Authentic Muddle: Revisiting authenticity in psychotherapy

Abstract

Humanistic and existential therapies have a strong emphasis on authenticity both as a vital characteristic of the therapist and as something desired for the client. Psychoanalysis has also put increasing significance on authenticity as an important ingredient in the therapeutic relationship. I question and deconstruct definitions of authenticity in different modalities, to consider whether, despite differences in language, they amount to the same thing. Second, I investigate the limitations of authenticity, whether it is a relational or intrapsychic phenomenon, how fallibility applies, what are the limitations of self-disclosure, and whether authenticity can best be thought of as an embodied experience. Finally, I consider the practice implications of examining authenticity and whether there is a useful alternative in sincerity. Keywords authenticity, humanistic psychotherapy, existentialism, inter-subjectivity