Deck 6: Existential Therapy

Question 1

According to the existential viewpoint, death:

A) makes life absurd.
B) makes life meaningless and hopeless.
C) gives significance to living.
D) should not be explored in therapy.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Existential therapy is:

A) a deterministic approach to therapy.
B) an expansion of the Adlerian school of therapy.
C) a phenomenological approach to therapy.
D) a structured approach to therapy.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

An existential therapist prefers to be thought of as:

A) an observer-technician.
B) a philosophical companion, not as someone who repairs psyches.
C) a teacher and coach.
D) an advocate for social change.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In regards to freedom and responsibility, existential therapy embraces three values. Which of the following is not one of these values?

A) The freedom to become within the context of natural and self-imposed limitations
B) The capacity to reflect on the meaning of our choices
C) The capacity to act on the choices we make
D) The freedom to choose our past and the choices of our parents

Question 5

Philosophically, the existentialists would agree that:

A) the final decisions and choices rest with the therapist.
B) people do not redefine themselves by their choices.
C) a person cannot go beyond early conditioning.
D) making choices can create anxiety.

Question 6

In a group based on existential principles, clients learn all of the following, except:

A) that there are no ultimate answers for ultimate concerns.
B) to view themselves through others' eyes.
C) to come to terms with the paradoxes of existence.
D) that pain is not a reality of the human experience.

Question 7

Which person is not associated with the existential movement?

A) Rollo May
B) Victor Frankl
C) Irvin Yalom
D) B. F. Skinner

Question 8

The central goal of existential psychotherapy is to:

A) decrease self-awareness.
B) increase awareness.
C) help clients reject the responsibility of choosing.
D) keep the client from experiencing authentic existence.

Question 9

In regards to techniques, existential practitioners believe:

A) free association is essential to the growth and healing of the client.
B) no set of techniques is considered essential.
C) analysis of dysfunctional family patterns is imperative.
D) role playing is the most important technique used.

Question 10

Existential therapy is best considered as:

A) an approach to understand the subjective world of the client.
B) a school of therapy.
C) a system of techniques designed to create authentic humans.
D) a strategy for uncovering dysfunctional behaviour.

Question 11

Which of the following was not part of Stan's work in existential therapy?

A) Challenging his feelings of loneliness
B) Working on his inauthentic relationship with his siblings
C) Confronting his responsibility for his drug and alcohol use
D) Exploring Stan's human potential

Question 12

emphasises the subjective and spiritual dimensions of human existence.

A) Existential analysis
B) Existential anxiety
C) Self-awareness
D) Existential guilt

Question 13

Which of the following is not true about Rollo May?

A) He is most responsible for translating European existentialism into American psychotherapeutic theory and practice.
B) He focuses on the subjective dimension of therapy.
C) He is a significant spokesman for the existential approach in the USA.
D) He believes that we can only escape anxiety by exercising our freedom.

Question 14

When is the counselling process at its best from an existential viewpoint?

A) When the client feels comfortable enough to engage in shame-attacking exercises outside of counselling sessions.
B) When the deepest self of the therapist meets the deepest part of the client.
C) When the therapist uses his or her influence to convince the client to let go of his or her anxiety.
D) When sessions begin with progressive muscle relaxation exercises.

Question 15

The characteristic existential theme includes:

A) freedom and responsibility.
B) resistance.
C) transference.
D) examining irrational beliefs.

Question 16

Nokuthando was visiting a friend in New York City when terrorists destroyed the World Trade centre on 9/11. Ever since this experience, she has felt anxiety about going to the upper level floors of tall buildings. As an existentially oriented therapist, you might conclude that:

A) Nokuthando is highly neurotic.
B) Nokuthando's fears are completely unfounded.
C) Nokuthando's anxiety is normal in light of the traumatic experience she had on 9/11.
D) Nokuthando is on the verge of becoming psychotic.

