Rollo May

Existential Psychology
 Third Force Psychology

Humanistic Tradition: Emphasis on higher, more developed,

healthier aspects of the human experience, betterment of
humanity
Existential Psychology: Emphasis on being-in-the-world, non-
being, meaning making.
Common = Emphasis on phenomenology, authenticity, freedom,
responsibility, emphasis on here and now
 What is existentialism

Gloom, despair, suicide, death

The world is an absurd place with no meaning
Kierkegaard & Nietzsche
Concerned with ontology, or the study of being
Rollo May:
Being (becoming) is a process in which we ourselves are the source of
change, as we struggle as individuals to realize our potentialthat is, as we
try to become what we truly are. Being (or becoming) is not given once and
for all; it does not unfold automatically. Instead, we each must become
aware of what our unique potentialities are and then take responsibility for
realizing them (May, 1983).
 Being-in-the-world
Dasein (German) to exist there
Unity of person and environment
Sense of anxiety, despair, alienation
Alienation as the illness of our time
Separation from nature Umwelt (relp with envt)
Lack of meaningful interpersonal relationships Mitwelt (relp with others)
Alienation from our authentic self Eigenwelt (relp with self)
 Non-being

Awareness of being = dread of non-being / nothingness

Death = the one fact of my life which is not relative but absolute
and my awareness of this gives my existence and my each hour
an absolute quality;
We are afraid of not being so we shrivel up our being
 Umwelt: ourselves in relation to the biological and physical aspects of our
world; being-in-nature
Mitwelt refers to the world of persons, the social world; being-with-others.
When we-are-with-others, we know that they are conscious beings who can
reflect on us, evaluate us, and judge us
Eigenwelt literally means own-world and refers to the way we reflect on,
evaluate, and experience ourselves; being-for-oneself.
Personalities differ in their ways of existing at each of these three levels of
being.
In trying to create a healthy existence, we are faced with the dilemma of
choosing the best way to be in-nature, with-others, and for-ourselves.
 Umwelt

Mitwelt Eigenwelt
 Subject/Object dichotomy

The human dilemma is that which arises out of a mans capacity to

experience himself as both subject and object at the same time (May, 1967)
 Free Will

We are subject to illness, death, limitations of intelligence and experience,

and other deterministic forces, at the same time we have the subjective
freedom to choose how we relate to these objective and deterministic
forces
 Immediate Experience

Focus on day to day living

We face a world filled with uncertainties, a world that, in many respects, is
absurd
We are finite and must die
We must assign meaning to our existence and act in terms of that meaning
We must exercise our freedom and act authentically
 Not being

We may choose not to exercise our freedom to be

We may avoid commitment to goals and responsibilities
We may decide to follow the moral dictates of the crowd
Choosing these options is easier than facing our responsibilities. The
exercise of freedom is costly. It creates severe anxiety, and an immediate
and easy way to cope is to lose ourselves by accepting the moral values
dictated by society. Such acceptance of values at variance with our being
leads to self alienation, apathy, and despair
 Existentialism and Psychoanalysis

Application of existentialism to psychotherapy by trained psychoanalysts

Mays existential-analytic perspective
Both ask fundamental questions about human existence and human nature
Focus on the irrational as well as the rational side of our natures
Concern with the alleviation of human suffering
Both blame society for not allowing people to be true to their nature
 Psychoanalysis
Rely on an abstract and logical
system of thought
Objectify experience, to measure
and calculate it precisely
Reductionism that violates the
unity of experience
Existentialism
Avoid lofty theories far removed
from human experience
Phenomenology
Complex human experience
being-in-the-world
 Healthy individualism vs. Unhealthy
individualism

Healthy individualism Central value of the 19th century, self-reliance,

competitiveness, and assertiveness which helped clear the frontier, ensure
economic growth, and maximize the prosperity of all
Unhealthy individualism No sense of community, exploitative
competitiveness (hyper-competitiveness) that makes every persona
potential enemy, interpersonal hostility and resentment, need for power
and control, increased our anxiety and isolation from each other
 Extreme self-reliance which keeps us from asking for help and support
when we need it most
Relentless pursuit of personal success and material possessions.
Making money is the highest goal for many people in our culture.
Cynicism about societal institutions such as the church and
government
Can condone cheating and lying to achieve their personal goals.
Aspirations are extremely narcissistic rather than social and
humanitarian
Parenting practices and divorce rates
Fewer role models, media
 Self-worth and dignity
Peoples feeling that they are powerless to change the operations of
government and business, which are huge, impersonal enterprises
unresponsive to the needs of society
Feelings of powerlessness accrue in a worsening economy in which
the jobs of thousands of workers are terminated with little or no
warning
In such a threatening and uncertain world, many people feel the
situation is beyond their controlthat they are pawns in a terrifying
game, in which a few mediocre men make moves that affect their
destinies
 Loss of connection with nature
Inability to relate with other in a mature, loving way
Confused sex with love. Feelings of worth and adequacy
connected with sex and sexual partners
Sex: Physiological
Eros: Procreation
Philia: Friendship
Agape: Esteem
 Emptiness and Loneliness
The primary result of the confusion that comes from the disintegration of our
values is that we feel empty inside and isolated from others
The vastness and complexity of the problems that confront us contribute to these
feelings
Emptiness comes from feelings of powerlessness in which events seem beyond our
control. We seem unable to direct our own lives, to influence others, or to change
the world around us. As a result, we feel a deep sense of despair and futility.
Eventually, if we see that our actions make no difference, we give up wanting and
feeling; we become apathetic
Attempt to defend ourselves against despair will lead to painful anxiety.
Restriction of our potential to grow as human beings
Surrender to some destructive form of hostility, violence, and/or authoritarianism
 Unhealthy communal orientation
When we do not know what we want or feel, we turn to others in a mindless
attempt to overcome our sense of separateness from others.
The more we attempt to reach out to others to ease our feelings of loneliness, the
more lonely and desperate we become.
We mistakenly believe that we need to be in a relationship all the time in order to
feel safe and secure. We tend to cling to partners we really do not like or respect.
We are afraid that others will think less of us if we are single. As a result, we suffer
in silence and try to make the best of a bad situation.
We learn to adjust to the person and to stifle our own individuality in order to
protect the status quo. We yearn for security and yet are constrained by it.
 Normal Anxiety vs. Neurotic Anxiety

Neurotic anxiety is disproportionate to the threat and involves repression

The goal in helping people to maximize their mental health is not to free the
person from all anxiety. It is rather to help free them from neurotic anxiety,
so that they can confront normal anxiety constructively.
Normal anxiety is an integral part of growth and creativity.
 Evaluation and Critique

Comprehensiveness
Precision and testability
Parsimony
Empirical validity
Heuristic value
Applied value
 Anxiety and Guilt

Blocking activity and awareness

Separation guilt
Inability to perceive others
Denial of our own potentialities (Jonah complex)
 Intentionality

Making a choice
Decision about the future
Implies action and action implies intention