a room of my own.

Over the duration of this course, we've covered many different approaches to psychotherapy. Now that we are reaching the end of this introduction, I have several realizations about the application of various therapeutic techniques. I now know that each psychologist has their own set of beliefs and interpretations that come into play when they are practicing. Instead of rigidly following one model or using equal parts of every one, psychologists identify with varying aspects of each and use them to their advantage. Now that I know this, it has altered my viewpoint on psychotherapy for the better. I've found myself agreeing with many of the different facets presented in the models we've covered, and I've compiled them into a working technique that I will further meld as I continue my journey through grad school. For the purpose of this paper, I've chosen a theory that I most closely identify with to explore, compare and contrast, and eventually embody.

Existential therapy has been something that has piqued my interest ever since I read Viktor Frankl's 'Man's Search for Meaning'. I was fascinated with how this man kept himself alive in near impossible circumstances by sheer will alone. His interpretation of the stages that men go through when faced with impending death (or at the very least, undesirable circumstances) made me rethink our attitudes on faith and morality when it comes to living a fulfilling life. A quote that stuck with me long after I put the book down was “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how.” This line in particular stuck out to me because it applied to psychology in a number of ways.

When people are depressed, it is more or less driven by a lack of motivation. A common quote derived from this is “What is the point?” And more or less, this a great question to ask. What is the point of going about your day? What is the point of doing anything? This question is so broad and ominous that it could floor anyone and leave them in a stupor. While there is something to be said about the feelings of vast unimportance and ambiguity that every human being feels from time to time, it can also be noted that this sentiment can breed an extreme sense of empowerment. We have the capacity to question the meaning of our existence, and because of this, we have the capacity to determine it for ourselves. We alone have the ability to attribute meaning to the things that we do every day. While there are countless things that change over time in our external environments, there is one thing that only you have complete and utter control over: your personal outlook.

When bad things happen, it is very easy to view them as such. Negative experiences directly elicit certain emotions with which we can identify. It is easy to let these emotions consume us, and in turn, become a victim of these experiences. This becomes apparent when things occur that are out of our control, igniting a sense of helplessness and existential woe. People may ask, 'What is the point of trying if I can't change these negative circumstances? Why bother with anything if it never turns out?' What some of them don't realize, however, is that they do have a degree of control over the situation, and it lies within their interpretations and reactions. Existential therapy has a very strong focus on personal responsibility, purposeful decision-making, and taking action to facilitate change. The fact that we are consciously aware of our feelings and actions lends us an obligation to feel our best and take what we deem to be the most beneficial route.

The traditional Freudian outlook surmises that a large part of our being is determined by buried characteristics that were instilled into us at a very early age. While it is true that the dynamics present in our upbringing influenced who we are today, it is important that we do not them define us. We are not a sum of our experiences, but rather a sum of our reactions to them. In accordance with Beck's Cognitive theory, the most prominent role of these early experiences is the development of our own personal cognitive schemas. These theoretical organization bins of knowledge shape the view we have of ourselves, others, and the world around us.

When we gather information about a particular concept, we store it in a related 'schema' for later reference. Over the years, we compile the information that we learn and deposit into its proper schema, occasionally creating new schemas for information that doesn't quite fit with previous ones. For example, you may have a schema for 'Cat', and this includes excerpts such as 'two pointed ears' and 'four legs' and 'purring.' But when you walk along the street, you see an animal that has two ears and four legs, but instead makes a loud, rash outburst to show affection. Because this doesn't fit with your previous schema for such an animal, you create a new schema to put this new information labeled 'Dog.' Variations of cognitive restructuring occur all of our lives. They are responsible for our ability to learn new things relatively quickly, because we already have a schema full of related information in which to build.

In theory, this is an excellent way to store information. It saves us a lot of time and energy because we already have a preconception of what to expect, as well as a basis fueled by previous experiences and knowledge. But in actuality, things don't always run so smoothly. When you draw upon a certain schema, you are employing 'automatic thoughts.' They are a set of associations with existing schemas that you immediately think of when faced with a new concept. There are many opportunities for a schema to be skewed and unintentionally ingrained. For example, if a child has abusive parents, they may attribute things like 'physical harm' and 'disrespect' to their 'Love' schema. When automatic thoughts are inaccurate, they are called 'cognitive distortions.' Many people harbor these distortions without realizing it, and many are resistant to restructuring these existing schemas. This leads to interpretations of situations that aren't mindful and that can fall into destructive patterns.

The main goal of Beck's cognitive therapy is to replace these negative and inaccurate thoughts with more appropriate ones. The first step for doing this is encouraging self-observation in clients. The most critical factor in facilitating change is that the client has the willingness to listen to themselves. In this way, they can become aware of their maladaptive patterns and re-conceptualize them in a way that lends to new cognitive structuring. The second step is facilitating a new internal dialogue. When the client consciously changes what they tell themselves day in and day out, it serves as a guide for new behavior. The third step is learning new skills to halt old, destructive patterns and habituate new, healthy ones. When the client becomes aware of these patterns, they have the ability to break them.

This approach goes hand in hand with the main goal of existential therapy. Once we come to the realization that we have free reign over our thoughts and feelings (even those that seem impossibly ingrained), we have the ultimate freedom of facing our lives with courage, hope, and a willlingness to find meaning in life. A presiding theme to consider is that we are granted a capacity for self-awareness for a reason. Society as a whole can expand this awareness by realizing that our time on this earth is limited, and the only thing we can lay claim to is our decisions to act or not to act. With this in mind, we must forge a strong sense of independence and use this to find an appropriate attribution of meaning.