Short-Term Existential Psychotherapy in Primary Care

A Quantitative Report

Bibliographic Data

ID9021998
AuthorsMark Rayner (Regent's University London, corresponding author), Diego Vitali (0000-0002-4820-9255, EASE Wellbeing, London, UK)
Year2015
Volume56
Issue4
Pages357-372
Publication date2015-02-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Humanistic Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1678 • E-ISSN: 1552-650X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022167815569884
OpenAlexW1994604762
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited25

Existential Experimentation is a short-term integrative psychological therapy intervention. It is based on the recent government initiative focusing on recovery and thus integrates central ideas from existential theory, utilizes a phenomenological methodology, and applies considerations of human potential from humanistic psychology to support recovery and aim for well-being. This work explores the outcomes of a systematic application of this approach to working-age adults referred for a psychological intervention for depression and/or anxiety in terms of (a) reducing depression and/or anxiety symptomatology, (b) reducing the level of perceived psychological distress, and (c) reducing the need for psychological services. The sample consisted of working-age adults referred to primary care by their general practitioner. The patients’ relevant symptomatology was assessed at every contact using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7, and the level of psychological distress was monitored using CORE-OM. Pre–post effect sizes were evaluated using Cohen’s d. Patients’ access to psychological services was monitored at 6 and 12 months after discharge. The large effect sizes expressed show that this therapeutic approach operates effectively in reducing the symptomatology of depression and/or anxiety, while promoting significantly low relapse and dropout rates

Anxiety · Depression (economics · Distress · Existentialism · Intervention (counseling · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Clinical Psychology · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications

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