Navigate life’s inherent challenges and big questions, determine your truth, and pursue meaning and purpose.

Existential Psychotherapy

Therapy for adults and couples at my Arlington, VA office location and/or online for those residing in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and 40 other states.

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Grappling with life’s fundamental questions, seeking a deeper understanding of your purpose, or facing feelings of isolation?

Existential Psychotherapy focuses on embracing meaning and authenticity whilst exploring life’s core questions:

Who am I?
How do I face mortality?
How do I live authentically?
What is my purpose?

It empowers people to examine the impact of their personal choices on their life, to take responsibility for them, and to come to terms with their own fears and limitations.

This approach is applicable to a wide range of concerns and focuses on uncovering new possibilities toward leading an authentic and fulfilling life.

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

— Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

Are you searching for meaning or struggling with a midlife or latelife crisis? Feeling stuck or unhappy in life? You could be considering a big change like a move, new relationship or career change but lacking the confidence to go through with it.

On the other hand, perhaps you already pursued and accomplished a goal - such as getting married, having kids, or buying the house of your dreams - which was supposed to make you happy, but failed to deliver.

Maybe you’ve noticed yourself or others around you aging, or other health issues cropping up. Perhaps it has you feeling time in a different way, noticing that the amount ahead is less that what’s behind.

You could be thinking about unrealized dreams or changes you’d like to make, feeling anxious, regretful or even guilty about not having done enough, or wondering if there is more to life.

Despite how isolating it can feel to question your life’s purpose, you are not alone. Existential struggles are part of the the human condition.

Existential therapy is about coming to terms with the “givens” of existence: death, meaninglessness, freedom and isolation, and finding happiness and fulfillment in spite of those limitations.

Confronting the raw and often unsettling truths of existence can evoke a range of complex emotions. The contemplation of death may evoke death anxiety, a primal fear that stems from the uncertainty of what lies beyond life. Searching for meaning in a seemingly indifferent universe can evoke feelings of emptiness, confusion, and existential dread.

The concept of freedom highlights the responsibility we have in creating our own meaning and living a life aligned with our values. However, the burden of this responsibility can also trigger anxiety and a sense of being overwhelmed by the vast array of choices and possibilities in life.

Feelings of isolation may emerge when reflecting on the freedom to choose our own path, as this freedom can lead to a sense of separateness and the realization of the ultimate aloneness of the human experience.

Part of the human experience is a need to make meaning of our individual existence and contextualize it within our broader worldview.

From this meaning-making framework, we can develop a sense of direction, define our personal creed, and embrace our sphere of influence.

It can be helpful to have a copilot outside of your social or family circle who is open, empathetic, curious, and invested in helping you get the clarity you need in your own way.

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WHAT WE’LL DO TOGETHER