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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

[Anxiety as an existential phenomenon. An existential analytic approach to understanding and therapy of anxieties].

From the existential analytical point of view, anxiety is considered to be a basic theme of existence. The experience of being threatened is most commonly related to the physical and material aspects of life. But on a deeper level anxiety deals with the search for foundational and supporting structures for existence. When one loses the sense of safety of being held and of having shelter in a world that does not offer ultimate securities, one is prone to anxiety. Anxiety can therefore be perceived as a subjective parameter of feeling threatened in the existential structures. This paper gives an outline of an existential analytical approach to the understanding of fear and anxiety, a basic classification of anxieties, and an overview of the following specific methods of an existential treatment search for foundational structures of existence, personal position-taking, dereflexion (Frankl) and paradoxical intention (Frankl).

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1996

[Mental health--personality--existentialism. An empirical contribution from the existential analytic viewpoint].

For the purposes of a survey of the correlation between psychic health-personhood-existentiality 211 predominantly higher qualified and in elevated professional positions working adults at the age of 18 to 70 years (43,6% male, 56,4% female) were examined with the Trierer-Persönlichkeitsfragebogen (TPF-Becker, 1989) and the Existenz-Skala (Längle & Orgler, 1991). The results show, that existentiality was found to be a correlative for psychic health to a medium extent in several subscales of the TPF; personhood correlates with psychic health only in the dimension self-transcendence, but not in the dimension self-distance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Existential support in brain tumour patients and their spouses.

UNLABELLED: Caring for patients with brain tumours raises existential questions. The aims of this study were to describe the opinions of nurses, patients and next-of-kin on existential support and how this is prioritised. PATIENTS AND METHOD: a total of 20 brain tumour patients, 16 family members and 16 nurses underwent explorative, tape-recorded, semi-structured interviews about existential issues. RESULTS: the nurses' opinions about the importance and prioritisation of existential support could be divided into four main groups: 1) religion, 2) "a diffuse picture", 3) conversation, and 4) questions of vital importance. They generally had a favourable attitude towards existential issues but thought those issues were difficult to deal with in practice due to lack of time, lack of knowledge and fear. Without exception, patients and family members were satisfied with the medical and physical treatment, but not with the existential support. They had, to a great extent, wished for existential support, and especially for the opportunity of talking about the existential threat that had arisen. Obstacles to this were thought to be due to the staff being under much stress, being afraid and unskilled. The importance of closeness and presence, which decreased existential isolation, was emphasised.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Beyond the metaphysical: health-promoting existential mechanisms and their impact on the health status of clients.

This paper aims to conceptualize the issues that surround the notion of existential health. It also seeks to establish the impact that existential issues have upon the health of the individual client and how these might explicitly be applied in clinical practice settings. The ability of clients to draw upon their own existential resources as a fundamental part of their health care experience often goes unrecognized in nursing. Whilst existential mechanisms may be theoretically recognized, as a valid aspect of an individual's unique and personal identity, they are not an established part of the health care activity of nurses. Entrenched biomedical frameworks of care delivery and the interchangeable use of metaphysical health states with existential health states in the established literature present particular dilemmas for the acknowledgement of existential health in clients. A review of the literature has been conducted. This account argues that the failure to recognize and assess a client's existential health status represents a major omission on the part of the clinical nurse. These nurses are, in effect, denying their clients the right to exercise and mobilize an important and valuable health resource.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2000

Treating career burnout: a psychodynamic existential perspective.

This article presents an approach for treating career burnout based on a psychodynamic existential perspective. Psychodynamic theory contributes the idea that people choose an occupation that enables them to replicate significant childhood experiences. Existential theory contributes the idea that people attempt to find existential significance through their work. It is suggested that when treating career burnout it is essential to address three questions: Why, psychodynamically, did this person choose this particular career, and how was it expected to provide existential significance? Why does this individual feel a sense of failure in the existential quest, and how is the sense of failure related to burnout? What changes need to take place for this individual to derive a sense of existential significance from work? A case illustration is presented that demonstrates the application of this approach.

Burnout, Professional↗
PubMed1985

Logical and conceptual problems of existential psychiatry.

The author has argued that existential psychology and psychiatry are not consistent with existential philosophy, from which they derive their basic concepts. Existential philosophy treats consciousness as an epistemic and ontological absolute while existential psychology and psychiatry acknowledge the existence of unconscious mental processes. It is not possible to base a viable concept of psychodynamic psychotherapy, the nature of transference, or the efficacy of interpretation upon the radical concept of freedom, which is basic to existential philosophy. If psychiatrists wish to experiment with nonpsychoanalytic dynamic psychologies, then it is the author's opinion that the advancement of knowledge would be better served either by using existentialist concepts and principles consistently or by explicitly altering them in clearly defined ways for stated reasons, or by formulating psychodynamic hypotheses that do not lay claim to any foundation in existential philosophy.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Existential loneliness: a review of the concept, its psychosocial precipitants and psychotherapeutic implications for HIV-infected women.

