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Existential Psychotherapy With Older Adults

With the growing numbers of older adults, psychiatric and mental health clinicians will be providing increasing counseling and psychotherapy to this population. The characteristics of existential psychotherapy make it an appropriate modality for many of the boundary situations facing older adults, such as retirement transitions, chronic illness, and irreversible decisions. Many elderly persons will never seek out mental health professionals; however, those who do may be facing an existential crisis. Existential models of psychotherapy typically espouse personal growth and health promotion as broad treatment goals that are synonymous with a holistic fo cus. The therapeutic goal in the existentialframe of reference is to assist the client to embark on a course of self-investigation by exploring the four ultimate concerns of freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, and death. This framework is particularly suited for older adults who are interested in personal growth or relief of pain and suffering resultingfrom undifferentiated causes or situations. (J AM PSYCHIATR NURSES ASSOC [1955]. 1, 16-21)

Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, Vol. 1, No. 1, 16-21 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/107839039500100105


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