Experience Existential Therapy in Kitchener-Waterloo. Find meaning, self-understanding, and guidance for life’s challenges through compassionate counselling.
Existential therapy is a form of therapeutic approach that explores the deeper questions of existence—why we’re here, what gives life meaning, and how we face uncertainty. At Upstream Counselling, we combine existential psychology and existential phenomenology to explore your inner world with honesty and compassion. This therapy recognizes that confronting existential concerns such as freedom, mortality, and responsibility can lead to powerful growth and transformation.
Our approach integrates existential philosophy with cognitive-behavioural therapy and supportive-expressive therapy, creating space for genuine self-reflection and personal change. Through existential counselling, you’ll examine existential themes, the search for meaning, choice, and authenticity, within a safe, therapeutic relationship. This kind of therapy is especially valuable for those navigating major life transitions, questioning their identity, or experiencing an existential crisis.
Our existential-phenomenological therapy offers meaningful change by exploring core human experiences—helping you find meaning in life and connection through self-exploration, awareness, and understanding.
Grounded in existential and phenomenological principles, our therapy explores your life experiences within context. This intervention helps you understand your values, choices, and sense of purpose, aligning your direction with authentic living and personal truth.
Existential therapy encourages personal freedom and responsibility—turning existential anxiety into motivation for growth. By blending existential and humanistic ideas, it supports your journey toward autonomy and genuine self-expression.
We help you explore the four existential concerns —meaning, freedom, death, and isolation. Gaining a deeper understanding of these can help you face life’s challenges with more awareness and courage.
Working from an existential perspective, therapy helps you build emotional strength to face uncertainty. By integrating aspects of cognitive behaviour therapy, we support your ability to regulate emotions and maintain balance during difficult times.
Existential therapy aims to guide you toward clarity about your values and direction. Through reflection and dialogue, the goal of therapy is to align your life decisions with your authentic sense of meaning and personal fulfillment.
Through exploring existential dimensions, you'll develop a deeper appreciation and insight into your experiences. Existential therapy is based on enhancing awareness so you can live with intention, connection, and renewed purpose.
Take control of the process.
Beginning therapy can feel daunting but the truth is you decide what (and when) to share. Our diverse team specializes in a range of issues including anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and relationship issues. No matter your situation, we're here to support your journey to empowerment and mental wellness.
Your therapist is your guide.
Finding the right therapist is key to achieving your goals. Dip your toes into the therapy experience by booking a free consultation with one of our registered psychotherapists. These appointments are an opportunity to address your questions and explore your challenges, needs, and aspirations.
Commit to the experience.
To maximize the benefits of counselling it’s important you attend sessions consistently. When in session, we encourage you to lead the agenda. (Remember, this is YOUR therapy!) Between sessions, we hope you will strive to apply new insights, practice new skills, and develop new habits that support personal growth.
Are you questioning what it truly means to live with purpose—or wondering how to make sense of life’s uncertainty?
At Upstream Counselling, our existential therapy focuses on helping you explore your unique place in the world and your relationship with the meaning of life. Drawing from existential ideas, phenomenology, and existential perspectives, we offer an integrated approach that embraces multiple forms of therapy, including narrative therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. This approach lets us address the role of existential concerns while supporting real, lasting personal growth.
“Life isn’t just about finding answers; it’s about learning to live authentically with the questions.”
This guiding principle reflects our commitment to helping you engage deeply with existential thought and uncertainty. The process of therapy involves exploring existential guilt and existential isolation, viewing them not as flaws but as natural parts of being human. Through both individual counselling and a relational context of group therapy, we create space to examine the relationship between existential challenges and your lived experience.
At Upstream Counselling, therapy helps clients dig deeper into themselves—exploring experiences, values, and emotions—to find their personal meaning and purpose. By combining person-centred therapy with existential principles, we provide a compassionate and supportive environment where you can confront life’s fundamental questions. Our therapy is an effective approach to developing resilience, authenticity, and clarity—empowering you to live more intentionally and meaningfully, guided by your own values and understanding of existence.
At Upstream Counselling, we want you to feel comfortable with the counselling process. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about talking to a therapist about this type of therapy.
At Upstream Counselling, we understand that existential challenges such as uncertainty, purpose, and identity can deeply impact one’s well-being. We focus on exploring these themes with compassion and curiosity to promote authentic growth.