Question 17

Finding the 'courage to be' involves:

A) confronting a specific phobia.
B) learning to be alone.
C) discarding old values.
D) developing a will to move forward in spite of anxiety-producing situations.

Question 18

The British scholar working to develop training programmes in existential therapy is:

A) Roll May.
B) Irvin Yalom.
C) Emmy van Deurzen.
D) J. Michael Russell.

Question 19

Which is not an essential aim of existential-humanistic therapy?

A) To help clients become more present to both themselves and others
B) To assist clients in identifying ways they block themselves from fuller presence
C) To dispute clients' irrational beliefs
D) To challenge clients to assume responsibility for designing their present lives

Question 20

Viktor Frankl's approach to existential therapy is known as:

A) individual psychology.
B) logotherapy.
C) reality therapy.
D) redecision therapy.

Question 21

Existential therapy groups are particularly helpful for clients working on:

A) self-actualisation.
B) issues of responsibility.
C) reducing problematic behaviours.
D) exploring family dynamics.

Question 22

Time-limited existential treatments:

A) can serve as a catalyst for clients to become actively and fully involved in each therapy session.
B) are by definition, lacking in depth and richness.
C) lack structure and clear goals.
D) are well studied and shown to be effective.

Question 23

According to existentialists, our search for meaning involves all of these except:

A) discarding old values.
B) meaninglessness.
C) creating our own value system.
D) exploring unfinished business.

Question 24

Who was the Danish philosopher that addressed the role of anxiety and uncertainty in life?

A) Medard Boss
B) Jean-Paul Sartre
C) Søren Kierkegaard
D) Martin Buber

Question 25

The goals of existential therapy include all of the following except:

A) to help clients become more present to both themselves and others.
B) to assist clients in identifying ways they block themselves from fuller presence.
C) helping clients to eliminate anxiety in their lives.
D) to encourage clients to choose more expanded ways of being in their daily lives.

Question 26

Which of the following is not considered a basic dimension of the human condition?

A) Capacity for self-awareness
B) Striving for acceptance of others
C) Establishing meaningful relationships with others
D) Freedom and responsibility

Question 27

Existentialists contend that the experience of relatedness to other human beings:

A) is a neurotically dependent attachment.
B) should be based on our needs and theirs.
C) is healthy when we are able to stand alone and tap into our own strength.
D) is not necessary, since we are basically alone.

Question 28

In the book Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death 2008), develops the idea that confronting death enables us to live in a more compassionate way.

A) Martin Buber
B) Justin Bieber
C) Irvin Yalom
D) Stephen King

Question 29

For Sartre, existential guilt is what we experience when we:

A) do not live by the Ten Commandments.
B) fail to think about the welfare of others.
C) allow others to define us or to make our choices for us.
D) reflect on all that we might have done and failed to do.

Question 30

Which of the following is not an example of how existential therapy is unlike many other therapies?

A) It does not have a well-defined set of techniques.
B) It stresses the I/Thou encounter in the therapy process.
C) It focuses on the use of the specific techniques created for this theory.
D) It allows for incorporation of techniques from many other approaches.

Question 31

The therapist's presence is:

A) a condition of therapeutic change.
B) a goal of therapeutic change.
C) both a condition and a goal of therapeutic change.
D) neither a condition nor a goal of therapeutic change.

Question 32

When working with a client living a restricted existence, an existential therapist would likely:
B) develop a specific behavioural plan to help the client get 'unstuck.'
C) encourage the client to do a shame-attacking exercise.
D) make the client aware of how his or her current ways of living are keeping him or her stuck.

Question 33

According to Yalom, the concerns that make up the core of existential psychotherapy include all of the following, except:

A) death.
B) freedom.
C) togetherness.
D) meaninglessness.

Question 34

The central theme running through the works of Viktor Frankl is:

A) that freedom is a myth.
B) the will to meaning.
C) self-disclosure as the key to mental health.
D) the notion of self-actualisation.

Question 35

A statement that best illustrates 'bad faith' is:

A) Naturally I'm this way, because I grew up in an alcoholic family.
C) I must live by commitments I make.
D) I am responsible for the choices that I make.

