User:Bwoollard/sandbox

Article Evaluation
Existential therapy evaluation notes:

Title: Consider changing to "existential psychotherapy", or "existential psychology".

Opening paragraph: Wording seems strange/vague. Consider revising the term "givens". Lacks sufficient citation. Needs to be rewritten.

Background: No proper citations whatsoever. Third paragraph (on Kierkegaard) contains questionable information ("As Kierkegaard lived by his own word, he was lonely and much ridiculed during his lifetime). Fourth paragraph (on Nietzsche) contains probably incorrect interpretations of his philosophy (i.e."He challenged people to release moral and societal constraints and to discover their free will in order to live according to their own desires.). My understanding is that Nietzsche advocated for the creative generation of one's own values, which is much different than living according to desire -- find sources on this. The sections of each philosopher could be much more in depth, and specific as to what aspects of each philosophy contributed to the psychological model of existential psychology.

Development in Britain: Very little citations. Consider changing to "British School" and developing this.

Development in Canada: Seems better. Check accuracy of sources, etc. Maybe add info regarding American development and change to "American School"?

View of the Human Mind: Very short, needs to be developed. Seems simplistic, citations not entered properly.

Psychological Dysfunction: Needs to be developed, with more citations. Very short and simplistic, mentioning only one psychologist specifically.

The good life: No citations whatsoever. Seems vague and underdeveloped. Consider removing completely and replacing with alternative.

Four worlds: Citations added incorrectly. Entire section seems to relate to the psychology of one van Deurzen -- what is his significance; is the model widely accepted? Not citations for the info regarding each world.

Sources:

Notes:

-Sources 1, 2, and 3 should be utilized together to create a more accurate introduction paragraph. Note that source 1 has almost no other info on existential therapy, while sources 2 and 3 are dedicated to it exclusively.

-Use source 6, and others if possible, to create a new section regarding scientific research into the use of existential therapy.

Source 1:

---J.,, Comer, Ronald. Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (Eighth edition ed.). New York. ISBN 9781464176975. OCLC 914289944.

Existential therapy stresses the freedom and responsibility of the individual, and aims to find ways by which said individual may live in order to facilitate a greater degree of meaning in their lives. This involves the philosophical exploration and adjustment in many areas of a person's life. Rather than being a specific means of assessing and treating patients, existential therapy is a philosophical approach to psychotherapy that emphasizes these concepts and their importance for wellbeing.

Source 2:

---Barnett, L., & Madison, Greg. (2012). Existential Therapy : Legacy, Vibrancy and Dialogue.(Advancing theory in therapy). Hoboken: Taylor & Francis.

There is no single method or set theory by which existential therapy can be definitively defined. Important philosophical thought which influenced existential therapy include the works of Kierkeegard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, and Merleau-Ponty. Existential therapy emphasizes a direct, phenomenological, approach to being and to understanding our experiences as they present themselves, rather than through any specific theoretical framework.

Notes: different schools - American (existential-humanistic, existential/contemporary psychoanalysis), British (Philadelphia Association), Continental (Deseinsanalysis, logotherapy)

Source 3:

---Iacovou, S., & Weixel-Dixon, Karen. (2015). Existential therapy : 100 key points and techniques(Dual First. ed., 100 key points and techniques). London: Routledge.

Existential therapy, like the existential philosophy which underlies it, is founded upon the belief that human existence is best understood through a direct examination of our own experiences, and that which is universally applicable to human existence, such as the inevitability of death, freedom, responsibility, meaning, etc. Additionally, existential therapy is heavily grounded in phenomenology, a philosophical school closely related to existentialism, which stresses the importance of subjective experience in our understanding of the world, and thus rejecting the concept of objectivity as being the sole mediator of truth.

Source 4:

---Saraswathi, K. (2013). Logotherapy. The Nursing Journal of India, 104(1), 37-8.

Plan to shorten and place within larger section, as logotherapy has its own wiki page.

Logotherapy, the third Viennese school of psychology alongside psychoanalysis and individual psychology, is form of therapy created by psychiatrist Viktor Frankel. Frankel was heavily influenced by existential philosophy, as well as his own experience in the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. The three main components to logotherapy are Freedom of Will, which is the ability to change one's life to the degree that such change is possible, Will to Meaning, which places meaning at the center of wellbeing, and Meaning in Life, which asserts the objectivity of meaning. The primary techniques of logotherapy involve helping the clients to identify and remove any barriers to the pursuit of meaning in their own lives, to determine what is meaningful to them, and to then help patients effectively pursue related goals.

Source 5:

---Buchanan, B. (2001). Nietzsche-Studies-Psychology. Theory & Psychology., 11(2), 283.

Nietzsche exerted a significant impact upon the development of psychology generally, but especially influenced an approach which emphasized an understanding of life from a personal perspective.

Source 6:

---Koole, S. (2006). Introducing science to the psychology of the soul: Experimental existential psychology. Current Directions in Psychological Science., 15(5), 212.

