Existential therapy is considered to be founded by the American psychologist Rollo May (Fig. 13).

Rice. 13. Founder of existential therapy, American psychologist Rollo May.

Rollo May considered it unacceptable to reduce human nature to the realization of deep instincts or to reactions to environmental stimuli. He was convinced that a person is largely responsible for who he is and how his life path develops. His numerous works are devoted to the development of this idea, and he has been teaching this to his clients for decades.

Existential psychotherapy is one of the areas of humanistic psychology. The main emphasis is not on studying the manifestations of the human psyche, but on his life itself in inextricable connection with the world and other people.

Existential psychotherapy is a collective concept to denote psychotherapeutic approaches that emphasize “free will”, free development of personality, awareness of a person’s responsibility for the formation of his own inner world and choice of life path.

To a certain extent, all psychotherapeutic approaches of existential psychotherapy have a genetic relationship with the existential direction in philosophy - the philosophy of existence, which arose in the 20th century as a consequence of the shocks and disappointments caused by two world wars.

The central concept of the teaching is existence (human existence) as an undifferentiated integrity of object and subject; the main manifestations of human existence are care, fear, determination, conscience, love. All manifestations are determined through death - a person perceives his existence in borderline and extreme states (struggle, suffering, death). By comprehending his existence, a person gains freedom, which is the choice of his essence.

The philosophical basis of existential therapy is the phenomenological approach, the goal of which is to reject the acceptance of all concepts of reality in order to get to what cannot be doubted - to pure phenomena. The phenomenological approach is associated with the name of Edmund Husserl. This is where Martin Heidegger's philosophy comes from.

Heidegger argued that people, unlike objects, exist in an interactive unity with reality. They are sources of activity rather than fixed objects, and are constantly in dialogue with their surroundings. At any given moment, the individual is a creative combination of past experience and the present situation. As a result, it does not remain constant for a minute. Heidegger would consider that belief in a fixed personality structure, including various labels of borderline, passive, or narcissistic personality, is an inauthentic way of relating to oneself and others. People don't "have" personality; they constantly create and recreate it through their own choices and actions.

Jean-Paul Sartre suggested that when people are faced with the need to take responsibility for themselves and their choices, they begin to experience anxiety. The concept of a fixed identity reduces anxiety. Treating yourself as a good person replaces examining your behavior and making choices based on rightness and virtue. If you identify as borderline, you no longer need to hold yourself responsible for your impulsive actions. To avoid feelings of choice anxiety, we all need a fixed identity, such as “doctor” or “honest man.” However, what really matters is not who we are, but what we do, that is, what style of behavior we choose.

Every time a person makes a choice, he opens up new possibilities both in himself and in the world around him. For example, if you behave cruelly towards someone, then you expose both your negative sides and perhaps the negative sides of that person. If you behave in a caring manner, you can allow your potential positive qualities to come out.

Thus, people are beings through which reality manifests itself. Human actions make it possible to clearly express what was previously only potential or “hidden” in reality. The most important type of knowledge is knowledge of “how” (that is, it is related to actions). For example, learning to play the guitar reveals not only the creative potential of the player, but also the musical potential of the instrument. Mental knowledge of facts is less useful. Therapy should teach you how to be a person, and not gain knowledge about yourself, that is, about your past. People need to learn to listen to themselves and match the nature of their developing personality.

Existential psychotherapy, like the concept of “existentialism” itself, includes many different directions and trends, but it is based on some general ideas and principles.

The ultimate goal Existential therapy is about empowering clients to understand their own goals in life and make authentic choices. In all cases, therapy helps them to “release their limitations” and also contributes to their development. Clients must face themselves and what they have been avoiding - their anxiety and, ultimately, their limits. Often, to control anxiety, people give up their deepest potentials. Choosing to realize your potential means taking risks, but there will be no riches or joy in life unless people learn to face the possibility of loss, tragedy, and ultimately death.

The first thing the client needs to do is to expand the ability of awareness, that is, to comprehend: the potential that he is refusing; means used to maintain failure; a reality he can choose; anxiety associated with this choice. To help the client succeed in this, the therapist uses two main tools - empathy and authenticity.

Empathy is used as a form of phenomenological method. The therapist attempts to respond to the client without prejudice. An empathic and non-judgmental attitude can help the client reveal their inner world.

