Crosstalk between Existential Phenomenological Psychotherapy and Neurological Science in Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Lehel Balogh, Masaru Tanaka, Nóra Török, László Vécsei, Shigeru Taguchi
Preprints.org March 24, 2021 preprint DOI: 10.20944/preprints202012.0625.v3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Narrative review |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Existential phenomenological psychotherapy |
| Topics | Anxiety |
| Keywords | Psychotherapist Existentialism Mood Cognition Phenomenology philosophy Meaning existential Clinical psychology Epistemology |
| Citations | 22 |
| Key findings | Existential phenomenological psychotherapy can play a synergistic role with medication-based approaches for treating mood and anxiety disorders. |
Abstract
Psychotherapy is a comprehensive biological treatment modifying complex underlying cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and regulatory responses in the brain, leading patients with mental illness to a new interpretation of the sense of self and others. Psychotherapy is an art of science integrated with psychology and/or philosophy. Neurological science studies the neurological basis of cognition, memory, and behavior as well as the impact of neurological damage and disease on the functions, and their treatment. Both psychotherapy and neurological science deal with the brain; nevertheless, they continue to stay polarized far. Existential phenomenological psychotherapy (EPP) has been in the forefront of meaning-centered counseling for almost a century. The phenomenological approach in psychotherapy originated in the works of Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss and Viktor Frankl, and it has been committed to account for the existential possibilities and limitations of one’s life. EPP provides philosophically rich interpretations and empowers counseling techniques to assist mentally suffering individuals by finding meaning and purpose of life. The approach has proven to be effective in treating mood and anxiety disorders. This narrative review article demonstrates the development of EPP, the therapeutic methodology, evidence-based accounts of its curative techniques, current understanding of mood and anxiety disorders in neurological science, and a possible converging path to translate and integrate meaning-centered psychotherapy and neuroscience, concluding that the existential phenomenological psychotherapy potently plays a synergistic role with the currently prevailing medication-based approaches for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review General (healthcare, schools, workplace) | 2021 | Review | |
| A Consensus Statement on the Use of Ketamine in the Treatment of Mood Disorders | 2017 | Review and consensus statement | |
| Sudarshan Kriya Yogic Breathing in the Treatment of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Part II—Clinical Applications and Guidelines | 2005 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology | 2018 | Review | |
| Management of Treatment-Resistant Depression: Challenges and Strategies | 2020 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder JAMA Psychiatry November 4, 2020
- Mechanisms of Ketamine Action as an Antidepressant Molecular Psychiatry March 13, 2018
- Antidepressants Normalize the Default Mode Network in Patients With Dysthymia JAMA Psychiatry February 6, 2013
and 1 more in the library