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The Experiential Liberation Strategy of the Existential-Integrative Model of Therapy

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Abstract

This article summarizes the experiential liberation strategy of the existential-integrative (EI) model of therapy. The existential-integrative model of therapy provides one way to understand and coordinate a variety of intervention modes within an overarching ontological or experiential context. I will (1) define the experiential liberation strategy—such as its emphasis on the capacities to constrict, expand, and center psychophysiological capacities; (2) describe its salient features—such as the four stances that promote experiential liberation: presence, invoking the actual, vivifying and confronting resistance, and the cultivation of meaning and awe; and (3) illustrate the relevance of the strategy to case vignettes drawn from actual practice.

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Notes

  1. James is a fictional composite of a typical client from my practice.

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Correspondence to Kirk J. Schneider.

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This article is an update and adaptation of my chapter entitled “Existential processes.” In L. Greenberg, J. Watson, & G. Lietaer (Eds.), Handbook of experiential psychotherapy (pp. 103–120). New York: Guilford.

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Schneider, K.J. The Experiential Liberation Strategy of the Existential-Integrative Model of Therapy. J Contemp Psychother 37, 33–39 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-006-9032-y

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