In the category of Helping Relationships on the National Counselor Examination (NCE), the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE), or another counseling exam, you might encounter questions related to Rollo May.
Considered the father of existential psychology in the United States, this video covers Rollo May’s early life experiences and some important concepts in his view. This includes his idea of “will”, the personality types for will, and his view on anxiety.
Rollo May (1909–1994) is considered to be the father of existential psychotherapy in the United States. However, before we get to that, let’s look back at his life briefly. Rollo was born in 1909 in Ohio. His childhood was not reported to be pleasant though. His parents divorced, and his family life was said to be problematic. Likely, some of the stress in his family may have been the result of his sister’s struggle with her mental health. She at one point suffered a psychotic breakdown. Luckily, Rollo had a positive relationship with his father, but his relationship with his mother was a different story. He has said that he never felt as though he was acceptable in the eyes of his mother.
While in college studying psychology, May contracted tuberculosis. He was given a 50% chance of survival. For 18 months, he stayed at an Upstate New York sanatorium. It is believed that his time there with tuberculosis influenced his interest in existential psychology. While at the sanatorium, he was said to have decided that it was his choice, and his choice alone, whether he was going to live or die.
It seems reasonable that this experience would have influenced his interest in existential psychotherapy. As a quick reminder, existential psychology is related to human existence and questioning our existence. Existential therapy also involves working with each person working to find their meaning of life.
At the sanatorium, Rollo found a growing interest in Søren Kierkegaard’s work on anxiety. In particular, his view that anxiety was caused by a threat to one’s being. As a result, in 1950, after recovering from tuberculosis and completing his PhD, May finished his dissertation, which he titled “The Meaning of Anxiety”.
What was Rollo May’s view on anxiety? Rollo had the view that anxiety was not only normal, but was actually essential for humans to experience. In 1953, May published his book titled “Man’s Search for Himself”, where he discussed the anxiety and loneliness that come with people’s experience of modern society.
What is Rollo May’s concept of will? A concept that was important to Rollo was what he termed “will”. He felt will was a person’s ability to organize their life and self and also achieve their goals. May had a belief that people have to not only act on their goals, but they also have to choose them. With this conscious choice and action, that is how one could achieve and fulfill the possibilities they hope for in life.
What are Rollo May’s personality types? Related to the concept of will, May had three personality types that he highlighted. These are the “Neo-puritan”, the “infantile” type, and the “creative” type.
What is the Neo-Puritan personality type? May felt the Neo-Puritan personality had all with and no love. He states that they have a high level of self-discipline, and that they are the type of person that gets things done. But, in their quest for perfection, they end up being a person that does not really have their own desires. Instead, he states that they can somewhat empty.
What is the Infantile personality type? May said the Infantile type has many wishes but no will. In other words, despite having dreams and desires, they don’t have the self-discipline to get the things done they need to in order to achieve these goals. He felt this type could end up being dependent and highly conformative.
What is the Creative personality type? May’s final type, he felt the Creative type should have a balance of the other two types. In other words, they should have the dreams and goals of the Infantile type, with the self-discipline of the Neo-Puritan type. Rollo said that it should be our task to unite the love and will of the types.
What did Rollo May think a therapist’s role was? May felt that the therapist’s role was to help the client let go of the limits they have from their existence. His view was that people have to face the challenge that comes with recognizing that they are alone in the world. He also felt that people need to face the reality that they will eventually die. These, he felt, were some of the ultimate challenges that people need to face.
