Existential Psychotherapy, Stephen Forrest

Questions

What evidence is there that Existential Psychotherapy works?

Evidence of whether psychotherapies work has been the subject of debate for decades. Evidence of this kind is an attempt to show that the outcome of therapy will be predictable in the majority of cases. It therefore rests on the idea that we can form general rules about people's experiences.

Existential philosophy argues that human experiences are complex and unique and are reducable to general rules only when human beings are related to and behave as average subjects in a majority. The minority and individual differences are ignored in such rules.

Countless modern and ancient thinkers have shown that developing values such as trust, courage, committment, acceptance, risk, honesty, love and faith allow individuals to be true to themselves and for human relationships to deepen and flourish as a result. These values - which become rarer in the world the more we give in to fear - allow us to commit ourselves to life without the need for an insurance policy protecting us from life's unpredictable nature.

So-called 'evidence-based' therapies often make claims to the effectiveness of their approach over others. Recently, some therapists, economists and government departments have helped create an extremely biased public impression that only therapies that call themselves 'evidence-based' are believed to be effective (see lecture by Lord Layard). However, when examined closely, such 'evidence' never means '100% successful'. Many also believe that evidence-based psychotherapy is a myth. Indeed, there is evidence to show the ineffectiveness or limited effectiveness (on Anxiety, Bulimia Nervosa and Psychosis, for example) and even worsening effects on symptoms of such therapies (on M.E./Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for example) but this is often not given public attention.

In the end, regardless of statistics, the best 'evidence' that psychotherapy works lies in your own ongoing, direct personal experience of whether therapy is helpful, from the beginning to the end of each session. By instinctively knowing that something is wrong, you are already listening to the source of wisdom that will tell you when something is right. By developing trust in yourself, your intuition and feelings about each situation, you learn to be guided by your own truth and conscience and not by others' ideas of how you should live your life.