Another important tool is the therapist's own authenticity. If the goal of therapy is to achieve authenticity in the client, then the therapist must model this authenticity. In order to become authentic, the client needs to learn that he does not have to play a role, that he does not have to strive to be perfect or to be what others want him to be. He also does not have to give up aspects of his own experience and can take risks. The therapist should model these qualities and try to become a real person in therapy.

In existential therapy, being real or authentic means sharing with the client your immediate impressions and opinions about him. Essentially, it is providing the client with direct, personal feedback.

Advisory contact in existential therapy can be described as follows: the existential therapist makes sure that his patient is as open as possible to the opportunities that arise during his life, is able to make a choice and actualize them.

Goal of therapy– the most complete, rich, meaningful existence.

In line with existential therapy, another important direction has emerged, represented by a separate international educational program at our institute - logotherapy.

At all times, people have faced psychological manifestations such as disappointment, fatigue from life, lack of self-confidence, turning into depression. The problems in different eras were also different, but people’s feelings and experiences are similar. Today, more and more often, people suffer from a loss of meaning in life and internal emptiness, the cause of which is some kind of troubles in life. Existential psychotherapy is designed to help such people.

The concept of existential psychotherapy

Existential psychotherapy is a set of rules and psychological approaches for returning a person to a normal life, full of worries and meaning. Here the emphasis is on awareness of oneself not as a separate object, closed in itself and its experiences, but as a part of being, the reality around. Therapy creates responsibility for one’s life and what happens in it. The term itself comes from the Latin existentia - “existence”. and psychotherapy closely resonate with philosophy. In the twentieth century, such a direction as the “philosophy of existence” arose, which is close in essence to existential psychotherapy.

The existential direction in psychotherapy arose thanks to his teaching, which he worked on in the 1830s. Its main postulates said that man is inseparable from the outside world and social life. The main components of human existence are conscience, love, fear, care, determination. A person begins to realize his essence in extreme situations, such as death, struggle, suffering. By revaluing the past, a person becomes free. Kierkegaard introduced the concept of existence, a unique and one-of-a-kind human life, separate for each individual. He discovered a connection with turning points in fate and self-awareness, a different view of himself and life after the shock he experienced.

Bugental's postulates

James Bugental is president of the Association for Existential Psychotherapy. In 1963, he identified the basic concepts of existential psychotherapy:

• Man is a holistic being that must be assessed and studied in the sum of all its components. In other words, partial functions cannot serve to assess personality, only all factors as a whole.
• Human life is not isolated, but tied to interpersonal relationships. A person cannot be studied without taking into account his experience of communication.
• It is possible to understand a person only by taking into account her self-awareness. The individual continuously evaluates himself, his actions, and thoughts.
• A person is the creator of his life, he is not an outside observer, past whom pictures of existence fly by, but an active participant in the action. He creates the resulting experience himself.
• A person’s life has meaning and purpose, his thoughts are directed to the future.

Existential psychotherapy is aimed at studying a person in life, in the world around him, with his life situations. Each of us gains our own life experience in communicating with the world around us, with other people. This forms our psychological picture, without which it is impossible to help the patient in psychotherapy. A set of personal qualities will not give full awareness of the individual, a person does not live in isolation, inside his cocoon, he is constantly developing, changing forms of behavior, assessing the environment and, based on this, performing certain actions. Therefore, some psychologists avoid the concept of personality, since it does not allow us to fully study all aspects of human existence and consciousness.

Goals of therapy

Existential psychotherapy aims to direct a person’s thoughts in the right direction, help to understand life, understand its importance and all the opportunities provided. The therapy does not involve changing the patient's personality. All attention is directed precisely to life itself, to rethinking certain events. This makes it possible to take a fresh look at reality, without illusions and speculation, and make plans for the future and define goals. Existential psychotherapy determines the meaning of life in everyday worries, responsibility for one’s own life and freedom of choice. The ultimate goal is to make it harmonious by creating a new view of existence. We can say that therapy helps you understand life, teaches you to confront problems, find ways to solve them, explores all the possibilities for improving your existence and encourages action. Patients are not perceived as sick people, but as those who do not know how to rationally use their capabilities, and who are tired of life. If a person is confused in life and his thoughts, it is a big mistake to treat him as if he were sick. This is what representatives of existential psychotherapy think. You cannot treat him as a helpless person, you just need to help him rethink what is happening around him and choose the right path along which he will go into the future meaningfully and with a specific purpose. The goal is not to change the personality, but after undergoing therapy, a person may understand that he needs to change something in order to improve his life, that now he is not living the way he wants, because decisive action is needed. Existential psychotherapy is an opportunity to gain knowledge and freedom, strength, patience. It teaches you not to close yourself off from reality, not to hide from problems, but to study and feel life through suffering, experiences, disappointments, but to perceive them adequately.

