What is existential therapy, and how can it help you?

Have you ever felt a deep sense of emptiness or questioned the meaning and purpose of your life? If so, you’re not alone. The search for meaning is a fundamental human struggle that existential therapy can help you work through. This therapeutic approach invites people to embrace and accept the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with being human. This acceptance can help reduce the symptoms of many mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety.

What is existential therapy?

Existential therapy techniques come from a philosophical movement that developed in the mid-20th century in France called “existentialism.” The most well-known existential philosophers are Sartre, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. The philosophy developed during a time when many people felt a sense of hopelessness after witnessing the effects of World War II. At its core, existential therapy deals with some of the most universal human challenges: loneliness, loss, personal freedom and responsibility, and mortality.

Instead of shying away from these heavy themes, existential therapists believe that embracing them openly is the path to a more meaningful life. They believe that despite the uncertainty we all feel, being creative, loving other people, being true to ourselves, and exercising free will can lessen suffering and give us a sense of deeper purpose.

Existential therapy is also sometimes called humanistic existential therapy. A humanistic approach to therapy involves personal acceptance and growth. These foundations combine with a focus on the individual rather than their symptoms. And this type of therapy can help people make more empowered choices.

What can existential therapy treat?

Existential therapy helps people navigate the existential concerns and crises that are part of the human condition. It can be beneficial for treating:

• Depression: Feeling unfulfilled can lead to a sense of meaninglessness and despair. Discovering authenticity through existential therapy can help lower symptoms of depression.

• Anxiety and panic disorders: Anxiety can arise from many different things we experience in our lives. Existential therapy can help lessen anxiety by encouraging acceptance of the present moment.

• Meaninglessness: A sense of meaninglessness can be a symptom of depression, but it can also be a result of not being fully engaged with life. Existential therapy can help with mild to severe feelings of meaninglessness.

• Unhealthy substance use: Existential therapy encourages people to find personal meaning and authenticity in life, which can help them heal from harmful substance use.

• Stress: When something difficult happens in your life, it can trigger an emotional crisis. Existential therapy provides a framework for making sense of challenging life transitions.

Existential therapy brings up philosophical questions to help people come to terms with the nature of what it means to be human. Because of this, the goals of existential therapy work quite well with another form of talk therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT focuses on teaching you how to respond to challenges and triggers.

Key concepts of existential therapy can help people of many different age groups and backgrounds. In older adults, it can help with life transitions like retirement and chronic illnesses. Existential therapy can also help children find more meaning in their young lives. While researchers are still working to make existential therapy more accessible in multicultural settings, it has been used to help diverse populations explore universal themes like the purpose of life and mortality.

What to expect in existential therapy

Existential therapy sessions often feel more like deep conversations than structured lessons. Instead of focusing only on symptoms or past events, your therapist will help you explore your beliefs, values, and the moments in life that feel confusing or painful. Together, you’ll look at the choices you’ve made, the roles you play, and what truly matters to you.

Most therapists use a blend of techniques to guide this work. Some common ones include:

• Exploring personal values: Your therapist may ask open-ended questions like, “What feels meaningful to you right now?” or “What choices feel most aligned with who you want to be?”

• Identifying freedom and responsibility: You’ll discuss areas of your life where you feel stuck and explore the choices you do have, even when situations feel limiting.

• Meaning-making exercises: Your therapist may help you reflect on life transitions, losses, or difficult experiences and explore how they shape your sense of purpose.

• Mindfulness and present-moment focus: These techniques help you slow down, notice your emotions, and stay connected to what you’re experiencing right now.

• Looking at existential “givens”: These are themes like mortality, loneliness, uncertainty, and personal freedom. A therapist may invite you to reflect on how these themes show up in your life.

Sessions can be emotional at times, but they’re also collaborative and grounding. The therapist’s role isn’t to give you answers — it’s to help you understand yourself more deeply so you can make choices that feel honest and meaningful. Over time, many people feel more connected to themselves, more confident in their direction, and better able to navigate the uncertainty that comes with being human.

The benefits and limitations of existential therapy

When led by a trained therapist, existential therapy can improve people’s mental health by helping them understand what makes them feel fulfilled and content in their lives. But, like all forms of therapy, there are some limitations to be aware of.

• No simple answers: Because it’s such a philosophical process, there are no simple answers in existential therapy, and the journey is very personal. People who want a clear framework to explore their beliefs may have a hard time accepting that there are no specific answers to some of their big questions.

• Cultural or religious incompatibility: Some of the existential teachings around things like human freedom and a lack of definite meaning could cause some conflict for people with certain cultural or religious beliefs.

• Revisiting tough past events: Diving deep into your authenticity and what truly matters to you could mean revisiting some painful memories or unresolved trauma from your past. This is difficult emotional work that may not be a fit for everyone.

• Long-term commitment: It takes courage, strength, and time to contemplate existential themes like loneliness, meaninglessness, and death. So while existential therapy offers an opportunity for profound personal growth, it also requires a long-term commitment that not everyone has the capacity for.

Clinician’s take

You’re not alone in wondering why you’re here — humans have asked that question for generations. Existential therapy helps you hold the mystery with compassion and create purpose along the way.

Brandy Chalmers, LPC

Clinical reviewer