Rollo May and the Search for Being: Implications of May’s Thought for Contemporary Existential

Rollo May left a body of profound and incisive written work, laying a foundation for existential psychotherapy for years to come. His insightful reflections on the cultural, philosophical, and psychological dilemmas of contemporary human beings raise themes of which psychotherapists need to remain mindful and address in our practices. This article explores the implications of Rollo May’s thought for effective psychotherapy, therapy that does not content itself with simply managing symptoms but touches the root causes of the many dilemmas clients bring with them as their “presenting problems.” Underlying all these is the search for being. Rollo May viewed contemporary times as an age of anxiety; yet he also normalized anxiety as encountered in living any life. However, not knowing who one really is, not being able to engage in life from the depths of one’s being, inevitably creates conflicts that surface in psychotherapy. Effective psychotherapists must do their own inner work, inhabiting a therapeutic presence in the encounter with clients, helping them wrestle with the daimon with which they contend. May states succinctly, “A life is at stake.” This is the seriousness of the call of the psychotherapist. This article highlights meanings one student has gleaned from May’s contribution