Find Existential Therapy

Medically reviewed by Gabriela Asturias, MD on May 23, 2025
Written by the MiResource team

Life’s deepest questions don’t always come with simple answers. For many people facing profound transitions, grief, or spiritual uncertainty, Existential Therapy offers a safe and compassionate space to explore what it means to be alive. Rather than focusing only on symptoms or diagnoses, existential therapy helps you reflect on freedom, mortality, responsibility, and meaning itself.

  • Kate Stewart, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC)

    Kate Stewart

    Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Counselor, Psychotherapist

    1684 Medina Road, Medina, Ohio 44256

    Kate Stewart is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in Medina, Ohio and has been in practice for 8 years. They treat Physical Assault, Relationship(s) with Friends/Roommates, Relationship Violence/Stalking/Harassment.

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  • Orvon White, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

    Orvon White

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

    Remote only

    Orvon White is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in undefined, undefined and has been in practice for 8 years. They treat Sexual Concerns, Work/Life Balance, Relationship(s) with Friends/Roommates.

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  • William Alkhoury, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

    William Alkhoury

    Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

    4700 South Mill Avenue, Tempe, Arizona 85282

    William Alkhoury is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Tempe, Arizona and has been in practice for 8 years. They treat Anxiety, Loneliness/Isolation, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

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  • Elaina Meier, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

    Elaina Meier

    Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

    1845 North Farwell Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

    Elaina Meier is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has been in practice for 10 years. They treat Burnout, Depression, Peer Difficulties.

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  • Samuel Macy, Psychologist

    Samuel Macy

    Psychologist, Psychotherapist

    47 West Polk Street, Chicago, Illinois 60605

    Samuel Macy is a Psychologist in Chicago, Illinois and has been in practice for 10 years. They treat Sexual Identity, Parenting Concerns, Infidelity.

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  • Fabian Kuttner, Counselor

    Fabian Kuttner

    Counselor, Certified Trauma Professional, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Psychotherapist

    812 East High Street, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902

    Fabian Kuttner is a Counselor in Charlottesville, Virginia and has been in practice for 15 years. They treat Anxiety, End of Life, Anger Issues.

    Healing, growth and nourishment are oh so very possible! Change is smooth when we can understand our deeper motivations and find more skillful strategies.

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What Is Existential Therapy?

At its core, existential therapy is a deeply philosophical and human-centered form of psychotherapy. Drawing from the work of great thinkers like Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, and Viktor Frankl, existential therapy invites clients to sit with life’s most difficult — and most universal — challenges. While many forms of therapy seek to diagnose or “fix” something that’s wrong, existential psychotherapy approaches suffering differently. It recognizes that pain, uncertainty, and mortality are inherent parts of being human. Rather than eliminate these struggles, existential therapy helps clients face them with honesty and courage.

In existential counseling, the goal is not to chase symptom relief alone, but to help individuals confront what it means to live fully and authentically. Clients are invited to reflect on their values, choices, regrets, and desires. The therapist becomes a partner in this process, not an authority figure with easy answers. Through open dialogue, clients explore their unique existence and begin to create meaning, even in the midst of suffering or uncertainty.


Why Do People Seek Existential Therapy?

Many people turn to existential psychotherapy during times of profound upheaval. After major life events such as divorce, the death of a loved one, career changes, retirement, or illness, individuals often feel lost, numb, or disconnected from their sense of purpose. They may find themselves haunted by difficult questions: Why am I here? What really matters? What comes next?

For others, existential anxiety can emerge from an ongoing sense of emptiness, regret over past choices, or the burden of responsibility for one’s own freedom. Some people struggle with spiritual crises, questioning previously held beliefs and searching for something deeper. And while other therapies may have provided temporary relief, clients often feel something deeper remains unresolved — a longing not just for coping skills, but for real meaning-making.

Existential therapy offers a space to explore these questions directly. It allows clients to sit with discomfort, face uncertainty, and discover personal values that can guide their lives in a more authentic direction.


What Core Issues Does Existential Therapy Address?

Unlike therapies that focus narrowly on specific symptoms, existential therapy holds space for the full spectrum of life’s challenges. Many clients seek out existential therapy when grappling with loss, mortality, identity, and freedom. For some, the fear of death creates overwhelming anxiety, while others feel trapped in lives that no longer align with their values. Grief, regret, guilt, and spiritual emptiness often bring people to this work.

Existential therapy also helps those facing crossroads in life — whether choosing between competing life paths, experiencing an identity crisis, or wrestling with questions about purpose and belonging. Even without specific trauma, the weight of simply being alive and responsible for one’s choices can feel crushing. Existential therapy helps clients hold these paradoxes without judgment, providing support as they navigate life’s complexity.


