Existential Therapy
Existential therapy is a form of experiential depth psychology that involves deep exploration of your lived experience with the goal of developing authenticity, writing your own narrative, and being in healthy relationships with those in your life and the world around you. Working from an existential perspective involves attending to agency, connection, meaning-making, fulfillment, and suffering.
Agency is about shifting from autopilot or shoulds to intentionality. When you are in touch with your own agency, you can respond from a place of empowerment. You can form mutually supportive relationships and hold healthy boundaries, and learn to respond instead of reacting. And you can make choices informed by your strengths and abilities, rather than your fear and anxiety. Developing agency helps you trust your inner compass and live more true to who you are.
Connection to self, others, and the world is a core part of existential psychology. Connecting with ourselves offers the opportunity for self-discovery and self-compassion. In this, you can let go of what no longer serves you and invite in who you want to be now. We are inherently relational beings and find value and meaning in the space of connection with others. Connecting with the world helps us find ways to live our values, and to see the injustices around us and our place in addressing them.
“Making space for the transgressive image, the outlaw rebel vision, is essential to any effort to create a context for transformation.”
The stories we tell ourselves define how we see the world and understand who we are. So what happens when those stories are shaped by those who have abused, neglected, or misunderstood you? Let’s work together to write your own story—make your own meaning of what you’ve gone through and what your life is truly about.
You may have noticed I don’t talk much about happiness on this site. Happiness is a wonderful feeling, one I hope you get to have often. But happiness is not a state of being. Fulfillment, on the other hand, can be. A fulfilling life means you have found ways to live true to your own desires and abilities. This can bring deep satisfaction, joy, and a sense of meaning. Existential therapy supports you as you define what you want your life to be about. Can I help you figure out how to be happy all the time? No. But I’d love to help you find your own version of a fulfilling life.
Suffering is part of life. How you respond to suffering is up to you. Making friends with your suffering, which might seem strange, can ultimately help reduce distress and prevent overwhelm. Suffering is part of what makes us human. I want to help you start working with your pain—self-criticism, guilt, loneliness, depression, anxiety—rather than against it. There is relief on the other side.
“If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself.”
— Rollo May