How Experiential Theory views problems

Problems of Poor Understanding
The role of the therapist in experiential therapy is to create experiences that families can learn and grow from (Nichols & Davis 2020). The therapist promotes family members to describe how they experience themselves, each other and the family as a whole to the rest of the family. Allowing family members to express how they see the family can bring insight to expectations and disappointments that each family member has of one another. Once the issues are discussed openly, the therapist can then guide the discussion to create resolutions to the problems.

Learning to Listen
It is important that the therapist use experiential listening with the client. According to Goldsher (2020) Experiential listening encourages the therapist to attend to what is occurring in their phenomenological world. The therapist should be focusing on images, and feelings that emerge in their mind as the client is speaking. This allows for the therapist to get in touch with deeper experiences outside the client’s awareness.

Guiding Through Challenge
The therapist in experiential therapy, the therapists utilize the phenomenological paradigm to guide the process in clients. According to Mahrer (1983) the process begins with guiding the client to focus in a meaningful center which is the core of the clients problem, By focusing attention on a meaningful center, it directs the client to minimize role-relationship problems and to enhance the patient’s sense of choice and responsibility. By minimizing role-relationship problems, the client is able to maintain attention on a meaningful center. Increasing the client’s opportunity to make decisions about the course of therapy allows the client an opportunity to choose a direction of change.

Explanation from the Experts
The Power of Experiential Therapy

Continued
Techniques and Interventions