<p>The scope of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_Psychotherapy_%28book%29" rel="nofollow">Yalom's mainstream branch</a> is pretty much the same as that of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_therapy" rel="nofollow">existential psychotherapy</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychodynamic_psychotherapy" rel="nofollow">psychodynamic therapy</a> in general.  According to Yalom (p. 9-10):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The dynamic existential approach retains the basic dynamic structure
  outlined by Freud, but radically alters the content.  The old formula
  of DRIVE -> ANXIETY -> DEFENSE MECHANISM is replaced by AWARENESS OF
  ULTIMATE CONCERN -> ANXIETY -> DEFENSE MECHANISM. Both formulas assume
  that anxiety is the fuel of psychopathology;</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoanalysis" rel="nofollow">Psychoanalysis</a> is focused on psychological symptoms, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurosis" rel="nofollow">neurosis</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>There are many different neuroses: obsessive–compulsive disorder,
  obsessive–compulsive personality disorder, impulse control disorder,
  anxiety disorder, hysteria, and a great variety of phobias. ...
  anxiety, sadness or depression, anger, irritability, mental confusion,
  low sense of self-worth, etc., behavioral symptoms such as phobic
  avoidance, vigilance, impulsive and compulsive acts, lethargy, etc.,
  cognitive problems such as unpleasant or disturbing thoughts,
  repetition of thoughts and obsession, habitual fantasizing, negativity
  and cynicism, etc. Interpersonally, neurosis involves dependency,
  aggressiveness, perfectionism, schizoid isolation, socio-culturally
  inappropriate behaviors, etc.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis" rel="nofollow">psychosis</a>, but exclusive of known biological causes:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Medical and biological laboratory tests should exclude central nervous
  system diseases and injuries, diseases and injuries of other organs,
  psychoactive substances, toxins, and prescribed medications as causes
  of symptoms of psychosis before any psychiatric illness can be
  diagnosed.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>As per Yalom (p. 12):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>*In this discussion, as elsewhere in this text, I refer to
  psychologically based disturbance, not to the major psychoses with a
  fundamental biochemical origin.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is similar in scope to all forms of psychotherapy, except that where the underlying cause is not known to be physiological or medical in nature, it is assumed to be subconscious (rather than say, behavioural, cognitive, or functional).  For <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychodynamics" rel="nofollow">psychodynamics</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Psychodynamic therapies depend upon a theory of inner conflict,
  wherein repressed behaviours and emotions surface into the patient’s
  consciousness; generally, one's conflict is subconscious.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>and specifically, for existential psychotherapy (in Yalom's words p. 8):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>... a conflict that flows from the individual's confrontation with the
  givens of existence.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This also means that the scope of therapy may change over time, as knowledge is gained regarding the root causes of mental disorders.</p>

<p>Pretty much all other mental disorders are fair game, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mood_disorder" rel="nofollow">mood disorders</a> such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety_disorder" rel="nofollow">anxiety</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_disorder" rel="nofollow">personality disorders</a> such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder" rel="nofollow">psychopathy (ASPD)</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_disorder" rel="nofollow">thought disorders</a> such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia" rel="nofollow">schizophrenia</a>.  For example, in chapter 4 (p. 147) of his book - under the "Death" concern - Yalom discusses schizophrenia patients who:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>clings to his or her denial of death with a fierce desperation</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Note: In cases where some biological factor is assumed, it is common practice to treat disorders with both medication and psychotherapy, as the overall efficacy is improved.  In such cases, psychotherapy focuses on the psychological components of the disorder.  Even in cases where the role of psychology may seem secondary, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia" rel="nofollow">dementia</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_disability" rel="nofollow">learning disability</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism" rel="nofollow">autism</a>, psychotherapy may be used to augment treatment.  However, psychodynamic therapy is not popular for such disorders, because of the reliance on talk-therapy, that is highly constrained in these cases, so they are unlikely to be discussed much in existential therapy circles.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-11T23:41:45.640Z
2015-08-11T23:41:45.640Z
Arnon Weinberg
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irvin_D._Yalom" rel="noreferrer">Irwin D. Yalom</a> is a famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_therapy" rel="noreferrer">existential psychotherapist</a> who's sporting his own theory about human psychology. Based on psychdynamics, he's stating that questions and thoughts pertaining to <em>death</em>, <em>freedom</em>, <em>meaninglessness</em>, and <em>existential isolation</em> lead to anxiety. Further, when it comes to psychopathology, he states (page 110 of his book <em>Existential psychotherapy</em>) that his theory</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>as do most paradigms of psychopathology, on the assumption that
  psychopathology is a graceless, inefficient mode of coping with
  anxiety.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Now, I'm trying to figure out whether he views <em>all</em> kind of psychopathology this way, and indeed what he thinks counts as psychopathology in the first place. I recon he's not talking about things like for example autism or psychopathy (even though I haven't found any passages where he explicitly excludes these), but what about diagnoses such as schizophrenia? </p>

