Week 7 Assignment: Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches Humanistic-Existential Therapy vs. Cognitive Behavioral Theory

 

Psychotherapy is a type of treatment applied in treating patients with psychological issues. It helps eliminate or control distressing symptoms to help the individual function better and improve their well-being and healing process (Locher et al., 2019). Psychotherapy is used to address issues such as coping difficulties, the impact of trauma, medical illnesses, loss of loved ones, and mental disorders. This paper seeks to compare humanistic-existential therapy with cognitive-behavioral theory and explore why humanistic-existential psychotherapy was utilized in a video.

Humanistic-Existential Therapy vs. Cognitive Behavioral Theory
Humanistic-Existential therapy is a type of psychotherapy approach that focuses on the human condition. It encourages human capacities and aspirations while at the same time recognizing human limitations (Krug, 2019). Besides, it emphasizes acceptance and growth with an assumption that people have the capacity for self-awareness and choice. Humanistic-Existential psychotherapy is anchored upon a basic belief that all individuals undergo intrapsychic conflict from their interaction with particular conditions inherent in human existence (Krug, 2019). The social outcomes of existential-humanistic therapy mostly led to improved self-esteem of an individual. Furthermore, therapists using existential-humanistic therapy help clients to thoughtfully explore their choices and actions during a crisis (Krug, 2019). Existential–humanistic therapy is often employed in clients with trauma, relationship difficulties, psychosis, depression, and those coping with chronic conditions.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy approach that delves into the human mind. It makes individuals aware of their thoughts and how they impact behavior (Fordham et al., 2018). It aims to change thinking patterns and behavior that initiate life challenges and, as a result, change how individuals feel. CBT is founded on several key principles, including psychological problems partly due to faulty or unhelpful thinking patterns. Psychological problems are caused by learned patterns of unhelpful behavior (Fordham et al., 2018). Besides, CBT has an assumption that individuals suffering from psychological distress can learn better ways of coping with them. This alleviates the distress and helps individuals to become more successful in their lives (Fordham et al., 2018). CBT has proven effective in managing anxiety disorders, depression, alcohol and drug use problems, eating disorders, marital problems, and severe mental illness.