Who Is an Existential-Humanistic Therapist?

In my previous blogs, I explored the importance of being in the present moment and how an Existential-Humanistic therapist embraces that. In this blog, I will explore four qualities, attitudes, and skills that an Existential-Humanistic (EH) therapist uses within the client-therapist relationship.

1. Within the context of the client-therapist relationship, the EH therapist places a high value on being authentic. This facilitates the client to trust their own authenticity. As a result, the client can more easily access and express the full range of their feelings. The client realizes the courage it takes to be authentic and the necessity of it to live an optimal life.

2. The EH therapist values the mutuality of the client-therapist relationship. There is mutual respect and caring between the therapist and the client. The relationship is not hierarchal. The EH therapist is not the authority on how the client should live their life. The client is. The EH therapist’s expertise lies in providing the container and facilitating the client to discover how they want to live their life. There is a level of equality that is recognized because the reality is both therapist and client are human beings navigating their own life. There is an appreciation of the reciprocity of needs being met while recognizing that those needs are different.

3. The EH therapist uses the relationship between the client and the therapist as a powerful vehicle for directly exploring the client’s relationship issues. By exploring the authentic client-therapist relationship, there is a deeper awareness of how the client relates to others in their life.

4. An EH therapist places a high value on fostering the development of an I-Thou relationship (Martin Buber) between the client and the therapist. The EH therapist acknowledges the sacredness of the relationship. The EH therapist consciously addresses what might be preventing the I-Thou relationship from developing.

I want to acknowledge Irv Yalom, MD, for emphasizing the importance of the client-therapist relationship. When I interviewed him in 2006, he emphasized that the client and therapist are ‘fellow travelers’ on the journey of life. This relationship is a mutual mirror for how the client and therapist relate in their lives. It becomes a vehicle for personal growth.

Stay tuned for my final blog in this series. I will explore how an EH therapist facilitates a client to find meaning and to self-actualize in order to live an optimal life.