While many of the most urgent psychological issues that women with HIV infection are forced to deal with are existential in nature, and therefore shared by humankind, the assault on their physical and psychological being may trigger these issues in large amounts and may overwhelm their defensive structure. Existential loneliness may be an important existential issue that arises for these women and needs to be given equal consideration alongside other forms of loneliness. In this paper, we review the concept of existential loneliness, discuss methods to measure the concept, delineate some central psychosocial precipitants of existential loneliness among HIV-infected women, and discuss psychotherapeutic implications. We conclude that incorporating an existential philosophical perspective into one's particular therapeutic stance may be especially appropriate with this population.

Existentialism↗
PubMed2003

Existential concerns of families of late-stage dementia patients: questions of freedom, choices, isolation, death, and meaning.

UNLABELLED: Several studies focus on palliative aspects of the caregiver burden of dementia families. However, only few studies have addressed the existential perspective in this situation. The aim of this study was, therefore, to focus on issues of freedom/responsibility, existential isolation, death, and issues of meaning/meaninglessness. METHOD: Qualitative tape-recorded in-depth interviews with 20 family members were conducted. The transcripts were analyzed with a hermeneutic approach. RESULTS: To take responsibility (faithfulness; paying back) was generally perceived as rewarding, but in some cases it was more a matter of duty with elements of guilt and obligation. Existential isolation dealt with the hampered or ended communication with a spouse or parent who was no longer able to communicate; the situation of having no other relatives left in life or, the role-reversal (i.e., to parent your own parent). Thoughts about the impending death were affected by previous experiences, not only by the actual situation. Anticipatory grief was commonplace. Some informants described an increased awareness of the shortness of life, which made them live more intensely in the present. The illness itself was discussed in terms of meaninglessness. Still, many respondents were able to identify meaning in the past (memories), present (daily routines, positive aspects of responsibility) and future (to pass on the patient's lifework). DISCUSSION: The study underlines the importance of not only seeing the physical and psychosocial caregiver aspects, but also the existential ones that emerge when confronting impending death. Staff need to be more aware of existential issues in order to support families also in existential crisis.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The Existential Loneliness Questionnaire: background, development, and preliminary findings.

We described the background and the development of a new measure of existential loneliness, the Existential Loneliness Questionnaire (ELQ). Specifically, we analyzed the items of the preliminary version of the ELQ (ELQ-P) using methods based on item response theory (the Rasch model) and examined the convergent and discriminative validity of the ELQ in a sample of 47 HIV-infected women. Item analysis produced an ELQ version consisting of 22 items that were internally consistent and performed well in measuring an underlying construct conceptualized as existential loneliness. In addition, the ELQ discriminated well between symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV-infected women. The ELQ correlated strongly with measures of depression, loneliness not identified as existential and purpose-in-life and moderately strongly with a measure of hopelessness. Holding constant depression scores, the correlation between the ELQ and loneliness not identified as existential was significantly attenuated. Limitations of the study include the small sample size, which precluded an analysis of the dimensional structure of the ELQ.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Existential well-being is an important determinant of quality of life. Evidence from the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL) is being developed to correct what we perceive to be a flaw in existing quality of life instruments: neglect of the existential domain. METHODS: This study reports the first use of MQOL for people with cancer at all phases of the disease, including those with no evidence of disease after therapy. RESULTS: The data suggest that MQOL is comprised of an item measuring physical well-being and four subscales: physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, existential well-being, and support. MQOL is acceptable to oncology outpatients. Correlation of the MQOL total and subscale scores with a single item scale measuring overall quality of life and with the Spitzer Quality of Life Index suggests that MQOL has construct and concurrent validity. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that the existential domain is important, especially to those patients with a life-threatening illness, is supported because multiple regression showed that the existential subscale is at least as important as any other subscale in predicting a single item scale measuring the overall quality of life and plays a greater role in determining the quality of life of patients with local or metastatic disease than in patients with no evidence of disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Some reflections on clinical supervision: an existential-phenomenological paradigm.

This paper reviews psychotherapy, counselling, and nursing literature related to ideas of clinical supervision and attempts to illuminate areas important to effective health related practice and specifically palliative care. Included are explorations of existentialism, phenomenology, existential phenomenology and psychoanalytical concepts. The phenomenological idea of lived experience is outlined and the Heideggerian notion of authenticity is explored in context. The paper also examines dynamic forces such as hope, trust and personal values that might influence clinical supervision design and so inform a framework for practice. An existential-phenomenological method of supervision is offered as one basis for professional practice. The central recommendation of this paper is, however, to identify relevant value and belief systems to direct clinical supervision. Nursing models might appropriately instruct approaches to supervision. The writer considers the phenomenological idea of the lived experiences as a means by which to at once capture the essence of palliative care nursing and guide the supervision towards the existential idea of authenticity.

Clinical Competence↗