Sharing Meaning and Nothingness: An existential therapist’s poetic reflections

Authors

  • Tavan Thomas Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65828/2db51a19

Keywords:

Existential therapy, poetic inquiry, lived experience, phenomenology, temporality, embodiment, hope and despair, clinical practice

Abstract

This paper expands on my presentation at the Society for Existential Analysis Conference 2025, where I shared poems from Meaning and Nothingness: An existential therapist's poetic reflections. Drawing on themes voiced across multiple clinical settings, the paper examines poetry as an existential method that illuminates shared human concerns, bridges self and other, and supports the existentialist's role today in a rapidly shifting world.

Full text available
Complete access to the full archive of articles is available with SEA membership. Existing members: please log in with your membership password to view full text. Non-members can buy a single article or issue by registering an account on this website, then selecting a padlocked full text button to purchase.

References

Buber, M. (1958). I and Thou. Trans. Smith, R. New York: Scribner.

Camus, A. (2005 [1942]). The Myth of Sisyphus. London: Penguin.

Camus, A. (2020 [1947]). The Plague. London: Penguin.

Deurzen, E. van (2014). Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy in Practice. 3rd ed. London: Sage.

Fanon, F. (1967). Black Skin, White Masks. New York: Grove Press.

Furman, R. (2006). Poetic forms and structures in qualitative health research. Qualitative Health Research. 16 (4): 560-566. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732306286819

Galvin, K. & Todres, L. (2013). Caring and Well-being: A lifeworld approach. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203082898

Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time. Trans. Macquarrie, J. & Robinson, E. Oxford: Blackwell.

Heinz, M.V., Mackin, D.M., Trudeau, B.M., Bhattacharya, S., Wang, Y., Banta, H.A., Jewett, A.D., Salzhauer, A.J., Griffin, T.Z. & Jacobson, N.C. (2024). Evaluating therabot: A randomized control trial investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of a generative AI therapy chatbot for depression, anxiety, and eating disorder symptom treatment. PsyArXiv. researchgate.net+1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/pjqmr

Kierkegaard, S. (1983 [1849]). The Sickness Unto Death. Trans. Hong, H. & Hong, E. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1963). The Visible and the Invisible. Trans. Lingis, A. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.

Sartre, J-P. (1956). Being and Nothingness. Trans. Barnes, H. New York: Philosophical Library. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2182625

Spinelli, E. (2007). Practising Existential Psychotherapy: The relational world. London: Sage.

Thomas, T. (2025). Meaning and Nothingness: An existential therapist's poetic reflections. Kindle Direct Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.65828/2db51a19

Yalom, I. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.

Published

2026-01-01

Cite This Article

Sharing Meaning and Nothingness: An existential therapist’s poetic reflections. (2026). Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 37(1), 53-67. https://doi.org/10.65828/2db51a19
Download: RIS · BibTeX

Related articles