Group, Vol. 20, No. 2, 1996 Some Thoughts Psychotherapy I George Max Saiger 2,3 on the Existential Lens in Group Existential psychotherapy provides a useful perspective, or "lens" through which to view the practice of group psychotherapy. The field encompasses a variety of theoretical and practical points of view, many not usually thought of as "existential." Some relate to the therapist, some to the enterprise of psycho- therapy, and some to conceptions of psychic or external reality. This paper identifies several of these vertices, emphasizing especially (1) the importance of relationship in psychotherapy, (2) the problem of meanin~ (3) addressing existential concerns, especially the centrality of death as a problem in living, and (4) the task of the therapist. Attention is paid to the historical development of these ideas. The work of Martin Buber, Otto Rank, Wilfred Bion, and Viktor Frankl is especially emphasized, although proto-existential concepts from other writers are also noted. The heart of the paper deals with the application of these vertices to group psychotherapy. Extensive attention will be given to the differing viewpoints of Hugh Mullan and Irvin Yalom. Practical applications in group psychotherapy, including clinical vignettes, are offered. KEY WORDS: existential psychotherapy; lens; group. INTRODUCTION: THE PSYCHOTHERAPY RELATIONSHIP It all began with Sigmund Freud. His conception of psychoanalysis was not existential, but was instead consciously objective and "scientific." None- 1This paper was originally delivered, in somewhat different form, at the National Group Psychotherapy Institute of the Washington School of Psychiatry on April 23, 1995. It was dedicated to Hugh MuUan, who had been one of my teachers at the school two decades earlier. 2Washington School of Psychiatry, Washington, D.C. 3Correspondence should be directed to George Max Saiger, M.D., C.G.P., Center for the Study of Psychotherapies for the Aging, Washington School of Psychiatry, 2025 "Eye" Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006. 113 0362-4021/96/0600-0113509.50/1 9 1996Eastern GroupPsychotherapy Society