Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book pulls no punches in unveiling Heidegger’s gratuitous abstractions and weaving a thoroughgoing and articulate critique of Dasein and even more importantly of the notion of ‘the anyone’ that he perceptively sees as shunning the concrete presence of others. It intriguingly explores Wilfred Bion’s container-contained model and re-opens the complex discussion on Oedipus. The book presents the rigorous and inspiring methodologies adopted by the Birstonas School of existential therapy, examining for instance how ‘bracketing’ in mainstream existential therapy tends to abandon rather than attend to our biases and assumptions. It demonstrates how much existential therapy can benefit from greater exposure to the contemporary Russian ‘school’ of Co-experiencing.