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Existential Therapy and Counselling: Finding Meaning and Purpose in Life

Existential Therapy and Counselling help you explore meaning, purpose, and authentic living while overcoming anxiety and major life challenges.

Recognizing When Existential Therapy Can Help You Reclaim Meaning in Life

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Do you ever feel disconnected from your purpose or find yourself questioning what truly gives your life meaning?

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Are you experiencing anxiety about major life transitions or questioning your life choices?

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Have you felt isolated or disconnected from yourself and others despite having relationships?

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If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be experiencing an existential crisis. At Family TLC, we help you reconnect with yourself and reclaim a stronger sense of fulfillment. Existential therapy focuses on helping you rediscover purpose and life meaning by exploring your thoughts, emotions, and values. This type of therapy encourages self-reflection and growth by exploring freedom, responsibility, and personal choice. Based on existential psychology, it helps people work through life’s bigger challenges—like uncertainty, feeling alone, or trying to make sense of their purpose and direction.

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Experience Healing and Connection Through Existential Psychotherapy

Existential therapy is a form of psychotherapy and a therapeutic approach based on existential philosophy and existential phenomenology, designed to help people explore into deeper meaning of life and get clearer about their own values. Unlike cognitive behavioural therapy, which focuses on changing thoughts and behaviours, existential therapy is a form of humanistic therapy that encourages self-exploration and authenticity.

Our therapists guide clients in addressing the four existential concerns: freedom, isolation, meaning, and mortality, while fostering greater self-awareness and emotional growth. Through this form of talk therapy, clients learn to confront existential challenges, accept life’s uncertainties, and cultivate genuine connections with others. Integrating existential and humanistic theories, this therapy helps clients live with deeper purpose, resilience, and fulfillment as they redefine what gives their lives true significance.

Effective Existential Approaches: Strategies for Getting the Most from Therapy

Meet David, 45. Despite having plenty of success, he found himself feeling a deep emptiness that he couldn’t shake.

Working with our psychotherapist, he discovered that his pursuit of career success had distanced him from his personal meaning and core values.

Drawing from existential-humanistic therapies and principles of person-centred therapy, our therapist used various existential approaches to psychotherapy to help him confront his existential anxiety and existential guilt about unfulfilled potential. This aspect of existential therapy encouraged David to reflect on the relationship between existential choices, freedom, and responsibility, helping him re-evaluate how he defined success.

The goal of therapy was not simply symptom relief but to support David in living more authentically and intentionally. Existential therapy is based on the belief that individuals can find purpose even amid uncertainty. As therapy progressed, David reconnected with his family, reduced his work hours, and began volunteering—steps aligned with his rediscovered values.

Incorporating both individual and group therapy is an effective way to enhance self-awareness and shared understanding. This intervention helped David connect with others going through similar struggles—making him feel less alone and giving him deeper insight into his own experiences.

This experience shows that existential therapy can help anyone seeking clarity, freedom, and authenticity. Through its focus on meaning, responsibility, and connection, existential therapy helps individuals build more fulfilling and purpose-driven lives.

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Free 20-minute Consultation 

Find the Right Counsellor for You 

Our Matching Consultant understands the importance of finding the right combination of personality and therapeutic technique to meet your specific needs. They will listen, guide you through your options, and help match you with the ideal counsellor. This session is your opportunity to ask questions and ensure a customized care path that’s tailored for you. 

Your Guide to Transformative Growth with Existential Therapy Sessions

Working from an existential perspective, our process blends different existential and humanistic approaches — all designed to support your journey of meaningful, transformative growth. This kind of therapy is structured into clear yet flexible phases that adapt to your evolving needs while promoting meaning, authenticity, and connection throughout your personal growth journey.

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Intake Phase

During this first stage, your therapist will introduce existential therapy concepts and explore your current life situation through an introduction to existential ideas and values. This type of therapy emphasizes understanding your immediate concerns while exploring deeper existential themes that may shape your experiences. The goal of this therapy is to help you build awareness of how meaning, choice, and responsibility influence your life story.

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Discovery Phase

In this phase, we deepen the existential and phenomenological exploration of your experiences. Using a thoughtful set of techniques, your therapist helps you examine your values, beliefs, and motivations. The study of existential concerns reveals patterns in how you relate to yourself and others. Drawing from forms of existential and cognitive behaviour therapy influences, this therapy focuses on the anxiety that arises from freedom, choice, and authenticity, paving the way for genuine self-understanding.

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Working Phase

As the process of therapy progresses, we address core existential dimensions and confront issues related to meaning, isolation, and mortality. Here, existential therapy explores how to live authentically amid uncertainty. By blending ideas from acceptance and commitment therapy with existential personality theory—which focuses on both the present moment and future possibilities—this approach helps people build a more purposeful, value-driven life.

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Check-In Phase

Regular reflection ensures this style of therapy remains aligned with your personal goals. We review the role of existential concerns and make adjustments based on your growth as needed. This encourages ongoing self-awareness and accountability. By evaluating progress, your therapist ensures that each session continues to move you toward authentic fulfillment.

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Follow-Up Phase

As part of our commitment to the best existential therapy practices, we provide ongoing support through regular follow-up sessions. These check-ins help you keep building on your progress and work through any new challenges that come up along the way. The relational context of group therapy may also be introduced to deepen insight and connection with others.

Where to Access Family TLC Counselling and Therapy Services

Our services are here to make existential therapy easy to access and truly supportive for anyone looking to grow, understand themselves better, and find deeper meaning in life. Whether you prefer in-person sessions or secure online meetings, we make sure you have a safe, private space to open up and explore. Existential therapy helps you reconnect with meaning and purpose again, guided by real human connection and grounded in existential principles. We offer flexible scheduling and multiple locations, so it’s easy to find what works best for you.

