Briefly describe humanistic-existential psychotherapy and the second approach you selected

Briefly describe humanistic-existential psychotherapy and the second approach you selected

Assignment: Comparing Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy with Other Approaches

Understanding the strengths of each type of therapy and which type of therapy is most appropriate for each patient is an essential skill of the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. In this Assignment, you will compare humanistic-existential therapy to another psychotherapeutic approach. You will identify the strengths and challenges of each approach and describe expected potential outcomes.

To prepare:

• Review the humanistic-existential psychotherapy videos in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Reflect on humanistic-existential psychotherapeutic approaches.
• Then, select another psychotherapeutic approach to compare with humanistic-existential psychotherapy. The approach you choose may be one you previously explored in the course or one you are familiar with and especially interested in.

The Assignment

In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following:

• Briefly describe humanistic-existential psychotherapy and the second approach you selected.
• Explain at least three differences between these therapies. Include how these differences might impact your practice as a PMHNP.
• Focusing on one video you viewed, explain why humanistic-existential psychotherapy was utilized with the patient in the video and why it was the treatment of choice. Describe the expected potential outcome if the second approach had been used with the patient.
• Support your response with specific examples from this week’s media and at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources. Explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.

Expert Answer and Explanation

Humanistic–Existential Therapy

Mental health treatment can make use of multiple interventions based on the nature of symptoms demonstrated by the patient. Depending on the type of medication applied, the therapist has to ensure that it meets the underlying needs of the patient (DeCou et al., 2019). It is important to determine the different needs of a patient in relation to the mode of treatment required for optimum outcome. Humanistic–Existential Therapy (HEP) has varying benefits compared to other psychotherapy models.

Humanistic–Existential Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

To begin with, Humanistic–Existential Therapy focuses on aiding the patient to identify and understand the attributes that make them unique and different from the rest in the community (Schneider, 2019). The HEP approach is differentiating into humanistic and existential therapy to denote the ability of a person to understand the reason for existence as an individual human being.

In retrospect, the humanistic subset of the approach is focused on the personal life or experiences that a person has had, or that can help a person reach their ultimate goal in life (Schneider, 2019). The humanistic category focuses on the abilities of a person in relation to how they interact with others and their special talents that can be used to attain their full potential.

On the other hand, the existential attribute focus on the conditions that affect human existence, such as mortality, freedom, anger, and isolation (Längle & Klaassen, 2019). These attributes create a void that humans have to overcome in order to be part of the whole community. Consequently, human-existential therapy is essential in ensuring the patient understand themselves and how they can relate in the real world.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is the other form of psychotherapy and addresses the issue of mental health treatment by making use of acceptance-based and problem-solving strategies (DeCou et al., 2019). The treatment approaches are most suited in the treatment of severe chronic mental health disorders. DBT ensures that the patient is aware and accepts their conditions before addressing how these models are affecting their behavior (DeCou et al., 2019). A therapist will first identify the issue and ensure that the patient understands and accepts it to help avert patient denial of the state of affairs.

Differences Between HEP and DBT

One of the major differences between HEP and DBT is that while HEP addresses the uniqueness of a person in relation to the world around them, DBT focuses on the alignment of the patients with reality. The second difference is that HEP requires the therapist to identify the different humanistic aspects within the patients and relate them to understanding the reality of existence (Schneider, 2019). DBT, on the other hand, is more focused on talking to understand behaviors (DeCou et al., 2019).

The third difference is that HEP is beset used in the treatment of schizophrenia, addiction, and issues associated with relationships, while DBT can best be used in the treatment of intrapersonal issues such as eating disorders, suicidal ideation, and borderline personalities (DeCou et al., 2019). These differences might impact the requirement of the PMHNP to be aware of the patient illness outlined in the DSM-5 before administering the therapy.

Case Study Overview

The case depicts a patient who presents as distant from reality and feels “not very alive.” The patient also has difficulties understanding his feelings despite being in therapy before (‌ PsychotherapyNet, 2009). Additionally, the patient also feels constricted, which has affected his behavior in the ways he presents himself. From the video, application of the humanistic-existential psychotherapy was to help the patient gain self-awareness in relation to understanding his feelings.

The patient seemed disoriented, and the method could help them first understand their current situation and how it relates to their existence. HEP was the treatment of choice as it seeks to help the patient in identifying their unique abilities in relation to overcoming existential aspects such as anger, isolation, constriction and meaninglessness of life. By applying the human-existential psychotherapy, the PMHNP would be able to guide the patient on the best approach to use to become more aware of their surroundings.

Suppose the PMHNP made use of the Dialectical Behavior Psychotherapy treatment approach, the patient would be required to engage in communication with the patient until they identified the main issue. However, the patient is presenting as being unaware of his current situation, and the talks required in the treatment approach would not be as effective as opposed to the use of HEP (Schneider, 2019).

However, the use of DBT would also be beneficial in the sense that it provides the patient with the ability to have a personal reflection session about themselves (DeCou et al., 2019). The patient would be able to identify the problem, be part of the problem-solving process and also ensure they accept the events as they are and work on becoming better.

Conclusion

This study focused on how Humanistic–Existential Therapy (HEP) has varying benefits when compared to other models of psychotherapy such as dialectical behavior therapy. The two approaches are focused on ensuring that patients who have mental illness are treated. However, they make use of different approaches and are best suited for different conditions. The PMHNP needs to be aware of the issues affecting the patients through a thorough diagnosis process before settling on the methods to be used as the treatment approach. The research is accurate and informative as it makes use of sources that are peer-reviewed and within the recent timeframe.

References

DeCou, C. R., Comtois, K. A., & Landes, S. J. (2019). Dialectical behavior therapy is effective for the treatment of suicidal behavior: A meta-analysis. Behavior therapy, 50(1), 60-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2018.03.009

Längle, A., & Klaassen, D. (2019). Phenomenology and Depth in Existential Psychotherapy. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 61(5), 745–756. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167818823281

‌ PsychotherapyNet. (2009, June 29). James Bugental live case consultation psychotherapy video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl8tVTjdocI

Schneider, K. J. (2019). Existential‐Humanistic and Existential‐Integrative Therapy: Philosophy and Theory. The Wiley world handbook of existential therapy, 247-256. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119167198.ch14

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