Psychotherapy and philosophy

Now it becomes clear why the existential tradition in psychotherapy originated from philosophy, and why it is closely interconnected with it. This is the only psychotherapeutic teaching whose principles are substantiated by philosophy. The founder of existential teaching can be called the Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard. Other Western philosophers who made a great contribution to the development of the existential school: German philosopher, classic of existential philosophy M. Heidegger, as well as M. Buber, P. Tillich, K. Jaspers, French philosopher Sartre and many others. Over time, existential psychotherapy has become widespread. Representatives of Russian philosophy also did not stand aside and invested no less effort and knowledge into existential teaching. These are V. Rozanov, S. Frank, S. Trubetskoy, L. Shestov, N. Berdyaev.

For the first time, the Swiss psychoanalyst L. Binswanger decided to combine philosophy and psychotherapy. He made such an attempt in the 30s of the twentieth century, proposing an existential approach to psychotherapy. The paradox is that he did not practice this area, but was able to determine the basic principles of a person’s inner world, his behavior and reaction to the surrounding reality, and lay the foundations of therapy. He can be called the founder of existential psychotherapy. Medard Boss, a Swiss psychiatrist, proposed his concept, the first of its kind. This happened in the 50s of the twentieth century. He took the teachings of the German philosopher Heidegger as a basis and transformed them for use in psychotherapy. He is considered the founder of one of the areas of existential therapy - Dasein analysis, which contains a model of understanding a person. In the 60s, Boss organized a training program for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists using his own methods. Existential psychotherapy now has many currents, its techniques differ, but they have one goal - to make a person’s life comfortable and of high quality.

Frankl's psychotherapy

One of the most typical representatives of existential psychotherapy is Viktor Frankl. He is an Austrian and a neurologist. Existential psychotherapy, the methods of which are based on the teachings of Frankl, is called logotherapy. His main idea is that the main thing for a person is to find the meaning of existence and understand his life, he should strive for this. If a person does not see the meaning, his life turns into emptiness. Frankl's existential psychotherapy is based on the understanding that existence itself poses questions to a person about the meaning of existence, and not vice versa, and a person needs to answer them with actions. Existentialists believe that each of us can find meaning, regardless of gender, age, nationality or religion, or social status.

The path to meaning is individual for every person, and if he cannot find it himself, therapy comes to the rescue. But existentialists are confident that a person himself is able to do this; they call the main guide conscience, which Frankl considered “the organ of meaning,” and called the ability to find it self-transcendence. An individual can get out of a state of emptiness only by interacting with the surrounding reality; It is impossible to do this by withdrawing into yourself and focusing on your inner experiences. Frankl argued that 90% of drug addicts and alcoholics became like this due to the loss of the meaning of life and the loss of the path to it. Another option is reflection, when a person focuses on himself, trying to find happiness in this; this is also a false path. The developed one is based on counteraction to reflection - dereflection, as well as paradoxical intention.

Methods of logotherapy. Dereflexion

Dereflection involves complete surrender to the outside, stopping delving into one’s own experiences. This method is used in the presence of obsessive-compulsive neuroses. An example of such violations is often problems in sexual life associated with fear of impotence and frigidity. Frankl believed that sexual behavior is associated with the desire for pleasure and the fear of its absence. Trying to find happiness, constantly concentrating on it, a person does not find it. He goes into reflection, observing himself as if from the outside, analyzing his feelings and ultimately not receiving any satisfaction from what is happening. Frankl sees the solution to the problem as getting rid of reflection, self-forgetfulness. As an example of the successful application of the dereflection method in Frankl's practice, one can highlight the case of a young woman who complained of frigidity. She had been abused in her youth and was constantly afraid that this would affect her sex life and her ability to enjoy it. And it was precisely this focus on oneself, one’s feelings and emotions, digging into oneself that provoked the deviation, but not the fact of violence itself. When the girl was able to switch attention from herself to her partner, the situation changed in her favor. She was able to enjoy sexual intercourse and the problem disappeared. The range of applications of the dereflection method is wide and can be useful in solving many psychological problems.

