Existential Psychotherapy the Genetic-Phenomenological Approach: Beyond a Dichotomy Between Relating and Skills

Abstract

There is a lack of clarity about the technical interventions of existential psychotherapy. The approach has been described dichotomously as being more descriptive or more hermeneutic, as being anti-technique or relying on intervention exclusively experiential nature. This paper presents a genetic-phenomenological approach of existential psychotherapy and argues that it uses both postures and therapeutic techniques that are interconnected and influence each other in the therapeutic process. The existential therapist’s interventions are based in part on common factors but also on specific techniques. The paper presents a theoretical framework of existential psychotherapy and a definition of the postures and intervention techniques of the genetic-phenomenological approach of existential psychotherapy. The aim is to contribute to the clarification of what type of interventions the existential therapist may use during the therapeutic process.