The Paradox of Finitude in the Context of Infinitude: Is death denial an essential aspect of being in the world?

Abstract

This study examines therapists’ experience of death anxiety within a psychotherapeutic context and considers the findings alongside Ernest Becker’s hypothesis that death denial is essential to healthy functioning. It reports data from four semi-structured interviews, analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. It suggests that an open stance towards death based on faith, and in the mystery of life, offer relief without denying the finitude of physical death.