My Approach: Why I Use Existential Therapy in My Practice
What Is Existential Therapy?
Existential therapy is a powerful and flexible approach to counseling. It doesn’t try to fix you. It doesn’t label you as broken. Instead, it invites you to ask some of the most human questions:
Who am I really?
What do I want my life to mean?
How do I live with freedom, responsibility, and uncertainty?
Existential therapy focuses on self-awareness, choice, authenticity, and meaning—not just symptom management. It helps people face the reality that life can be hard, confusing, and sometimes absurd—and then asks, what do you want to do with that truth?
I use existential therapy as a foundation in my work with many of my clients—especially those navigating addiction, LGBTQ+ identity, and neurodivergence—because it respects complexity. And it meets people where they actually are.
Why It Works for Addiction
Addiction isn’t just a chemical issue. It’s often a response to emotional pain, disconnection, and feeling lost. Existential therapy helps clients understand their substance use through a deeper lens.
Instead of just saying “don’t use,” we ask:
What are you trying to numb?
Where do you feel powerless or trapped?
What choices feel impossible?
I help clients explore the discomfort that addiction was trying to soothe. Then we can build a life with meaning, not just sobriety. That’s where real healing begins.
Why It Helps LGBTQ+ Clients
LGBTQ+ folks often carry invisible burdens: identity questioning, family rejection, societal pressure to “pass,” or a lifetime of feeling unsafe to just exist.
Existential therapy honors these challenges without pathologizing them.
It asks questions like:
What does it mean to live authentically in a world that may not accept you?
How do you navigate the tension between belonging and being yourself?
Who are you beyond the labels imposed on you?
Many of my LGBTQ+ clients say they feel seen in existential work in a way they haven’t elsewhere. There’s space for grief, celebration, anger, fear, and hope—all at once.
Why It Resonates with Neurodivergent Clients
If you’re neurodivergent, you’ve probably been told to mask, fix, or hide parts of yourself to be more “normal.” That message—spoken or unspoken—can fracture your sense of self.
Existential therapy doesn’t try to make you neurotypical.
It invites you to consider:
What makes life meaningful for you?
How can you create a life that fits your brain, not someone else’s mold?
What would freedom look like if you weren’t constantly adapting for others?
Existential therapy helps clients reclaim agency and develop a sense of purpose—even if the world hasn’t made space for them yet.
Therapy That Doesn’t Pretend to Have All the Answers
The truth is, existential therapy doesn’t give you a checklist or a quick fix. It gives you space. It gives you questions. And it gives you the freedom to find your own answers.
It’s especially powerful for clients who:
Have felt like outsiders
Are tired of being diagnosed instead of heard
Want more than just “coping skills”—they want direction and meaning
If that sounds like you, existential therapy might feel like a breath of fresh air.
My Role as Your Therapist
I don’t pretend to be the expert on your life—you are. My job is to help you feel safe enough to ask big questions, hold painful truths, and discover your own voice.
I’ve seen existential therapy change the lives of people dealing with addiction, coming out, living with ADHD or autism, and everything in between.
If you’re looking for therapy that honors your humanity—not just your symptoms—I’d love to work with you.