<p>For Yalom, where does one draw the line between mental illness caused by inefficient coping strategies for anxiety, and brain disorders that simply are due to other reasons?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-11T10:19:06.410Z
Are you sure you mean 'are caused by' rather than 'cause or are caused by'?
BCLC
<abnormal-psychology>
According to Yalom, what mental disorders are caused by inefficient anxiety coping strategies?
Speldosa
# According to Yalom, what mental disorders are caused by inefficient anxiety coping strategies?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-08-01)

[Irwin D. Yalom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irvin_D._Yalom) is a famous [existential psychotherapist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_therapy) who's sporting his own theory about human psychology. Based on psychdynamics, he's stating that questions and thoughts pertaining to *death*, *freedom*, *meaninglessness*, and *existential isolation* lead to anxiety. Further, when it comes to psychopathology, he states (page 110 of his book *Existential psychotherapy*) that his theory

> as do most paradigms of psychopathology, on the assumption that
> psychopathology is a graceless, inefficient mode of coping with
> anxiety.

Now, I'm trying to figure out whether he views *all* kind of psychopathology this way, and indeed what he thinks counts as psychopathology in the first place. I recon he's not talking about things like for example autism or psychopathy (even though I haven't found any passages where he explicitly excludes these), but what about diagnoses such as schizophrenia?

For Yalom, where does one draw the line between mental illness caused by inefficient coping strategies for anxiety, and brain disorders that simply are due to other reasons?

**Tags:** abnormal-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you sure you mean 'are caused by' rather than 'cause or are caused by'?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-08-11. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

The scope of [Yalom's mainstream branch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_Psychotherapy_%28book%29) is pretty much the same as that of [existential psychotherapy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_therapy), and [psychodynamic therapy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychodynamic_psychotherapy) in general. According to Yalom (p. 9-10):

> The dynamic existential approach retains the basic dynamic structure
> outlined by Freud, but radically alters the content. The old formula
> of DRIVE -> ANXIETY -> DEFENSE MECHANISM is replaced by AWARENESS OF
> ULTIMATE CONCERN -> ANXIETY -> DEFENSE MECHANISM. Both formulas assume
> that anxiety is the fuel of psychopathology;

[Psychoanalysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoanalysis) is focused on psychological symptoms, such as [neurosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurosis):

> There are many different neuroses: obsessive–compulsive disorder,
> obsessive–compulsive personality disorder, impulse control disorder,
> anxiety disorder, hysteria, and a great variety of phobias. ...
> anxiety, sadness or depression, anger, irritability, mental confusion,
> low sense of self-worth, etc., behavioral symptoms such as phobic
> avoidance, vigilance, impulsive and compulsive acts, lethargy, etc.,
> cognitive problems such as unpleasant or disturbing thoughts,
> repetition of thoughts and obsession, habitual fantasizing, negativity
> and cynicism, etc. Interpersonally, neurosis involves dependency,
> aggressiveness, perfectionism, schizoid isolation, socio-culturally
> inappropriate behaviors, etc.

and [psychosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis), but exclusive of known biological causes:

> Medical and biological laboratory tests should exclude central nervous
> system diseases and injuries, diseases and injuries of other organs,
> psychoactive substances, toxins, and prescribed medications as causes
> of symptoms of psychosis before any psychiatric illness can be
> diagnosed.

As per Yalom (p. 12):

> \*In this discussion, as elsewhere in this text, I refer to
> psychologically based disturbance, not to the major psychoses with a
> fundamental biochemical origin.

This is similar in scope to all forms of psychotherapy, except that where the underlying cause is not known to be physiological or medical in nature, it is assumed to be subconscious (rather than say, behavioural, cognitive, or functional). For [psychodynamics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychodynamics):

> Psychodynamic therapies depend upon a theory of inner conflict,
> wherein repressed behaviours and emotions surface into the patient’s
> consciousness; generally, one's conflict is subconscious.

and specifically, for existential psychotherapy (in Yalom's words p. 8):

> ... a conflict that flows from the individual's confrontation with the
> givens of existence.

This also means that the scope of therapy may change over time, as knowledge is gained regarding the root causes of mental disorders.

Pretty much all other mental disorders are fair game, including [mood disorders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mood_disorder) such as [anxiety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety_disorder), [personality disorders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_disorder) such as [psychopathy (ASPD)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder), and [thought disorders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_disorder) such as [schizophrenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia). For example, in chapter 4 (p. 147) of his book - under the "Death" concern - Yalom discusses schizophrenia patients who:

> clings to his or her denial of death with a fierce desperation

Note: In cases where some biological factor is assumed, it is common practice to treat disorders with both medication and psychotherapy, as the overall efficacy is improved. In such cases, psychotherapy focuses on the psychological components of the disorder. Even in cases where the role of psychology may seem secondary, such as [dementia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia), [learning disability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_disability), and [autism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism), psychotherapy may be used to augment treatment. However, psychodynamic therapy is not popular for such disorders, because of the reliance on talk-therapy, that is highly constrained in these cases, so they are unlikely to be discussed much in existential therapy circles.


---

