Existence and therapy

This text provides an introduction to phenomenological psychology and existential analysis. This introduction to phenomenologically oriented existential analysis ("Daseinsanalyse"), now in the foreground of psychological theory in Europe, is presented in terms of both personality theory and treatment method. The author considers philosophical roots stemming from Kierkegaard, Husserl, Jaspers, and Heidegger; the contributions of Binswanger, Boss, Minkowski, and Kuhn; relationships to Gestalt hypotheses, Sartre's existentialism, and psychoanalytic theories; the nature of awareness, being, and knowing; problems of personality evaluation and treatment; etc. Discussion can broadly be grouped under the following headings: The Crisis of Knowledge and the Rise of Phenomenology; The Spectre of Nothingness and the Janus Face of Reflection; and The Peril to Man and Psychotherapy--The Freedom to Be. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).