Paradoxical intention

Paradoxical intention is a concept based on Frankl's teachings about fears and phobias. He argued that some event gradually leads him to exactly what he is afraid of. For example, an individual becomes poor or sick because he experiences the emotions and feelings of such a person in advance, being afraid of becoming one. The term “intention” comes from the Latin intentio - “attention, desire”, which means internal direction towards something, and “paradoxical” means the opposite of action, contradiction. The essence of this method is to deliberately create the situation that causes fear. Instead of avoiding any circumstance, you need to meet it halfway, this is the paradox.

You can give an example with a scene. A man, once performing on stage in front of the audience and at the same time being worried, noticed that the next time before going out, he began to be afraid that his hands would shake again, and this fear came true. Fear begets fear, as a result, all this turned into a phobia, the symptoms were repeated and intensified, and a fear of waiting appeared. In order to get rid of this condition and live calmly, enjoy life, it is necessary to eliminate the root cause of fear. The method can be applied independently, having formed a clear intention to create a situation opposite to the one from which you would like to get rid of. Let's give a couple of examples.

One boy wet himself every night in his sleep, and his therapist decided to use the method of paradoxical intention on him. He told the child that every time this happened again, he would receive a reward. Thus, the doctor transformed the boy’s fear into a desire for this situation to happen again. So the child got rid of his illness.

This method can also be used for insomnia. A person cannot sleep for a long time, the fear of a sleepless night begins to haunt him every evening. The more he tries to understand his feelings and tune in to sleep, the less successful he is. The solution is simple - stop delving into yourself, being afraid of insomnia, and plan to deliberately stay awake all night. Existential psychotherapy (the use of paradoxical intention in particular) allows you to take a fresh look at the situation and gain control over yourself and your life.

Client-centered method

Another area that includes existential psychotherapy. The basic concepts and techniques of its application differ from the classical ones. Client-centered therapy was developed by American psychologist Carl Rogers and described in his book Client-Centered Therapy: Current Practice, Meaning, and Theory. Rogers believed that a person in his life is guided by the desire for development, professional and material growth, while using available opportunities. He is designed in such a way that he must solve problems that arise before him and direct his actions in the right direction. But this ability can only develop in the presence of social values. Rogers introduced concepts that define the main criteria for personality development:

• Field of experience. This is the inner world perceived by a person, through the prism of which he perceives external reality.
• Self. Uniting physical and spiritual experience.
• I am real. Ideas about yourself based on life situations and the attitudes of people around you.
• I am perfect. How a person imagines himself if he realizes his potential.

The “real self” strives for the “ideal self.” The fewer differences there are between them, the more harmonious an individual feels in life. According to Rogers, adequate self-esteem, a person’s acceptance of himself as he is, is a sign of mental and mental health. Then they talk about congruence (internal consistency). If the difference is large, a person is characterized by ambition and pride, overestimating his capabilities, and this can lead to neuroses. The real Self may never get closer to the ideal due to life circumstances, insufficient experience, or because a person imposes on himself attitudes, behavior patterns, and feelings that distance him from the “ideal Self.” The main principle of the client-centered method is the tendency towards self-actualization. A person must accept himself as he is, acquire self-respect and strive for growth and development within limits that do not violate his self.

Client-Centered Method Techniques

The existential approach to psychotherapy according to the Carl Rogers method identifies seven stages of development, awareness and self-acceptance:

1. There is a detachment from problems, a lack of desire to change your life for the better.
2. A person begins to show his feelings, express himself, and reveal his problems.
3. Development of self-expression, acceptance of oneself with all the complexity of the situation, one’s problems.
4. There is a need for originality, a desire to be yourself.
5. Behavior becomes organic, spontaneous, easy. Inner freedom appears.
6. A person opens up to himself and the world. Classes with a psychologist can be cancelled.
7. The emergence of a realistic balance between the real self and the ideal self.

The main components of the method are identified:

• reflection of emotions,
• verbalization,
• establishing congruence.

Let's briefly look at each of them.

Reflection of emotions. During the conversation, the psychologist names out loud the emotions that the client experienced in a given situation, based on his story.

Verbalization. The psychologist retells the client’s messages in his own words, but does not distort the meaning of what is said. This principle was created to highlight the most significant parts of the client’s narrative, the most disturbing moments.

