohio.

Toured Europe for three years tutoring English and Painting.

Experienced a, “nervous breakdown,” which left him bed ridden for two weeks.

Attended a seminar by Adler in Vienna whom he greatly admired and returned to the U.S.

Biographical

Outline (cont.)

Enrolled in Union Seminary School and was mentored by Theological Philosopher Paul Tillich. Graduated with Master in Divinity.

Left to study Psychoanalysis at the William Alanson Institute while working as a counselor at City College of NY.

Opened his own practice in 1946.

In 1949 earned Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University.

Biographical

Outline (cont.)

In his early 30’s he lived with Tuberculosis for 3 years unsure if he would live.

Observed that those that resigned themselves to a passive narrative died, and that asserted a will to survive tended to do so.

This later profoundly impacted his approach to Therapy.

Visiting professor at Harvard and Princeton. Adjunct Professor at NYU. Chaired and Presided over a handful of boards, foundations and associations.

Biography

Outline (Cont.)

Died on October 22nd 1994 in Tiburon California where he had settled with his 3rd Wife.

Writings;

The meaning of Anxiety

Man’s Search for Himself

Existence: A New Dimension in Psychiatry and Psychology

Love and Will

Awards;APA Distinguished Contribution to the Science and Profession of Clinical Psychology

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award

APF Gold Medal Award for Lifetime Contributions to Professional Psychology

Philosophies of Phenomenology and

Existentialism

Phenomenology-Early 20th Century

Merleau-Ponty, Husserl,

Heidegger,

Existentialism-Mid 19th Century

Kierkirgaard, Nietzsche

Otto Rank (1884-1939)

Part of Freud’s Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. Lectured later in U.S.

Literary Movement Early 20th

Century, Sartre, Camus

Swiss Psychiatrists Ludwig Banswanger, Medard Boss

Introduced these concepts into Pychotherapy

Paul Tillich (1886-1965) Theological Contemporary of May

Rollo May

Wanted to find common ground between Psychoanalysis and

Existential Philosophy

Victor Frankl (1909-1997) “Third School of Viennese Psychotherapy

Imprisoned in Auschwitz & Dachau Man’s Search for Meaning Logotherapy- “Therapy through

meaning”

Existentialism- Philosophical movement that contends that subjective experience must be the genesis of thought. Places emphasis on the moment and the freedom to choose within that moment to understand why people exist in the ways that they do. Examines the implications of freedom when weighed against the encumbrance of responsibility. Seeks to understand how and why people think and act under this anxiety.

Existence, the process of continual growth and change supersedes Essence, the state of merely being.

Human are both objective and subjective, therefore they cannot merely be but must question their own existence.

We ultimately are solely responsible for the state of our own existence.

Phenomena can only be fully authentic through experience.

Phenomenology- The Philosophical study of subjective human experience and consciousness. It examines the actions we take and how those actions effect others, the world, and ourselves as conscious phenomena causing agents. Considers the structures with which we perceive phenomena subjectively, how that perception differs from anyone else’s, and how those structures influence our corresponding actions and reactions within the world.

“With the death of mystery comes the death of Hope.”-May

Central Themes

Rational explanations must not extinguish all mystery from life

Inspiration and creativity arise from strife, angst, and pain

Unique individual is above the “organizational man”

Joy and meaning are found in the aesthetic and the ecstatic

What is the meaning of life? Is there a god? Does anything I do even matter? Is this the only existence we’ll ever know? Why is there suffering in the world? What are the keys to happiness and fulfillment?

Edvard MunchThe Scream

Umwelt

MitweltEigenwelt

Self in relation to world of nature and natural Laws(time and space)

Self in relation to others (people)

Self in relation to self (spirit)

Dasein

RodanThe Thinker

Being in a disconnected state in any of these three areas can result in purposelessness, alienation, and angst.

Facing

Non-Being Realization of existence within the world carries with it the dread of death or non-being.

We retreat from being, Dasein, into anxiety and self-destructive coping mechanisms.

• Addiction• Over-conformity• Hostility• Despair• Compulsion

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Life…

External Objectivity/Rationality

Internal Certitude/Meaning

With objective knowledge and Scientific theory we lose touchwith our subjective attachment to ourselves and naturalphenomena. We become increasingly uncertain as to the purpose of existence and to the meaning of life.

Objectivity Removes Experience

Ontological

Anxiety

Neurotic Vs. Normal

Normal Anxiety comes with acceptance of responsibility and freedom. It is a by-product of progress within one’s existence and a necessary part of being.