Exploring meaning and purpose: Therapy can help you reflect on what truly gives your life meaning and how to live in alignment with your values. This process allows for a deeper sense of clarity and intention.
Addressing existential anxiety: Since therapy focuses on the anxiety that comes with uncertainty and mortality, we help you transform that fear into motivation for change and resilience.
Confronting isolation and connection: Existential therapy explores how relationships and loneliness shape your sense of belonging, allowing you to build more authentic connections.
Embracing growth through awareness: The goal of therapy is to help you face existential concerns openly, leading to emotional strength, courage, and a renewed perspective on life’s challenges.
Understanding freedom and responsibility: Many existential therapists guide you to recognize how personal freedom involves both opportunity and responsibility, helping you make empowered life choices.
Our approach at Upstream Counselling integrates philosophy and practical strategies to explain how existential therapy works to support meaning-making and personal growth.
Self-reflection as the foundation: Therapy helps you slow down and really get to know yourself—your values, what matters to you, and what you want from life.
Dialogue and exploration: We introduce existential therapy using open, judgment-free conversations to explore your experiences and uncover insights that help you move forward with more clarity and confidence.
Integrating other methods: Existential psychotherapy uses blends of techniques from cognitive-behavioural, narrative, and person-centered therapy to meet your unique needs.
Working with uncertainty: According to existential perspectives, confronting life’s unknowns can foster strength and acceptance instead of fear.
Promoting authentic living: The ultimate purpose of this work is to help you live with integrity and purpose, grounded in your own understanding of existence.
While both approaches support emotional healing, existential therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy differ in focus, depth, and process.
Focus on meaning, not just behaviour: CBT emphasizes changing unhelpful thoughts, while existential therapy explores the meaning behind those thoughts and emotions.
Philosophy meets psychology: Existential therapy places personal experience at the center, combining psychological insight with existential philosophers’ ideas about freedom, choice, and authenticity.
Broader life perspective: While CBT targets specific issues like anxiety or depression, existential therapy may address deeper questions about purpose, identity, and fulfillment.
Holistic emotional growth: Both approaches complement each other—therapy is to help you not only manage symptoms but also grow as a person.
Integrative application: At Upstream Counselling, we often weave existential insights into cognitive frameworks to create a balanced and effective therapeutic process.
Our therapists ground their approach in psychology, philosophy, and lived experience, making therapy both insightful and practical.
Psychological insight with depth: Existential therapy explores how thoughts, emotions, and experiences interconnect to shape your worldview.
Emphasis on human experience: The study of existential ideas focuses on how individuals find purpose, identity, and meaning within the psychological context of their lives.
Connection to existential personality theory: This theory divides the human experience into choices and consequences, offering perspective on how freedom shapes emotional life.
Integration of contemporary existential ideas: Our work reflects contemporary existential psychology, emphasizing awareness, authenticity, and personal responsibility.
Bridging mind and meaning: By linking emotional patterns to existential understanding, therapy can help you engage more consciously with your psychological and spiritual growth.
At Upstream Counselling, we recognize that humanistic therapy and existential work share a deep commitment to self-awareness, authenticity, and meaning.
Shared philosophical roots: Both draw on existential thinkers who emphasize personal responsibility, freedom, and the search for meaning.
Whole-person focus: Humanistic therapy is existential, looking at the whole you—your growth, potential, and ability to change.
Healing through connection: Existential therapists often emphasize empathy and genuine presence, using real human connection as a powerful way to heal and grow.
Relevance to group work: Group therapy is an effective way to explore shared human struggles and existential given truths like isolation and belonging.
Personal growth through reflection: Both forms of existential and humanistic therapy aim to help clients live with intention, aligning choices with authentic self-understanding.
Our team at Upstream Counselling is here to help you explore issues, gain insights, begin your journey towards healing, and work towards the goals you identify during the counselling process.
Personalized therapy designed to address specific mental health issues while also nurturing personal growth and well-being.
A counselling program focusing on fostering effective communication, resolving conflicts, and nurturing healthy relationships.
A program designed to support clinical growth, whether you’re a student or a seasoned professional.
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Disclaimer: Content on this website is for informational purposes only. Visiting this website does not establish any type of therapist-client relationship with Upstream Counselling or its staff. Information obtained from this site does not substitute for a thorough medical and/or psychiatric evaluation by an appropriately credentialed and licensed professional.
