In a literature review recently published in Clinical Psychologist, a team of psychologists and philosophers led by Travis J Pashak of Saginaw Valley State University argues for existentially-informed clinical psychology.
Given the extended lifespans and the increasing awareness of significant ‘existential’ challenges for humankind (e.g., technology and climate change), they see clinical psychology’s relevance as tied to more widely adopting a humanistic approach that accepts the limitations of our knowledge about ourselves and the world around us, our mortality and the meaning we make of our limited lives, and our lasting impact on the planet.
The authors write:
“Given this interesting set of historical circumstances and clinical psychology’s identity as a field oriented towards understanding the human condition and its betterment, we argue that an existentially-informed clinical psychology would be well poised to address some of these complex and contentious issues by facing them with honesty and transparency…[W]e argue against hope for a life without death, isolation, groundlessness, and structurelessness, but rather in favor of finding acceptance of our circumstances – an existentially-informed clinical psychology values our humanness, limitations included.”
The authors discuss the importance of existentialism as a philosophical framework to inform clinical psychology that rejects the modern obsession with rationality and objectivity (“God’s eye view” of the world) that can be found in psychology and psychiatry’s pursuit of being seen as “hard” sciences. In its place, existentially-informed clinical psychology would favor a phenomenological perspective that prioritizes human subjectivity and emotion, which is more authentic to the human experience. Such a perspective promotes the “raw freedom” of the human condition by helping individuals and societies create meaning in our existence as a holistic project of life in the face of the “finitude” of death.
Existentialism acknowledges the anxiety of inevitable death as a basic fear of all humans. It considers how moments in life (e.g., death of loved ones, loss of employment) can create a sense of meaninglessness that threatens our existence. To address this, clinical psychologists can help people by attuning them to reflect on death, their responsibility to be authentic to themselves, and avoiding automatically deferring to cultural norms by encouraging them to reflect on what matters most to them and work towards the most meaningful existence possible.