An Itegration of Existential Psychology and the Multimodal Model

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical position that uses the synergy existing between existential psychology and the multimodal model of psychotherapy. The usefulness of this integration lies in its implications for conceptualizing the client's world and in providing a practical basis for treatment. An existential perspective contributes a rich context and soulfulness, whereas the multimodal approach provides a conceptual framework to facilitate the counselor's joining with the client, promoting a greater depth of understanding. Such an orientation builds on the courage found in one area of a person's life to facilitate a more fulfilling experience of life in all aspects of being.

Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action,... man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the words, "The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.

-Viktor Frankl (1984, p. 49)

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