Establishing congruence. A healthy balance between the real and ideal self. The rehabilitation process can be considered successful if the client’s condition changes in the following direction:

• perceives himself adequately, is open to other people and new experiences, the level of self-esteem returns to normal;
• operational efficiency increases;
• realistic view of problems;
• vulnerability decreases, adaptability to the situation increases;
• reduction of anxiety;
• change in behavior in a positive direction.

Rogers' technique is quite successfully used in school with teenagers, in conflict management. It also has a contraindication - its use is undesirable if a person really does not have the opportunity to grow and develop.

Awareness of death

There is a belief that people who have experienced clinical death or serious illness value their lives more deeply and achieve a lot. Realizing the inevitable finitude of existence, death, existential psychotherapy forces you to rethink your attitude towards the entire world around you, to perceive reality in a different light. Usually a person does not constantly think about death, but when faced with a serious illness, he may behave inappropriately. For example, close himself off from others, withdraw into himself, or begin to take revenge on all the healthy people around him. The psychologist’s work using this method should lead to the client’s acceptance of the disease as an opportunity for personal growth. For a prepared person, the proximity of death leads to a reassessment of values ​​and concentration on the present moment. He opens up to other people, his family and friends are no exception: relationships become close and sincere.

Existential psychotherapy, whose death awareness techniques may seem gloomy to some, actually helps many people overcome the difficulties that have happened to them with dignity.

(unique and unrepeatable human life) in philosophical and cultural usage. He also drew attention to the turning points in human life, which open up the opportunity to live further in a completely different way than has been lived until now.

Currently, a number of very different psychotherapeutic approaches are designated by the same term existential therapy (existential analysis). Among the main ones we can mention:

• Existential analysis of Ludwig Binswanger.
• Dasein analysis by Medard Boss.
• Existential analysis (logotherapy) by Viktor Frankl.
• Existential analysis of Alfried Langle.

Most of them pay attention to the same basic elements of existence: love, death, loneliness, freedom, responsibility, faith, etc. For existentialists, it is fundamentally unacceptable to use any typologies, universal interpretations: to comprehend anything in relation to each specific person is possible only in the context of his specific life.

Existential therapy helps to cope with many seemingly dead-end life situations:

• depression;
• fears;
• loneliness;
• addictions, workaholism;
• obsessive thoughts and actions;
• emptiness and suicidal behavior;
• grief, the experience of loss and the finitude of existence;
• crises and failures;
• indecision and loss of life guidelines;
• loss of feeling of fullness of life, etc...

Therapeutic factors in existential approaches are: the client’s understanding of the unique essence of his life situation, the choice of attitude towards his present, past and future, the development of the ability to act, accepting responsibility for the consequences of his actions. The existential therapist makes sure that his patient is as open as possible to the opportunities that arise during his life, is able to make choices and actualize them. The goal of therapy is the most fulfilling, rich, meaningful existence.

A person can be whoever he decides to be. His existence is always given as an opportunity to go beyond himself in the form of a decisive throw forward, through his dreams, through his aspirations, through his desires and goals, through his decisions and actions. A throw that always involves risk and uncertainty. Existence is always immediate and unique, as opposed to the universal world of empty, frozen abstractions.

see also

Links

• Journal "Existential Tradition: Philosophy, Psychology"

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Existential therapy” is in other dictionaries:

Existential therapy- (existential therapy) therapy that encourages people to take responsibility for their lives and fill it with greater meaning and values... General psychology: glossary

EXISTENTIAL THERAPY- A form of psychotherapy based on the philosophical doctrine of existentialism. In practice, the existentialist approach is extremely subjective and focuses on the immediate situation (see being in the world and Dasein). She is different from most... ...

- (English existential therapy) grew out of the ideas of existential philosophy and psychology, which are focused not on the study of manifestations of the human psyche, but on his very life in inextricable connection with the world and other people (here being, being in the world ... Wikipedia

Existential therapy- - a variant of psychotherapy that is not aimed at eliminating any specific symptoms of the disorder, but has as its primary goal the prevention of their occurrence through awareness of one’s “way of being in the world.” The main one in such therapy... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

- (German Gestalttherapie) direction of psychotherapy, the main ideas and methods of which were developed by F. Perls, Laura Perls, Paul Goodman. Isedor From, Irven and Maryama Polster also made a great contribution to the development of the methodology and theory of Gestalt therapy,... ... Wikipedia

Schema therapy is a psychotherapy developed by Dr. Jeffrey E. Young for the treatment of personality disorders. This therapy is intended to work with patients who are unable... ... Wikipedia