Our Physical Locations:

  • Barrie: 160 Bradford Street, Barrie, Ontario L4N 3B5
  • Newmarket: 17070 Yonge Street, Unit 209, Newmarket, Ontario, L3Y 8Z4
  • Orillia: Unit 2A 349 West Street N, Orillia, Ontario L3V 5E1

Our Services are Available Across Ontario:

Our online services are available for customers in Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Markham, Vaughan, Kitchener, Windsor, Richmond Hill, Burlington, Oakville, St. Catharines, Barrie, Guelph, Waterloo, Newmarket, Niagara Falls, Orillia, and all of Ontario.

Frequently Asked Questions

When you’re struggling with existential issues, it’s easy to feel lost or unsure about what gives life meaning. At Family TLC, we’ll help you dig into what really matters to you and find your way back to a sense of authenticity and purpose.

Rediscovering Meaning: Existential therapy may help you identify personal values that give your life direction, even in moments of doubt. This exploration supports inner clarity and renewed purpose.

Understanding Freedom and Choice: Therapy helps you see that you have the freedom to shape your own story—and with that comes responsibility for the choices you make. Finding that balance helps you grow emotionally and take charge of your own path in life.

Accepting Uncertainty: When you start to see life’s unpredictability as a normal part of living, the unknown feels a lot less intimidating. With this outlook, you can handle challenges with more calm, confidence, and resilience.

Embracing Authenticity: You’ll be encouraged to look at the roles or expectations that might be holding you back. Getting real with yourself helps you make choices that actually fit who you are and what you believe in.

Building Connection: Therapy also helps you build deeper connections with others by acknowledging shared human experiences. This relational insight supports healing and belonging.

People often turn to therapy when confronted with existential challenges such as loss, isolation, or uncertainty about purpose. Our sessions at Family TLC focus on restoring balance and guiding you toward personal transformation.

Confronting Anxiety and Fear: Given that anxiety is part of human existence, therapy helps you transform it into a source of motivation. Facing fear leads to growth and greater understanding of your potential.

Managing Life Transitions: Transitions often evoke uncertainty or self-doubt. Our counsellors help you find stability by reflecting on what truly matters during these shifts.

Overcoming Feelings of Isolation: With open and honest conversations, you’ll dig into those feelings of being disconnected and find real ways to reconnect with others. Realizing that you’re not alone helps you build empathy and feel more at peace with yourself.

Coping with Loss and Mortality: Therapy supports you in finding meaning amid grief. This process helps you honour what has been lost while cultivating hope and continuity.

Rebuilding Purpose: By clarifying your values and aspirations, you can reorient your life toward fulfillment. This renewed sense of purpose strengthens motivation and self-awareness.

At Family TLC, we use existential approaches to therapy to help you reflect more deeply and create real, lasting change. It’s a mix of thoughtful insight and practical tools that guide you toward greater self-awareness and personal growth.

Integrating Mind and Emotion: According to existential perspectives, healing involves uniting thought, emotion, and experience. This integration helps you respond to life authentically and with intention.

Exploring Core Existential Concerns: Therapy helps you examine themes such as meaning, freedom, and mortality. This exploration leads to clarity about what drives your decisions and emotions.

Encouraging Personal Responsibility: Clients are supported in owning their life choices and shaping their future. This promotes empowerment and autonomy.

Fostering Present-Moment Awareness: Grounding techniques help you stay engaged in the “here and now.” This awareness strengthens connection to self and others.

Promoting Transformation Through Reflection: Therapy encourages ongoing reflection as a means of growth. Each insight moves you closer to authentic living and resilience.

When beginning therapy, clients often ask how existential therapy works in real-life sessions. At Family TLC, our counsellors integrate compassion and structure to make this exploration meaningful and effective.

Establishing Understanding: Existential therapy developed from the ideas of existential philosophers who emphasized freedom and responsibility. We begin by introducing these principles in a relatable and supportive way.

Exploring Inner Experience: Grounded in phenomenology and existential theory, therapy examines how you experience the world subjectively. This allows you to identify emotional patterns and beliefs that shape your outlook.

Using Reflective Dialogue: Open conversation is used in existential sessions to uncover your personal truths. This process helps you articulate feelings and find meaning in everyday experiences.

Applying Tailored Techniques: The Existential approach may combine various tools such as mindfulness, journaling, or creative expression. These techniques encourage active engagement and insight.

Supporting Lasting Growth: As you gain self-understanding, therapy fosters lasting change by aligning your life with your authentic values. This results in greater fulfillment and balance.

At Family TLC, we use a variety of therapy styles, but it helps to know what it’s like to work with an existential therapist. Together, you’ll explore what really gives your life meaning, build a sense of authenticity, and grow in ways that feel true to who you are.

Compassionate Guidance: Therapy is existential in nature; it’s grounded in empathy and genuine human connection. Counsellors help you feel safe exploring sensitive life themes.

Insightful Exploration: Drawing on insights from Irvin Yalom, sessions often focus on life’s four ultimate concerns—freedom, isolation, meaning, and mortality. This framework promotes deep reflection and awareness.

Holistic Understanding: Many existential therapists integrate emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions. This ensures that your whole being is considered in the healing process.

Encouraging Self-Responsibility: An existential psychotherapist empowers you to take ownership of your choices and create meaningful direction. This accountability builds confidence and purpose.

Ongoing Reflection and Growth: Existential psychotherapies use continued dialogue to help you evolve over time. An existential therapist knows that growth never really stops and that uncertainty isn’t something to fear—it’s a chance to change and grow. They’ll help you move through each stage of self-discovery with honesty, courage, and a sense of staying true to yourself.

free 20-minute matching consultation

Invest in Your Mental Health!

Book Now705-737-3513