Humanistic-existential therapy focuses on helping clients address feelings of loneliness, alienation, and an inability to find meaning that result from society and family curbing their needs for personal growth, self-actualization, and free emotional expression. The therapy creates a supportive environment for clients to freely express emotions and remove obstacles to achieving complexity, balance and integration in their lives. The therapist acts as a facilitator while the client takes responsibility for their behaviors and the success of therapy through understanding their unique experiences and initiating self-growth.

1. Humanistic-Existential Therapy
By Me

2. What is Humanistic-Existential
Therapy?
• It suggests that psychological distress comes
from things like feelings of loneliness,
alienation, and an inability to find meaning
and fulfilment in life.
• Humans are motivated by the
desire for personal growth and
self-actualisation.
• When these needs are
curbed by society and family,
humans experience
psychological distress.

3. Self-Actualisation
• It is defined as an innate force that moves the
person to become more complex, balanced
and integrated.
• In other words, achieving complexity and
balance without being fragmented; being the
same person despite having different
experiences.
• Frustration of self-actualisation can cause
distress in the same way lack of food and
water can.

4. Healing
• It occurs when the client is able to see and remove the
obstacles to self-actualisation in their life.
• Self-actualisation requires free emotional expression.
• The family and society curb emotional
expression, as they fear free expression
can harm society by unleashing
destructive forces. (Raven Teen
Titans???)
• This leads to destructive behaviours
and negative emotions by thwarting
emotional integration.

5. Characteristics
• Creating a permissive, non-judgemental and
accepting atmosphere where the clients
emotions can be freely expressed; complexity,
balance and integration can be acheived.
• The basic assumption is that the client has
free will, and is responsible for their
behaviours.
• The therapist is just a facilitator and guide; the
client is responsible for the success of therapy.

6. Aims
• The chief aim of the therapy is
to expand the client’s
awareness.
• Healing takes place by
understanding the unique
personal experience of the
client.
• The client initiates the process
of self-growth through which
healing takes place.

7. “That’s all Folks!”
I mean, no one probably listened to any of this lmao