Rational emotional behavioral therapy, REBT (English Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT); formerly rational therapy and rational emotional (emotive) therapy) actively directive, educational, structured ... Wikipedia

foreign psychotherapeutic techniques- DEPTH TECHNIQUES Active psychotherapy (Fromm Reichmann). Analysis of Being (Binswanger). Analysis of fate (Sondi). Character analysis (W. Reich). Self Analysis (H. Kohut, E. Erikson). Analytical play therapy (M. Klein). Analytical Family Therapy (Richter).... ... Great psychological encyclopedia

DASEINATYSE- A German term meaning what is now known as existential analysis or existential psychology. See existentialism and existential therapy... Explanatory dictionary of psychology

BEING-IN-WORLD- This term is the generally accepted translation of the term Hai degera Dasein. This clumsy, dashed phrase is used primarily within the framework of existentialism, where it represents the central idea of ​​that philosophy, that the integrity of man... ... Explanatory dictionary of psychology

Books

• Existential psychotherapy, Yalom Irwin D.. This book is one of the most fundamental and detailed works of the famous American psychotherapist, one of the most prominent representatives of the existential-humanistic movement.…
• In search of the present: existential therapy and existential analysis, Letunovsky Vyacheslav Vladimirovich. What is existential therapy? What are her methods? How does it differ from other areas of psychotherapy? How does existential analysis differ from psychoanalysis? And why is the popularity...

Rollo Reese May (1909-1994)

“Anxiety makes sense. Although it can be disruptive to a person's life, anxiety can be used constructively. The very fact that we survived means that once upon a time our ancestors were not afraid to face their worries.”

The main provisions of R. May's theory of personality are presented in Fig. 20.

Key Concepts

Human existence, Being-in-the-world, Dasein (Sein (being) plus da (here)). Dasein means that man is a being who is here, and it also implies that he has "here" that he can know about his being here and that he takes his place. Man is a being capable of thinking, and therefore he is responsible for his existence. It is this ability to be aware of one's being that distinguishes man from other creatures. In the words of Binswanger, the "choice of Dasein", this or that, implies "the person who is responsible for the choice of his existence."

Rice. 20

You can think of the term "being" as a participle, a verb form that means that someone is in the process of of being someone. You can use the word "being" as a noun, which is understood as potential, a source of potential opportunities. Man (or Dasein) is a special being who, if he wants to become himself, must be aware of himself, responsible for himself. He is also that special being who knows that at some certain point in the future he will not be: he is that being who is always in a dialectical relationship with non-existence, death. May emphasizes that being is not the same as "Ego". He writes that “my sense of being is Not the ability to view oneself as a being in the world, recognize oneself as a being, which can do all this. Being is inseparable from non-being - the absence of being.” In order to understand what it means to “be”, a person needs to realize the following: he could not exist at all, he walks on the edge of possible destruction every second, he cannot avoid the awareness that sometime in the future death will overtake him.

There are three modes of the world, that is, three simultaneously existing aspects of the world that characterize the existence of each of us in the world.

Umwelt - literally "the world around"; it is the biological world, which in modern times is usually called the environment. Weight organisms have the Umwelt mode. The Umwelt of animals and human organisms includes biological needs, drives, instincts - this is the world in which a living organism will still exist, even without being endowed with the ability to recognize itself.

Mitwelt - literally "in peace" this is the world of creatures of the same species, the world of people close to us; the world of relationships between people. The leading word is relationships. As May writes, “If I insist that another person must adapt to me, this means that I perceive him not as a person, Dasein, but as a means; and even if I adapt to myself, I use myself as an object... The essence of relationships is that in the process of interaction both people change» .

Eigenwelt - “own world”; this is the world of the true Self. Eigenwclt presupposes awareness of oneself as oneself. And this process is observed only in humans. This is our understanding of what something in this world means to me - this bouquet of flowers or another person.

These three modes of the world are always interconnected and always condition each other. The reality of being in the world is lost if the emphasis is placed only on one of the three modes of the world and the other two are excluded.

Will. The ability to organize one's “I” in such a way that there is movement in a certain direction or towards a certain goal. Will requires self-awareness, implies some possibility and/or choice, and gives desire direction and a sense of maturity.

Intentionality. The structure, the center in which we comprehend our past experiences and imagine our future. Outside this structure, neither the choice itself nor its further implementation is possible. “Intention lies action, and in every action there is intention.”

