What is existential wellbeing?

​Existential wellbeing refers to a sense of meaning, purpose, authenticity, and coherence in life. It is grounded in existential philosophy and psychology, with a strong focus on how individuals confront fundamental life concerns such as death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness (Yalom, 1980).

This dimension of wellbeing moves beyond hedonic definitions of happiness and aligns closely with eudaimonic wellbeing, which emphasizes living in accordance with one’s true self and realizing one’s potential (Ryan & Deci, 2001).

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Origins in Therapeutic Context

The roots of existential wellbeing lie in existential psychotherapy, developed in the mid-20th century by people such as Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, and Irvin Yalom. Frankl’s logotherapy emphasized the human drive to find meaning even in suffering, framing meaning as a central therapeutic concern (Frankl, 1985). Rollo May (1958) brought existential ideas into American psychotherapy, emphasizing personal responsibility and authenticity. Yalom (1980) further systematized existential therapy, outlining four ultimate concerns—death, freedom, isolation, and meaning—as core to the human condition.

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Existential therapy focuses on enhancing individuals’ capacity to face these concerns openly, thereby promoting existential wellbeing. Research has shown that existential therapy can increase psychological resilience, purpose in life, and coherence, particularly in contexts such as palliative care and trauma recovery (Wong, 2014).

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Eudaimonic Wellbeing

Existential wellbeing overlaps significantly with eudaimonic wellbeing, a concept rooted in Aristotelian ethics and elaborated in modern psychology by authors such as Carol Ryff (1989). Ryff’s model includes dimensions like purpose in life, personal growth, autonomy, and self-acceptance—all of which resonate with existential concerns. Existential wellbeing can thus be seen as a facet or even a prerequisite of eudaimonic wellbeing, particularly in its focus on authenticity and meaning.

Researchers such as Waterman (1993) and Wong (2011) have argued that existential constructs like meaning, responsibility, and personal agency are central to understanding eudaimonia. Moreover, existential wellbeing has been incorporated into broader integrative models of wellbeing, such as the PURE model of meaning (Wong, 2011), which encompasses Purpose, Understanding, Responsibility, and Enjoyment as dimensions of meaningful living.

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Existential wellbeing represents a vital dimension of psychological health that emphasizes meaning, authenticity, and the navigation of existential concerns. Emerging from existential therapy, it bridges philosophical thought and clinical practice and aligns closely with eudaimonic wellbeing. As such, existential wellbeing is increasingly recognized as essential for holistic mental health.

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Existential Wellbeing Counseling

While existential counseling and existential therapy share a common philosophical foundation, they differ in depth, focus, and clinical application. These distinctions are especially important in professional practice, training, and client engagement. Both counseling and therapy aim to help individuals live more authentically and respond creatively to the existential givens of life (Yalom, 1980; Cooper, 2003).

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Existential counseling typically refers to a less clinical, more exploratory engagement with clients who are not necessarily experiencing psychopathology. It is suited for people facing:

• Life transitions (e.g., career, relationships, retirement)

• Questions about the self in relation to the world

• Meaning and purpose exploration

• Everyday anxiety or unease about life’s direction

 

Counseling tends to be shorter-term, non-pathologizing, and emphasizes a collaborative, human-to-human encounter. The counselor serves more as a companion or facilitator of philosophical reflection and meaning-making (van Deurzen, 2002).

In the words of the renown existential counselor and president of the Existential Movement, Emmy van Deurzen "[e]xistential counselling is a form of philosophical counselling, helping clients explore and clarify their life issues rather than treating mental illness" (van Deurzen & Adams, 2011).​​​

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Sources

• May, R. (1958). The origins and significance of the existential movement in psychology. In R. May, E. Angel, & H. F. Ellenberger (Eds.), Existence: A new dimension in psychiatry and psychology (pp. 3–36). Basic Books.

• Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books.

• Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man’s search for meaning (Rev. ed.). Washington Square Press.

• Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069

• Waterman, A. S. (1993). Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(4), 678–691. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.4.678

• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141

• van Deurzen, E. (2002). Existential counselling and psychotherapy in practice (2nd ed.). Sage.

• Cooper, M. (2003). Existential therapies. Sage.

• Spinelli, E. (2007). Practising existential psychotherapy: The relational world. Sage.

• Wong, P. T. P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. Canadian Psychology, 52(2), 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022511

• van Deurzen, E., & Adams, M. (2011). Skills in existential counselling and psychotherapy. Sage.

• Wong, P. T. P. (2014). Viktor Frankl’s meaning-seeking model and positive psychology. In A. Batthyány & P. Russo-Netzer (Eds.), Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 149–184). Springer.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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