Become Who You Are: Integrating the Conceptions of Will and Being in the Psychotherapeutic Theory of Rollo May

Abstract

This article discusses the essential foundation of Rollo May's unique approach to psychotherapy. Emphasis is placed on exploring and revealing the most basic elements that can be said to constitute the center of May's psychotherapeutic theory. This center exhibits a fundamental concern with the reality of an individual's being, that is, with empowering the individual to experience the reality of his or her being in a deeper and more authentic way. Such empowerment relies on and engages the dynamic processes of freedom and will, which make it possible for an individual to confront and actualize his or her inner potentialities for living. The heart of the therapeutic endeavor, then, is the supportive challenge to experience the depths of one's existence, to become who one truly is. The article concludes with an emphasis on May's concept of self-affirmation, a revolutionary way of existing in the world involving individual, cultural, and global implications for positive transformation.

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