There is a growing movement which seeks to utilize experimental methods in issues concerning existential psychology. Research is beginning to show that existential concerns have a significant effect on human behavior. Areas of investigation have included reactions to "mortality salience", or a heightened awareness of death, the neurological response to social exclusion, tactics of identity-maintenance, the degree of wellbeing associated with a person's sense of their own freedom, and the effect of trauma on a person's sense of meaning in their lives, as well as the effect that regaining a sense of positive meaning can have upon trauma.

Source 7:

---Vos, J. (2014). Existential Therapies: A Meta-Analysis of Their Effects on Psychological Outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology., 83(1), 115-128.

There has not been a large amount of research on existential therapy, and much of the research focuses on people receiving therapy who also have medical concerns, such as cancer. Despite this, some research has indicated support for existential therapies with certain populations. Overall, however, more research is needed before definitive scientific claims can be made.

Source 8:

---Kaufmann, W. (1968). Nietzsche: Philosopher, psychologist, antichrist (3d ed.). Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Nietzsche explored the various needs of the individual in relation to the ontological conditions of being, and asserted that all things are in a state of "ontological privation", in which they long to become more than they are. This longing to overcome one's current state, and become something greater, Nietzsche termed the "will to power". These are connected to the physiological and psychological needs of the individual.

European School
The European School of existential analysis is dominated by two forms of therapy: Logotherapy, and Daseinsanalysis. Logotherapy was developed by psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankel. Frankel was heavily influenced by existential philosophy, as well as his own experience in the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. The three main components to Logotherapy are Freedom of Will, which is the ability to change one's life to the degree that such change is possible, Will to Meaning, which places meaning at the center of wellbeing, and Meaning in Life, which asserts the objectivity of meaning. The primary techniques of Logotherapy involve helping the clients to identify and remove any barriers to the pursuit of meaning in their own lives, to determine what is personally meaningful, and to then help patients effectively pursue related goals.

Daseinsanalysis is a psychotherapeutic system developed upon the ideas of Martin Heidegger, as well as the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud, that seeks to help the individual find autonomy and meaning in their "being in the world" (a rough translation of "dasein").

Introduction
Existential psychotherapy, like the existential philosophy which underlies it, is founded upon the belief that human existence is best understood through a direct examination of our own experiences, and that which is universally applicable to human existence, such as the inevitability of death, freedom, responsibility, meaning, etc. Existential therapy stresses the freedom and responsibility of the individual, and aims to find ways by which individuals may live in order to facilitate a greater degree of meaning in their lives. This involves the philosophical exploration and adjustment in many areas of a person's life. Rather than being a specific means of assessing and treating patients, existential therapy is a philosophical approach to psychotherapy that emphasizes these concepts and their importance for wellbeing.

Nietzsche
Nietzsche exerted a significant impact upon the development of psychology generally, but especially influenced an approach which emphasized an understanding of life from a personal perspective.

In exploring the various needs of the individual in relation to the ontological conditions of being, Nietzsche asserted that all things are in a state of "ontological privation", in which they long to become more than they are. This state of deprivation has major implications for the physiological and psychological needs of the individual.

Empirical Research
There has not been a large amount of research on existential therapy, and much of the research focuses on people receiving therapy who also have medical concerns, such as cancer. Despite this, some research has indicated support for existential therapies with certain populations. Overall, however, more research is needed before definitive scientific claims can be made.

Melynda's Peer Review
This article has a lot of information. As you stated in your initial findings, there are many places where citations are missing and need to be added. It looks like you have planned to either add those or edit the information, so that will help. The first reference point for Yalom for example, when I search for it on the web, the only part of the book that is available to read is chapter 10 and the reference is pointing to page 9. I think the whole first paragraph can be reworded so that you aren't talking about "the givens" because there isn't a good reference or explanation telling me what these are. The second paragraph in the first section could be expanded upon, as well. There is a section called View of the Human Mind that looks like there can be information out there that can be added. In the section for Psychological Dysfunction it mentions "other theorists", but doesn't go into detail about who these other theorists are. You could add information about them, or reword altogether. I liked all your other added edits that you have planned, good job.

Peer Review 2
I believe the article content is very concise and informative. However, I noticed a lot of places where it seemed to miss citations. There are places where the citations are present, but I clicked the links to make sure they were legitimate and they sent me to another Wikipedia article. This is a great example of circular referencing that we mentioned in class. The Wikipedia articles that the links sent me to were also flawed and need to be combed through for error. I would pay close attention to the links when editing your article. Aside from that I believe the flow of the article was great. (Archiea1 (talk) 16:23, 14 February 2018 (UTC))

Peer Review Response
I agree that the introductory paragraph needs to be rewritten, or at least added to. The terminology of "givens" is confusing, and I think the explanation is lacking. I plan to synthesize several of my sources into a new introductory paragraph to address these issues. The section "View on the human mind" is certainly limited, as well, and I am unsure that there is a specific view of the mind in existential therapy other than, perhaps, the importance of values, meaning, etc, in determining a person's mental wellbeing. As such, I think this whole section could be deleted completely, especially as the content it currently contains has little very to do with an explicit theory of mind, so much as a philosophical stance elucidated in other sections of the article. I also agree that the citations need a lot of work. Much of the content does not have citations at all, or is cited incorrectly. I plan to address this to the degree that I am capable of doing so.