Existential theory: helping school counselors attend to youth at risk for violence

Professional School Counseling, June, 2003 by Laurie A. Carlson

Recent incidences of extreme school violence have increased focus on school violence (Sprague & Walker, 2000; Vaughan, 1998). As a result, many researchers and practitioners in education, psychology, sociology, and counseling are working to identify possible causes (Dykeman, Daehlin, Doyle, & Flamer, 1996; Raywid & Oshiyama, 2000; Vaughan). Behavioral and social indicators are the most frequently identified and discussed issues surrounding school violence. Researchers suggest that aggression in children and adolescents can be associated with hyperactivity, locus of control, impulsivity, lower intelligence, family dynamics, poor social skills, or low socio-economic status (Dykeman, et al.; Straussner & Straussner, 1997; Warner, Weist, & Krulak, 1999) and physical or sexual abuse (Stetzner, 1999; Vaughan). The nature of these factors appear to suggest that violence occurs because there is a lack of something in the perpetrator's life, factors that are often deep-rooted and unchangeable within the scope of school counseling. Therefore, school counselors who try to focus on these issues when working with youth at risk for violent behavior may find themselves frustrated and ineffective. Existentialism allows for the consideration of such abstruse emotional and social factors as being, meaning, freedom, choice, and anxiety. The purposes of this article are (a) to introduce the existential perspective as a viable theoretical framework for school counselors to utilize when addressing possible violent behavior in youth; and (b) to present a case study that introduces possible school counselor case conceptualization and interventions based in existential principles and designed to address the existential factors that appear to influence youth at risk for violent behavior.

PHILOSOPHICAL ROOTS OF EXISTENTIAL THEORY

Existential theory is rooted deeply in philosophy and history. All human experience is part of the larger human condition, particularly when it is vivid and intense enough to touch the experience of other human beings (Bankart, 1997; Heaton, 1997). This part/whole concept of one person's human experience touching that of humanity is often referred to as "figure/ground." Every figure, object, or phenomenon is experienced in relation to some less clearly defined ground (i.e., a total context; Pollio, 1997). The social context of the school experience is one example.

Early philosophical thought containing precepts of existentialism can be traced back to Sartre, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche (May & Yalom, 1995). Differences between these early existentialists lie fundamentally in their views of the individual being and the significance of an individual's "being-in-the-world" (Wahl, 1949; Warnock, 1970). These existential thinkers do, however, share the fundamental view that because consciousness and the world can not be separated, our existence makes us who we are in relationship to our world (Cohn, 1997). Existentialism recognizes several themes of everyday life as a framework for understanding human existence. According to Pollio (1997), these eight themes include experience of the human body, time in human life, human experience of other people, aloneness, reparation, love and loving, falling apart, and death in the context of life.

EXISTENTIALISM AND ADOLESCENTS

Children and adolescents do experience existential suffering in spite of common assumptions that children lack the advanced cognitive skills and spiritual maturity often associated with existential suffering (Attig, 1996). This is important when considering the existential perspective to explore the world of school violence. Adolescents may manifest existential anxiety in a variety of ways, including choosing isolation, becoming inward, and manifesting hostility (Brown, 1996; Firestone, 1997). Pre-adolescents and adolescents are more likely than children to express their existential anguish through acting out or arbitrary acts of violence (Attig; Brown).

Some existentialists consider violence and aggression as natural and in some cases necessary. Existential thinkers such as May and Sartre have identified violence as an existential component of the self, in that an individual may move towards greater realization of self through such action (Diamond, 1996). This is in no way intended to condone aggression or violence, but merely to recognize that for some, aggression does provide existential reward. Researchers and practitioners that understand this aspect of aggression may develop more effective interventions. Honest exploration of possible affective rewards may aid in identifying a more acceptable behavior with which to replace the violence. According to recent research, the most effective interventions must address underlying symptoms and intervene on multiple levels (Brown & Parsons, 1998; Dykeman, et al., 1996; Price, 1996; Sprague & Walker, 2000). The following case presentation demonstrates how a school counselor can explore underlying existential issues and intervene on multiple levels.