What Happens in Existential Therapy Sessions?

Sessions in existential counseling are open-ended, collaborative conversations. Unlike structured therapies with set agendas, existential therapy unfolds organically. Clients are encouraged to speak freely about their experiences, values, and fears. The therapist provides a calm, reflective presence, gently helping clients examine their relationship to freedom, responsibility, regret, loss, and meaning.

Rather than give advice or solutions, the existential therapist serves as a witness — offering empathy, thoughtful questions, and a space for deeper reflection. Sometimes, sessions include periods of silence, allowing clients to sit with uncomfortable feelings rather than rushing to escape them. Clients may receive existential "homework" between sessions, such as journaling exercises or reflective readings that encourage continued exploration.

Because there’s no single “right way” to do existential therapy, each session is tailored to the individual’s needs and life context. The work moves at the client’s pace, respecting the time it takes to engage in such deep and vulnerable reflection.


How Does Existential Therapy Actually Help?

Existential psychotherapy offers a different kind of healing. Rather than trying to eliminate all suffering, it helps clients find personal meaning even in the presence of pain. By normalizing existential anxiety — the natural fear of uncertainty, freedom, and mortality — clients learn to navigate life without being paralyzed by it.

Clients often report feeling more grounded emotionally after existential therapy. They become better able to tolerate ambiguity and make peace with life's inherent uncertainty. Instead of harsh self-blame, existential therapy encourages taking responsibility for choices in a compassionate and empowered way. Clients also find ways to integrate past grief, loss, or trauma into a broader life narrative that brings coherence and acceptance.

This process of meaning-making often brings not only symptom relief but also a stronger sense of resilience, purpose, and emotional stability.


Is Existential Therapy Only for Crisis or Trauma?

While existential therapy is well-known for supporting clients through grief, loss, or spiritual crisis, it is not limited to these situations. Many people seek out existential counseling for personal growth and self-exploration even when they’re not in crisis. Career changes, relationship decisions, questions of identity, and preparation for aging or end-of-life reflection are all valid reasons to pursue existential therapy.

For some, existential therapy becomes a lifelong practice of self-reflection, helping them live with greater authenticity and intentionality as they navigate each stage of life.


Who Provides Existential Therapy?

Existential therapists are licensed mental health professionals who have chosen to integrate existential philosophy into their clinical practice. This includes psychologists, licensed counselors, clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists. Many also bring in elements from related fields such as logotherapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), humanistic psychology, or psychodynamic work.

What sets these professionals apart is their comfort with sitting alongside clients as they wrestle with life’s biggest questions. They do not shy away from discussing topics like death, meaninglessness, or spiritual crisis. Instead, they welcome these conversations as part of the shared human experience.


How Is Existential Therapy Different from CBT, DBT, or Psychodynamic Therapy?

Unlike cognitive-behavioral therapies such as CBT and DBT, which focus heavily on symptom reduction, emotional regulation skills, and thought restructuring, existential therapy operates on a different level. It does not aim to "fix" a person but instead helps them face life’s inherent struggles with honesty and responsibility.

Psychodynamic therapies explore the unconscious and family history, but existential therapy is often more concerned with how individuals engage with freedom, mortality, and responsibility in the present moment. It empowers clients to create their own meaning, rather than offering ready-made answers or focusing solely on symptom management.


Is Existential Therapy Evidence-Based?

While existential therapy may feel less structured than other approaches, it has a growing research base supporting its effectiveness. Studies have demonstrated its benefits in grief counseling, palliative care, trauma recovery, and the treatment of existential anxiety. Clients often report improved life satisfaction, stronger meaning-making capacities, and increased emotional resilience after working with existential therapists.

Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, a form of existential therapy that focuses specifically on meaning, has particularly strong empirical support, especially among individuals coping with trauma, terminal illness, or deep grief. As more integrative approaches to trauma and loss emerge, existential therapy continues to gain recognition for its lasting impact.


How Long Does Existential Therapy Last?

The length of existential psychotherapy varies widely. Some clients engage for a few months during times of acute transition or crisis, while others continue for years as part of an ongoing journey toward self-discovery and growth. Because existential therapy addresses core identity, mortality, and meaning, many clients continue even after initial symptom relief to deepen their understanding of themselves and their life choices.

The work unfolds at each person’s unique pace, honoring the time it takes to fully explore these deeply personal concerns.

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Recovery is possible. With early intervention, a supportive community, and the right professional care, you can overcome challenges and build a fulfilling life. We’re here to help you find the support you need.

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