November 11, 2025
Discover what existential therapy is and how finding meaning can improve your mental health and daily life.
Most traditional therapies focus on symptom reduction—less anxiety, fewer depressive episodes, improved functioning. But what if a person’s distress isn’t simply about symptoms? What if it’s about the question, “What is my life for?” or “Who am I in the face of freedom, choice, and death?” That’s where existential therapy enters the frame.
Existential therapy pivots from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What gives your life meaning?” It invites clients to engage with the core givens of existence—freedom, responsibility, isolation, meaninglessness, and mortality—and to craft responses that align with their authentic selves.
At a time when burnout, existential dread, digital overload, and chronic mental-health conditions are on the rise, this approach offers profound relevance. It doesn’t ignore diagnoses like anxiety or ADHD; it situates them within the human condition and asks: How do we live fully despite them?
The existential movement in therapy draws from 19th- and 20th-century philosophers—Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean‑Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger—and psychologists such as Rollo May, Irvin Yalom and Viktor Frankl. The approach matured in clinical psychology mid-20th century as existential humanistic therapy.
Key developments:
In essence, existential therapy places existence at its centre: our facticity (the facts of our being), our transcendence (our possibilities), and the tension between them.
At its core, it can be defined as:
“An approach to psychotherapy that works with the human condition—freedom, meaning, death, isolation—and invites clients to face these givens and live more authentically.”
Key pillars:
Existential therapy is less about technique and more about stance—a way of being with the client in fidelity to human being-in-the-world, as opposed to being a “case to fix.”
“It is the anxiety of existence we must address—not simply the symptom.” — Irvin Yalom
Clients are guided to articulate:
In a safe therapeutic space, clients explore:
Clients begin to craft intentional responses:
Existential insights are converted into lived practice—decision planning, value-based choices, and emotional endurance. Therapy may move into maintenance, focusing on confronting new existential challenges (midlife, aging, loss).
Existential therapy is not a replacement for evidence-based treatments—but a profound complement. Below are how it interacts with specific conditions:
Depression often involves hopelessness and meaninglessness. Existential therapy helps clients reconnect with purpose and engage in value-based living even when mood is low.
Anxiety isn’t only about threat—it may reflect existential fear (“Am I living fully?”) Existential therapy helps clients face uncertainty rather than avoid it.
For clients with ADHD, existential work can counter a narrative of “lack” by inviting questions of possibility, choice, and meaning beyond distractibility or impulsivity.
OCD often involves rigid control and avoidance of uncertainty. Existential therapy invites embracing freedom, accepting the unknown, and living despite it.
BPD is characterized by fears of abandonment, identity discontinuity, and emotional volatility. Existential therapy supports identity formation, authenticity, and enduring anxiety rather than immediate relief.
While medication remains essential for psychosis, existential therapy supports meaning reconstruction, relationship repair, and dignity beyond diagnoses.
Eating disorders often involve control, shame, and body avoidance. Existential therapy shifts focus from control to purpose—emphasizing life beyond the body, values beyond the scale.
Research: Although fewer randomized trials exist compared to CBT, meta-analyses show humanistic–existential therapies yield medium effect sizes for distress reduction. (nih.gov)
At Integrative Psych, we incorporate existential therapy as part of our holistic clinical offering. We know that behind every diagnosis—depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, BPD, psychosis, eating disorders—there’s a human story about meaning, choice, and existence.
Our team of psychiatrists and psychologists in Chelsea, NYC offers:
If you’re wondering not just “What’s wrong?” but “What matters?” we’re here to guide you.
👉 Learn more and schedule a consultation at Integrative Psych NYC
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