Ritika, 28, works at a bank in Pune. She feels lonely and cut off from others, and says nothing she does feels worthwhile since her parents stopped her from pursuing music. Her first therapist lets her pour out her anger and sadness without any criticism, and leaves it to Ritika to decide where each session goes. Later, a second therapist, a psychiatrist, talks openly about his own values and life, keeps her attention on the present, and reminds her that her life is unlike anyone else's. A third therapist repeats her statements back in simpler words, and his warmth does not change whatever she tells him.
The second therapist shares his own values with Ritika and keeps her attention on the present. What is the goal of this method?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → To help the client find the meaning of her being
Option (1) To bring repressed conflicts into awareness and work through them — Incorrect. Bringing repressed conflicts into awareness is the aim of psychodynamic therapy. That works through the past and transference, which logotherapy actively discourages.
Option (2) To help the client find the meaning of her being — Correct. A therapist who is open about his own values and stresses the here and now is practising logotherapy. Its goal is to facilitate the client to find the meaning of her being.
Option (3) To raise self-awareness by recognising emotions blocked from awareness — Incorrect. Raising self-awareness by recognising blocked emotions is the goal of gestalt therapy by Fritz and Laura Perls. It uses acting out of fantasies.
Option (4) To restructure the dysfunctional schemas behind her negative thoughts — Incorrect. Restructuring dysfunctional schemas is the aim of Beck's cognitive therapy. It works on thinking errors.
NCERT (2026-27): “Existential Therapy … |