Ontological guilt. R. May highlights three types of ontological guilt, corresponding to the hypostases of being-in-the-world. " Environment" (umwelt) corresponds to the guilt caused by the separation of man and nature. This is a feeling of guilt regarding our distance from nature, although it can be suppressed. The second type of guilt comes from our failure to understand correctly the world of other people (mitwelt). Guilt towards our loved ones arises due to the fact that we perceive our loved ones through the blinders of our limitations and prejudices. And we always, in one way or another, find ourselves unable to fully understand the needs of other people and satisfy these needs. The third type is based on relationship with one’s own “I” (eigenwelt) and arises in connection with the denial of one’s potential.

Ontological guilt, according to R. May, has the following characteristics. Firstly, every person feels it in one way or another. We all misrepresent the reality of our fellow humans to one degree or another, and none of us live up to our full potential. Secondly, ontological guilt is not associated with cultural prohibitions or introjection of cultural tradition; All roots lie in the fact of self-awareness. Thirdly, if ontological guilt is not accepted and is repressed, then it can develop into a neurotic feeling of guilt. Fourthly, ontological guilt has a serious impact on the individual. In particular, it can and should lead to restraint, receptivity in relationships between people and the growth of creativity in the subject’s use of his potential.

Freedom. The state of a person who is ready for change is his ability to know about his predestination. Freedom is born from the awareness of the inevitability of one’s fate and, according to R. May, involves the ability to “always keep several different possibilities in mind, even if at the moment it is not entirely clear to us exactly how we should act.” R. May distinguished between two types of freedom: freedom of action (existential freedom) and freedom of being (essential freedom). “I” presupposes the world, and the world presupposes “I”; both of these concepts - or experiences - need each other. And contrary to popular belief, they move together: in general, the more a person is aware of himself, the more he is aware of the world, and vice versa. This inseparable connection between “I” and the world simultaneously presupposes responsibility. As R. May writes, freedom is not the opposite of determinism. Freedom is a person's ability to know that he is determined. This provision sets the boundaries of freedom. Freedom is neither permissiveness, nor even simple “doing what you like.” In fact, such living according to a whim or according to the demands of the stomach is the exact opposite of the actions of the centered personality discussed above. Freedom is limited by the fact that a person always exists in the world (society, culture) and is in a dialectical relationship with it. Besides, freedom requires the ability to accept and tolerate anxiety, to live constructively with it. To be free does not mean to shy away from anxiety, but to endure it; running away from anxiety automatically means giving up freedom.

Fate. A structure of limitations and abilities that constitute the “data” of our lives. Fate includes biological properties, psychological and cultural factors, without meaning total predetermination and doom. Destiny is what we are moving towards, our final station, our goal.

Anxiety. This is a fear in a situation where a value is threatened, which, according to a person, is vitally important for the existence of his personality. This may be a threat to physical existence (threat of death) or psychological existence (loss of freedom, meaninglessness). Or the danger may relate to some other value with which a person identifies his existence (patriotism, love of another person, “success”, and so on). Since anxiety threatens the foundations of human being as oneself, on a philosophical level anxiety is the awareness that the “I” may cease to exist (the so-called “threat of non-existence”). R. May distinguishes normal And neurotic anxiety.

Normal anxiety- a reaction that 1) is adequate to the objective threat; 2) does not trigger the repression mechanism or other mechanisms associated with intrapsychic conflict, and as a result 3) the person copes with anxiety without the help of neurotic defense mechanisms. A person can 4) deal with anxiety constructively at a conscious level, or anxiety decreases when the objective situation changes.

Neurotic anxiety- a reaction to a threat that 1) is inadequate to the objective danger; 2) includes repression (dissociation) and other manifestations of intrapsychic conflict and, therefore, 3) a person limits some of his actions or narrows the field of his consciousness through various mechanisms, such as suppression, symptom development and other neurotic defense mechanisms.

Transcending. The ability to go beyond the current situation. Existence is always in the process of transcending the Self.

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• 10. Frager R., Fadyman J. Personality: theories, experiments, exercises / R. Frager, J. Fadiman. - St. Petersburg: Prime-EUROZNAK, 2006. - 704 p.

I. Existential psychology / ed. R. May. - M.: April-Press & EKSMO-Press, 2001. - 624 p. - [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://ligis.ru/psylib/090417/books/meyro04/index.htm. - Cap. from the screen.