Experiencing change
an existential perspective
pp. 131-143
in: Stefan E. Schulenberg (ed), Clarifying and furthering existential psychotherapy, Berlin, Springer, 2016Abstract
This paper explores the experience of change in psychotherapy from an existential perspective. It proposes three variants of change experience, of which the third, those change experiences that are reflectively troubling and deemed to be destructive, undesirable, and debilitating, is particularly pertinent to psychotherapeutic practice. Further, the paper explores various existentially-derived paradoxes and polarities associated with the experience of change and considers what factors may be involved that shift our relationship to change from that of being unwanted and threatening towards that of a reflective willingness "to meet' change experiences and engage with their existential possibilities.