In the therapy room, clients often bring concerns that are difficult to articulate: a nagging sense of emptiness, a feeling that life has lost its meaning, or an anxiety that seems to have no clear cause. While many therapeutic modalities focus on symptoms, patterns, or diagnoses, existential therapy takes a different approach. It invites clients into a deeper dialogue about what it means to be human.
What Is Existential Therapy?
Existential therapy is a philosophical approach to psychotherapy that centers on the human condition. Rooted in the ideas of existential philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Martin Heidegger, this modality explores themes like freedom, responsibility, death, isolation, and meaning.
Rather than trying to “fix” someone, existential therapy helps individuals confront the givens of existence and make empowered choices about how to live.
Core Concepts
Here are some of the central themes often explored in existential therapy:
- Freedom and Responsibility- We are free to make our own choices—but with that freedom comes responsibility. This can be liberating, but also deeply unsettling. Many clients come to therapy feeling stuck or conflicted because they fear the weight of their choices. Existential therapy helps people reclaim their agency while compassionately exploring the anxieties that come with it.
- Meaning and Meaninglessness
One of the core existential questions is: “What gives your life meaning?” For some, meaning is found in relationships, work, creativity, or spirituality. For others, this question feels like a void. Rather than providing a ready-made answer, existential therapy supports clients in the process of meaning-making—crafting a personal narrative that feels authentic and alive. - Isolation and Connection
Existentialists recognize that we are ultimately alone in our subjective experience. Even in the most intimate relationships, we can’t fully bridge the gap between ourselves and others. Yet this isolation can also deepen our capacity for authentic connection. Therapy becomes a place to explore vulnerability and build meaningful relationships despite (and because of) our separateness. - Death and Impermanence
The awareness of mortality can be terrifying—but also clarifying. When clients grapple with loss, aging, or illness, existential therapy helps them face these realities head-on, often revealing what truly matters to them. Paradoxically, the more we confront death, the more fully we may live.
In our next Blog Post, we will examine what a session of existential therapy actually looks like, as well as whom may benefit from this type of therapy.
Liza Linder, MSW, LCSW, is a therapist with 30 years of experience serving the LGBTQ+ and PLWHIV communities. Liza is in person only, in our Philadelphia offices. For more information about Liza, please click on the therapist’s bios.