Freedom and Responsibility in Existential Psychoanalysis:
Sartre’s Influence on Clinical Practice
A Reflection on Michael Guy Thompson’s
Essays in Existential Psychoanalysis
The relationship between psychoanalysis and existentialism has long been marked by tension. Psychoanalysis, particularly in its Freudian form, delves into the unconscious, focusing on hidden drives and repressed desires that shape behavior. In contrast, existentialism centers on consciousness, freedom, and personal responsibility. As Michael Guy Thompson (2016) highlights in Essays in Existential Psychoanalysis, existential psychoanalysis diverges from traditional psychoanalysis by emphasizing the individual’s conscious engagement with life and their ability to choose. This philosophical divide has created an ongoing dialogue between the two disciplines, but it has also led to misunderstandings.
Sartre, perhaps more than any other existential philosopher, has had a complex relationship with psychoanalysis. While his ideas have not deeply influenced clinicians in general, existential psychoanalysts have found his work crucial for rethinking the foundations of therapeutic practice. Sartre’s existential critiques, especially his thoughts on freedom and responsibility, have provided a unique perspective that informs how existential psychoanalysts understand their patients and guide therapy (Thompson, 2016).
Sartre’s Influence on Existential Psychoanalysis
Jean-Paul Sartre’s influence on existential psychoanalysis is both deep and personal. In Being and Nothingness, Sartre lays out a framework for understanding human freedom that has profoundly impacted existential psychoanalysts. Sartre believed that human beings are fundamentally free, and much of our psychological suffering stems from our refusal to confront this freedom. Unlike Freud, who emphasized unconscious drives that control behavior, Sartre focused on the choices we make and the responsibility for those choices (Thompson, 2016).
Thompson (2016) explores how Sartre distinguishes between reflective and pre-reflective consciousness, a central component of Sartre’s critique of the unconscious. Pre-reflective consciousness refers to the immediate, lived experience of our actions and feelings, where we are aware of our choices but have not yet reflected on them. Reflective consciousness, on the other hand, involves stepping back to evaluate or acknowledge these choices. For Sartre, much of human behavior operates at the pre-reflective level, meaning that individuals are aware of their actions, but may not explicitly acknowledge or examine them.
This distinction helps Sartre challenge Freud’s notion of the unconscious. Freud posited that repressed, unconscious forces drive much of our behavior without our awareness. In contrast, Sartre argued that people are always aware—at least pre-reflectively—of their choices and actions. According to Sartre, what Freud called the unconscious is not truly unconscious; rather, it consists of choices or actions that we avoid acknowledging in order to evade responsibility. Sartre’s concept of bad faith describes this avoidance, where individuals deceive themselves to escape the weight of their freedom and responsibility (Thompson, 2016).
Freedom and Responsibility in Therapy
Sartre’s concept of freedom is central to existential psychoanalysis. According to Sartre, we are “condemned to be free,” meaning that we are constantly making choices, whether we like it or not. This freedom, however, comes with responsibility—a responsibility that many people try to evade. In Essays in Existential Psychoanalysis, Thompson (2016) explores how Sartre’s understanding of freedom challenges traditional psychoanalytic approaches, which often see patients as victims of unconscious forces. Instead, existential psychoanalysts, drawing on Sartre, focus on helping patients recognize their freedom, even when that freedom comes with existential anxiety.
While Sartre believed that individuals must confront their tendency to avoid responsibility through bad faith, he did not specifically advocate for therapy as the primary means to achieve this. Instead, Sartre saw the recognition of one’s freedom as a philosophical and existential challenge. Therapy, from an existential perspective, can help patients engage with this task, but its role is to support patients in understanding their choices rather than offering solutions (Thompson, 2016).
The Influence of R.D. Laing on Existential Psychoanalysis
One of the most significant figures to integrate Sartre’s ideas into clinical practice was R.D. Laing, a Scottish psychiatrist whose work on schizophrenia revolutionized the field in the 1960s and 1970s. Laing viewed mental illness not simply as a biological disorder, but as a reflection of an individual’s struggle with their own freedom. According to Thompson (2016), Laing’s The Divided Self can be seen as an integration of Sartre’s existential psychoanalysis with object relations theory.
Laing’s approach marked a departure from traditional psychoanalysis, as he emphasized understanding the subjective experience of those with mental illness. Like Sartre, Laing believed that even individuals experiencing extreme psychological distress must be understood in the context of their relationships and choices. His work serves as an example of how Sartre’s existential philosophy can be applied in a therapeutic setting, encouraging clinicians to focus on the patient’s experience of freedom and responsibility (Thompson, 2016).
Sartre’s Critique of Freud’s Unconscious
A key aspect of Sartre’s critique of Freud’s theory of the unconscious lies in his rejection of the idea that there are multiple agencies, such as the id, ego, and superego, controlling human behavior. Sartre challenged the notion that anything other than the individual is responsible for their actions. He argued that positing separate psychic agencies implies that behavior is caused by something other than the person themselves. Sartre believed that people are fully responsible for their choices, even when they avoid acknowledging them.
Thompson (2016) explains that Sartre’s distinction between reflective and pre-reflective consciousness is crucial to understanding this critique. Pre-reflective consciousness refers to our immediate awareness of choices and actions, even if we don’t explicitly reflect on them. Sartre argued that what Freud referred to as the unconscious is not a separate, hidden force, but rather choices and actions that we fail to acknowledge because doing so would confront us with our freedom and responsibility. Sartre’s concept of bad faith—the idea that individuals deceive themselves to avoid facing the truth of their freedom—underscores his rejection of the idea that any unconscious agency drives human behavior (Thompson, 2016).
This critique ultimately reframes what Freud called the unconscious. Rather than assuming that human beings are driven by repressed, unknown desires, Sartre argues that we are aware of our motivations on some level but choose to ignore or suppress them through bad faith. For Sartre, psychoanalysis must engage with these pre-reflective choices, helping individuals recognize and take responsibility for their actions (Thompson, 2016).
Freedom and Change in the Therapeutic Process
Sartre’s existential psychoanalysis provides a powerful framework for understanding change in therapy. As Thompson (2016) notes, Sartre’s focus on freedom encourages patients to confront how they avoid responsibility in their lives. However, Sartre did not suggest that therapy alone can help individuals live more authentically. The role of therapy in existential psychoanalysis is to guide patients toward recognizing their freedom and taking responsibility for their actions, rather than trying to unearth hidden drives or uncover a “true self,” a concept that Sartre rejected. For Sartre, we constantly create and recreate ourselves through our actions; there is no fixed essence or predetermined “self” to be discovered (Thompson, 2016).
Conclusion
The relationship between existentialism and psychoanalysis has not always been smooth, but thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and R.D. Laing have shown how these two fields can come together to offer a deeper understanding of the human condition. Sartre’s emphasis on freedom and responsibility provides existential psychoanalysts with a framework for helping patients confront the choices they make and the responsibility they carry for their lives. At the Free Association Clinic for Existential Psychoanalysis, we draw from these rich philosophical traditions to guide our therapeutic practice, helping patients explore their freedom and engage more authentically with their lives.
James Norwood, PsyD
Associate Director, New School for Existential Psychoanalysis
Clinical Director, The Free Association Clinic for Existential Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
Founder/CEO, inpersontherapy.com
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Thompson, M. G. (2016). Essays in Existential Psychoanalysis. Routledge.
