Existential therapy arose through the influence and collaboration of various psychotherapists with Swiss psychiatrist Ludwig Binswanger at the Bellevue asylum in Switzerland in the early 20th century (Lanzoni, 2004, p. 285). Binswanger conferred with Carl Jung and Freud and was influenced by the work of Edmund Husserl, Max Scheler, and Martin Heidegger-the major contributors to the theory-as he attempted to understand the psychopathology of his patients in a new light-not as some deficiency in their cognitive processes but instead as "a set of unique experiences that entailed an entire 'world' which the patient inhabited" (Lanzoni, 2004, p. 286). These early case studies elaborated on the patient's experience of being schizophrenic and feeling out of place both temporally and spacially, and although many of the cases were not a success, they were helpful in contributing to an interpretive understanding that gave the psychotherapist entrance into the world of psychosis (Lanzoni, 2004, p. 286). These were distinctly different from those of traditional psychotherapy, which focused on morality (Lanzoni, 2004, p. 286).
Existential therapy operates on a model that sees anxiety as coming from four sources that are interconnected with each other: death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness (Randall, 2001, p. 260). Underlying it is an existential philosophy that asserts that each person's life is "a finite drama enacted in a hostile or indifferent universe" where the person's life purpose is not provided but must be re-chosen at each juncture through a conscious process that is informed by responsible acts (Randall, 2001, p. 260). This existential philosophy posits that there are difficult truths to be faced and that each person must face them alone, but existential therapy helps the patient resolve his conflicts and quell the anxiety that comes with them as he achieves inner peace (Randall, 2001, p. 260).
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