Positive Psychotherapy & Psychological Counselling
Unlocking potential and life transformation
Read more →‘To understand oneself is to understand oneself in the context of the narrative of one’s own life.’
The hermeneutics of existence is the art and the philosophical-psychological science of deciphering the profound meaning woven into our subjective experience. Every human life is a unique text, written through the events, encounters, trials, joys and sorrows we have experienced. Often, however, we remain stuck in the superficial narrative of events, unable to decipher their hidden symbolism and transformative purpose.
Inspired by the fundamental triad of hermeneutic phenomenology — Life Experience (Erlebnis), External Expression (Ausdruck) and Self-Understanding (Verstehen)—this approach invites you on the deepest possible journey: the transformation of raw life material into a meaningful, authentic and sacred personal story.
The triad of the hermeneutic process
- Life experience (Erlebnis): The immediate, raw and purely physical-emotional flow of sensations that we experience in every single moment of our existence.
- External expression (Ausdruck): The form through which inner experience becomes visible — through words, gestures, creativity, bodily symptoms, dreams and life choices.
- Self-understanding (Verstehen): The moment of intimate insight in which we connect the experience with its expression to reveal the deeper meaning of who we are and where we are heading.
What do we achieve through the Hermeneutics of Being?
- Making sense of life’s crises & suffering: Transforming the most difficult moments of the past from ‘unfortunate accidents’ into key rites of passage for the soul’s maturation.
- Integration of personal narrative (Narrative Identity): Piecing together the scattered fragments of your story into a complete, beautiful and coherent narrative.
- Decoding Symptoms & Symbols: Interpreting what your body, dreams and recurring life events are telling you through the language of archetypes and the subconscious.
- Living in Authentic Truth: Moving from external life scripts to taking ownership of your own existence.
How does the process work?
- Existential & Narrative Analysis: Listening to and mapping out your personal story, paying close attention to key turning points, metaphors and recurring themes.
- Shedding light on the hermeneutic circle: Exploring the connection between the details of your daily life and the overarching meaning of your life’s trajectory.
- Somatic & Symbolic Phenomenologisation: Translating the silent language of the body and emotions into the clear, conscious language of the mind.
- Transformative self-understanding: Achieving a deep inner catharsis and insight that change the way you experience yourself and the world around you.