Week 7 Assignment: Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

Humanistic – Existential Psychotherapy (HEP) and Cognitive Behavioural Theory (CBT) are two of the most used approaches to counselling therapies. It is imperative to examine the use of HEP in comparison to other psychotherapeutic approaches in practice. This paper aims to compare HEP and CBT approaches to psychotherapy and establish how the differences between the two approaches affect PMHNP practice. Equally, the paper provides a rationale for using HEP in a case study and speculates the expected outcomes if CBT was used in the same case.

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Week 7 Assignment: Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Theory

HEP focuses on the human condition, emphasizing internal human conflicts that occur with conditions built into human existence, such as freedom and responsibility (Hoffman, Serlin,  & Rubin, 2019). Generally, HEP incorporates the use of a range of approaches to contextualizing therapeutic goals. The theory focuses on helping individuals find meaning, and self-identity, and relate to the world. Comparatively, CBT is based on the concept that psychological health depends on an individual’s ability to adapt functionally and cognitively to the diverse situations and conditions in the surrounding environment (Wheeler, 2020).  CBT focuses on altering behavioral consequences that cause distress and improving well-being across various physical and mental health problems (David, Cristea, & Hofmann, 2018).

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Three differences between Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Theory

One difference between the two therapies is in the focus of the therapy sessions. Humanistic-existential psychotherapy focuses on a person’s worldview and the effect it has on the choices made. The client has the choice and free will to form their lives as they see fit, but they are made to understand the connection between how they view the world and the choices that cause distress (Wheeler, 2020). For CBT, the focus is on the present, where the therapist seeks to change the negative interpretations and significant life events (Wheeler, 2020). This difference can aid the evaluation of a definitive theory modality relevant to a specific case in PMHNP practice. The difference defines the approach used by the practitioner in approaching the therapy session and guiding the therapy sessions.

The second difference concerns the therapist’s role. For HEP, the therapist acts as a teacher and guides the session (Hoffman et al., 2019). The therapist’s role is to actively listen and respond to the client’s questions for clarification while letting the client direct the session. On the other hand, CBT requires that the therapist lead the client and assists them to modify and eliminate problematic thoughts. Noting this difference is essential as a PMHNP, as it guides the type of participation most likely to produce the desired results. By understanding the difference, a PMHNP can utilize different contextual skills such as active listening skills and building a rapport with the patient.

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The third difference is in the goals of therapy. In human-existential psychotherapy, the goal is to free the client from fears of meaningless, isolation, and death, leading to existential anxiety, and help them achieve a deeper understanding of themselves and live an authentic life (Grande, n.d). On the other hand, the goal of CBT is to replace negative thoughts and patterns with helpful, better, and more accurate patterns. Thus, when preparing for a session, the PMHNP has to have goals specific to each approach. As such, a behavioral therapy approach would require a more holistic approach to goal setting that incorporates the critical tenets of the approach, while in HEP, the goals are specific to the outcomes desired by the patient.

Why Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy and Expected Potential Outcome

Humanistic-existential psychotherapy was utilized because the patient expresses his inability to feel alive, which is a significant demonstration of the client’s lack of purpose in life. The patient expresses frustration about having such a feeling and does not understand why he feels the way he feels (Psychotherapy Net, n.d.). The treatment offered was right for the patient because the goal is to dispel this fear, explained as worthlessness. The theory is vital in guiding the client into a space of self-actualization, self-awareness, and the formation of an identity.

The expected outcome if CBT was used includes the client’s identification of negative patterns of behavior that affect his emotional well-being. The client is made to realize that he has a significant contribution to their recovery. Equally, the client is expected to solve his anger and rage by replacing the negative thoughts with positive thoughts and behavioral patterns. Thus, the client finds meaning in his life to make him feel alive again.

Conclusion

Both HEP and CBT provide psychotherapists with appropriate guidelines to manage various mental health concerns. However, PEP uses a humanistic approach to psychotherapy, i.e., recognizes the uniqueness of every individual, while CBT uses a behavioral approach to psychotherapy, i.e., focuses on the role of the environment in human behavior. Nevertheless, both modalities contribute to effective therapy outcomes.

References

David, D., Cristea, I., & Hofmann, S. G. (2018). Why cognitive behavioural therapy is the current gold standard of psychotherapy. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00004

Grande, T. (n.d). Theories of Counseling – Existential Therapy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvAvc2aWup0

Hoffman, L., Serlin, I. A., & Rubin, S. (2019). The History of Existential‐Humanistic and Existential‐Integrative Therapy. The Wiley World Handbook of Existential Therapy, 235-246.

Psychotherapy Net. (n.d.). James Bugental Live Case Consultation Psychotherapy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl8tVTjdocI

Wheeler, K. (2020). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-to guide for evidence-based practice (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing.

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Week 7 Assignment: Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

To prepare:

• Review the humanistic-existential psychotherapy videos in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Reflect on humanistic-existential psychotherapeutic approaches.
• Then, select another psychotherapeutic approach to compare with humanistic-existential psychotherapy. The approach you choose may be one you previously explored in the course or one you are familiar with and especially interested in.
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The Assignment

In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following:

• Briefly describe humanistic-existential psychotherapy and the second approach you selected.
• Explain at least three differences between these therapies. Include how these differences might impact your practice as a PMHNP.
• Focusing on one video you viewed, explain why humanistic-existential psychotherapy was utilized with the patient in the video and why it was the treatment of choice. Describe the expected potential outcome if the second approach had been used with the patient.
• Support your response with specific examples from this week’s media and at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources. Explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.

Note: The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates ). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

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