Existential Psychotherapy (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "ONCE, several years ago, some friends and I enrolled in a cooking class taught by an Armenian matriarch and her aged servant..." (more)
Key Phrases: unconscious death anxiety, ultimate rescuer, personal specialness, Rollo May, Viktor Frankl, Ivan Ilyich (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A classic for those studying existential psychotherapy and indeed for all clinicians." -- --Rollo MayA

"Should be read by every psychiatry resident and every clinical psychology intern. It belongs in the library of every psychotherapist." -- --H. Keith BrodieA

Product Description

The noted Stanford University psychiatrist distills the essence of a wide range of therapies into a masterful, creative synthesis, opening up a new way of understanding each person's confrontation with four ultimate concerns: isolation, meaninglessness, death, and freedom.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 524 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (December 7, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465021476
• ISBN-13: 978-0465021475
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,662 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #16 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Behavioral Sciences > Behavioral Psychology
  #34 in	Books > Science > Behavioral Sciences > Behavioral Psychology
  #37 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Illuminating Psych Book I've Read, April 3, 2006

By	Sophia Bezirganian "Bibliosophy" (NY United States) - See all my reviews

As a psychiatrist, I have yet to read a more illuminating book on how mental illnesses can develop, and how to help patients' to become free of them.
Existential Psychotherapy presents a theory of the existential forces that drive all human beings--knowledge of death, of our aloneness in the world, and of "meaninglessness" (the utter inconsequence of our one life in the entirety of the universe). It shows how these forces are powerful influences in shaping human mental health and illness.
Other reviewers here point out that the basic existential issues Yalom presents are well-known to academics and to many literate people who are exposed to them in that good, broad, liberal arts education we (still?) get in college. But what Yalom achieves in this book, has not to my knowledge been accomplished before (nor since): a presentation of these ideas to an audience of clinicians in a lucid, beautifully written, way that is salient to the daily practice of psychotherapy.
Yalom is a rare psychiatrist who is not only a master of the art of teaching and practicing psychiatry, but for this book, ventured into philosophy, literature, history, and sociology, and then integrated the wisdom each brings to the study of human nature, into a clear and cohesive whole, a beautifully written theory of the existential dimension of men's fears, drives, and actions, and how this dimension creates mental illness or health, depending on how each person handles it.
What is amazing is how such a book is now buried in the archives of (relative) obscurity, while others, recycling the same old tired ideas, reign on.
So what do these lofty insights in Yalom's book contribute that is unique and powerful to us lowly practitioners toiling daily in our offices in the (seemingly more banal) task of helping patients with daily crises, complaints, resistance to change, and painful repetitions of self-destructive life choices?
One very important tool: a true understanding of the power of existential concerns, not only in creating mental illness and self-destructive life paths, but, by shining a light on them-- capturing that elusive force of change: MOTIVATION. This force, and how to harness it to help patients overcome their suffering, has for me been one of my greatest challenges as a doctor. And one for which most books on psychotherapy have fallen short in helping me tackle.
In the sections "death" and "will", (two of the four main sections in the book), Yalom forges a path that I could follow, to help my patients free themselves of the fears that block motivation for change. In short, Yalom shows how the anxiety about, (and thus avoidance of) awareness of our death and aloneness, can cripple us into denial, and resistance to changing those of our behaviors that shield us from these truths. But, these very fears, when faced and reframed--as the awareness of one's finite limits, and of the freedom that comes along with one's aloneness, become extremely potent engines for change. Other peoples' judgements, and fear of failure, lead us to believe that the human "judges" are the most important threat in our lives. But in Yalom's world, these feared judgements pale in comparison to the the consequences of inaction. When we live with acute awareness that we waste our only life when we are beholden to judges who are after all, mortal and alone just like us, this can shake us up to MOVE and LIVE, in this finite life, in a way other insights cannot.
This example of how avoidance of existential fears leads to anxiety, low self-worth, and depression, is but one vignette in this book. Yalom applies his theory to the gamut of mental illness, and includes discussion of how narcissism, perversions, obssessions, masochism, sadism, ...the list goes on, are fueled by existential concerns. Yalom argues that they all boil down to one of two main strategies we humans employ to "forget" Death, Aloneness, and Meaninglessness: Either we escape too much into the protective cover of the GROUP, and become mindless group robots who drone through life until illness, or loss forces us to suddenly face our mortality, at which point many of us panic, or become depressed, OR, we get sucked into this defiant delusion : "I am SPECIAL"...smarter, more rebellious, unfettered by the social conventions of meek men, thus free of death's jaws". This reaction then can lead to reckless, impulsive, pseudo "powerful" behaviors that are often the fuel of many "acting out" mental problems: addiction, sociopathy, sadism, and narcissism.
Enough of my words-read and feel the power of Yalom's words in this great book.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simply great stuff!, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This book is a very enriching and expanding experience, not only for the person reading the book, but also for the people around the reader, as you simply can't help discussing the themes with friends and family. It is admirable how Yalom treats the subject without neither moral judgement nor dogmatic lecturing, opening a challenging universe, leaving it to the reader to find his or her own way through the chaos of life. Compulsory reading for anyone interested in psychology, philosophy or simply oneself and other human beings.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book! Makes mid-life crisis understandable., September 22, 1999

By A Customer

Quenches a thirst for understanding during a time of life that demands introspection. Yalom's writing style is easily understood, and his statements are backed up with examples to drive home his point. An excellent piece of work!