Existential Psychotherapy - Irvin D. Yalom 
Yesterday afternoon I was in the sun on the lake, enjoying the sound of water lapping, the burgeoning landscape and the joy of feeding people around the summer. In this comfortable environment, I then read the final pages of the book which made me very busy the last two weeks (and probably also employ many will).
After the two novels ( The Schopenhauer Cure and Nietzsche Wept ), which I have read by Yalom, received more I feel like this work because it is both Yalom narrative style that brings a lot of Entertaining in his lyrics, and his perspective on our world that I have in many ways very rewarding and refreshing think. Although we can certainly count on the guild Yalom, the analyst, but he manages to uproot the past heavily embossed and deterministic worldview of the analysis and in one, new to our time more fertile ground to settle.
Sun Yalom itself speaks not of a formal new school, let alone a new organization called "existential psychotherapy". Rather, it recognizes the Potential of the tools of various psycho-therapeutic schools (although he clearly analytical thinking and acting, he is still frequently in other approaches such as Gestalt therapy and systemic therapy on and lights out), it encourages them, however, a new existential perspective as a basis. One view, in my opinion, today's society is a lot fairer than the views of classical analysis, which was created in parallel to the outbreak of the Fin de Siècle in an almost Victorian dominated social order.
from what is, therefore, this new ground? For Yalom, it is quite existential things such as death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness, that we face as humans have to learn very early on and therefore already in these early years to deal with it. We often meet this challenging task by the fear that emanates from such existential matters, into a concrete fear, which makes it comprehensible and manageable. Due to the fact that the man be further developed, results from this translation of anxiety in fear of a shift, which usually has a growth retardant. The resulting dynamics of the growth inhibition Yalom attempts by his existential approach to the roots of anxiety due to this fear again, but this time with a greater wisdom and power to make than you could at an early age. We realize that it is not is a new psychological method, but tried and trusted methods of different directions, which show the light of a new issue (death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness) wider range of colors.
Below Yalom's great detail on each of the four thematic areas. lighted in the first and longest chapter on the death, he the fact that the man used a lot of life energy on the fear of death, which was formed at an early age to deny. On the basis of far-reaching effect of this fear Yalom describes vividly in many clinical examples, how tricky it can be the resulting shifts and how attentive a psychotherapist in return must be in order to approach this issue successfully. Over the years, however, have emerged for Yalom two basic types of these shifts.
For one, the belief in one's own sanctity and special nature 'and the resulting desire for autonomy, power, efficiency and control. Ie values that are found in many areas of our society and the well may be the shadow of one and the same (existential-) fire.
On the other Yalom describes, the belief in the last savior ', which originally comes strongly into play in the religious context, not felt in today's secular society in other ways makes. Shall enter today often a partner, parents or another (sometimes weaker, sometimes stronger) individual to the point of the last savior, or even by the patient is there called, without being aware of the precise about this feature.
When specifically the displacement 'of the last savior' view, one quickly comes to a second major part in Yalom extensive work - the freedom. Because in parallel with the development of pathological power differential, which is the basis for this strategy of life, is the rejection of the associated responsibility for his own life. Therefore not known to me in plasticity, Yalom out a hand in this existential perspective based on a number of literary texts, as he skilfully the gamut in psychotherapy and this underpinned with really interesting case studies. It is wonderful to read how Yalom the philosophical approaches of thinkers such as Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre ( a , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) or Heidegger enriched with everyday people and respect them as completed literally in my eyes. Anyone with the texts of the above-mentioned philosophers been able to gain something will be delighted by this chapter. To me the lyrics to freedom, or rather, the threat to art, giving us the full responsibility for our lives only in our two, sometimes weak, puts his hands extremely interesting.
illuminated in the section on isolation of the author in addition to the interpersonal and intrapersonal isolation mainly the special form of existential isolation, and shows its potential Expression by one of the previous mentioned types of insulation. Closely related to the burden of freedom, which we at times like in the hands of others, we would probably put minded people, even the burden of ultimate solitude with themselves that is alleviated only superficially by the presence of closely related people. Yalom also shows again using impressive clinical case examples and many references, that it is indeed a basis for growth-oriented relationship to other people, this existential fear of isolation and the other species to break up the isolation and to identify them as what they really are.
The last major section in Yalom work is devoted to the sense or in its pathological expression, the absolute absence of meaning, and he draws heavily on the ideas of Viktor Frankl . Here I would have definitely wanted some other thoughts constructs. What was interesting however, was Yalom perspective on the genesis of Frankl's theory and thus their focus. By Yalom remarks to Frankl's ideas, this construct has widened dramatically for me and also something to the other port, to me interesting constructs found.
By construction, the structure and writing is very accessible work Yalom and look interesting. Each of the four major chapters contains separate chapters or sections on the introduction to the actual subject matter, the effects and the detection of various pathologies, and the discussion of a possible therapeutic approach. But the wealth of information and the extensive nature of the thought constructs the reader calls in a special way. This is anything but a burgeoning criticism of a fantastic insight for me into one, I really home feeling perspective on the people of today. A truly enriching book, which I anyone who can create an interest in psychotherapy and / or philosophy only to the heart.