Question 36

Being alone is a process by which we do all of the following except:

A) learn to tolerate feelings of isolation.
B) develop strength and self-reliance.
C) develop a deep understanding of ourselves.
D) reject the social overtures of others.

Question 37

The existential approach is particularly well-suited to clients who:

A) are dealing with grief and loss.
B) are victims of oppression.
C) have limited intellectual capacities.
D) suffer from severe mental illness.

Question 38

From a scientific perspective, existential psychotherapy:

A) is well researched.
B) lends itself easily to evaluation due to its clearly defined principles and techniques.
C) fits well into the framework of evidence-based practice.
D) is difficult to research because every psychotherapy experience is unique.

Question 39

Therapy is viewed as a in the sense that the interpersonal and existential problems of the client will become apparent in the here and now of the therapy relationship.

A) social microcosm
B) 'touchy feely' encounter
C) living laboratory
D) tension-filled encounter

Question 40

From a multicultural perspective, some clients may reject this approach because:

A) it is founded on abstract, westernised notions that are not widely applicable.
B) their life circumstances provide them with truly limited choices.
C) death anxiety is not a central issue in all cultures.
D) the use of techniques may be overwhelming for them.

Question 41

Existential therapy is especially appropriate for clients who are struggling with developmental crises.

Question 42

During the initial phase of counselling, existentially oriented therapists assist clients in identifying and clarifying their assumptions about the world.

Question 43

Existential therapists strive to be their authentic selves when working with clients.

Question 44

Existential therapy grew out of a reaction to the limitations of both the psychoanalytic and deterministic stance.

Question 45

In the existential approach, techniques are primary, while subjective understanding of clients is secondary.

Question 46

A central existential concept is that although we long for freedom we often try to escape from our freedom by defining ourselves as a fixed or static entity.

Question 47

According to existential thinking, effective therapy does not stop with awareness, because clients are challenged to take action based on their insights.

Question 48

Existential anxiety is the unavoidable result of being confronted with the 'givens of existence.'

Question 49

Martin Buber stressed the importance of presence, which allows for the creation of I/Thou relationships in therapy.

Question 50

In the existential framework, inaction is a decision.

Question 51

Existential therapy can best be considered as a system of highly developed techniques designed to foster authenticity.

Question 52

Existentialists claim that the use of specific techniques is the cornerstone of the approach.

Question 53

Existential guilt is being aware of having evaded a commitment, or having chosen not to choose.

Question 54

The existential view is not designed to 'cure' people of illness in the tradition of the medical model because people are not sick but are 'sick of life or clumsy at living'.

Question 55

The outcomes of existential therapy have been submitted to strict empirical testing.

Question 56

This approach puts emphasis on the human quality of the therapeutic relationship.

Question 57

According to the existential view, death makes life meaningless.

Question 58

Rollo May has been instrumental in translating some concepts drawn from existential philosophy and applying them to psychotherapy.

Question 59

From the existential viewpoint, anxiety is seen as neurotic; thus the aim of therapy is to eliminate anxiety so clients can live comfortably.

Question 60

A major criticism of the existential approach is that it lacks a systematic statement of the principles and practices of psychotherapy.

Question 61

The existential vacuum represents a place of reflection and comfort.

Question 62

Existential therapy is especially useful in working with culturally diverse populations because of its focus on individuality.

Question 63

A distinctly human characteristic is the struggle for a sense of peace.

Question 64

Existential therapy is rarely used for group treatment.

Question 65

Failure to move through anxiety results in neurotic anxiety.

Question 66

The core of the therapeutic relationship is respect.

Question 67

Existentially, humans both long for and wish to escape from their freedom.

Question 68

The existential approach can be used in a brief therapy context.

Question 69

Currently, there is wide-ranging international interest in the existential approach to psychotherapy.

Question 70

Freedom implies that we are responsible for the lives of others around us.