Neurotic Anxiety is incommensurate to the threat of being and results from a refusal to acknowledge the freedom and responsibility inherent in existence.

Umwelt Guilt- With increased civilization and industrial progress we become estranged from nature and develop an innate sense of guilt.

Mitwelt Guilt- According to Phenomenology we can only know the world through our own experience and accordingly we can only relate to each other in a limited capacity.

Eigenwelt Guilt- Results from our own limited self-realization. We can always increasingly approach our potential and thus always have a sense of guilt propelling us to full actualization.

To will is to organize one’s capacities towards a goal.

The wish enables and gives content to the will, but the wish is immature.

The lack of will can serve to protect the wish from failure by depriving it of conscious action.

Will cannot exist without wish but can become trapped by it.

Existential Freedom- Freedom to make choices and act upon those choices.

Essential Freedom- Freedom to realize one’s self and one’s potential.

Destiny- Exercising our will,

within our limitations,

towards the goals we set

before ourselves.

Physical

Imprisonment

Physical Freedom

Wish Toward

Destiny/ Goal

Limited Existential Freedom

Full Existential Freedom

Essential Freedom

Communication

Through Myth

Myths are a cultural way of communicating transcendent and spiritual truths.

Western culture is lacking in these modes of communication which in turn leaves people lacking identity.

This results in emptiness which people fill in self-destructive ways such as addiction, compulsion, or apathy toward their potential.Oedipus Rex

By Sophocles

King Sisyphus Greek Myth

First instances of childhood rebellion are met with harsh criticism. Rebellion should be the first affirmation of freedom but if it is instead a source of anxiety then freedom takes on a negative and fearful connotation.

A disconnection from nature, others, and self. (umwelt, mitwelt, eigenwelt) Leads to a dimming of the consciousness, an inability to be known to others and a directionless apathy.

A refusal to pursue one’s destiny due to a disproportionate fear of death, nothingness, or the responsibility that accompanies freedom.

Symptomology is a by-product of the patients attempt to escape their own freedom.

Therapy therefore is intended to engage people in the use of their own freedom.

The therapist, through developing a friendship of guidance, must invite the patient to subjectively live through their emotional experiences.

The therapist must help them choose to venture forth freely into their potential destiny by reevaluating the situations from their past which caused freedom to become associated with negativity.

Patients at odds with the norms of society or the status quo.

Patients complaining of emptiness or a lack of identity (BPD or other personality disorders).

Patients at a life crossroads (empty-nest, midlife, adolescence, aging w/physical limitations) .

Patients in situational crises (death of spouse, chronically ill, suicidal).

Patients experiencing the end of a marriage or career.

Hypothetical

Case Study

An elderly man presents with extreme depression following the death of his wife. He can find little meaning in a continued life without his wife and no longer feels a sense of recognizable identity as a widower. He has expressed suicidal ideation and an inability to enjoy hobbies he once found pleasure in. He complains of a feeling of innate unfairness at the thought of having to continue without his wife.

Adapted from Victor Frankl’sMan’s Search for Meaning

Through a one-to-one relationship with the therapist acting as a guiding friend, a therapeutic bond is established.

The Existential therapist asks the client to imagine the situation as reversed, with his death having occurred before his wife’s.

Through this thought experiment the client realizes the immense suffering that his wife would have experienced in this situation.

From this he is able to reframe his surviving his wife’s death as a means by which he saved her from the suffering that he is now experiencing..

Andrew BainesExistential Choice

With this change of perspective he is able to find meaning even in his pain and loss.

Now that he is able to find a concrete purpose and consolation for his current situation he recognizes his responsibility to reengage life.

Despite his loss, by focusing on what his wife would have wanted for him, he rediscovers his essential freedom and the ability to transform his pain into a meaningful new existence.

It is important to see my role in the “big picture” of things

I enjoy discussing questions about life

Religion is important to me

I enjoy viewing art work

Relaxation and meditation exercises are rewarding to me

I like traveling to visit inspiring places

I enjoy reading philosophers

Learning new things is easier when I see their real world application

I wonder if there are other forms of intelligent life in the universe

It is important for me to feel connected to people, ideas and beliefs

____ Total/ This is your Existential Intelligence on a scale of 1-10

Make a tally for each statement you agree with.

From Howard Gardner’s“Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons”Basic Books. 2006.

Feist & Feist. (2006). Theories of Personality.

McGraw-Hill. Pgs. 338-368

Corey. (2009).

Theory and Practice of Counseling & Psychotherapy.

Brooks/Cole. Pgs. 132-163

Frankl. (2006).

Man’s Search For Meaning.

Beacon Press.