Binswanger, Ludwig (1881-1966), a Swiss psychiatrist, was one of the founders of existential psychotherapy, a form of psychoanalysis that applies the principles of the philosophy of existentialism to psychotherapy. Existentialism is a philosophy holding that reality consists of living and that humanity makes itself what it is and people are responsible only to themselves. Psychotherapy is the treatment of mental or emotional disorders by psychological means, especially those involving intercommunication, such as psychoanalysis.
Binswanger was born on April 13, 1881, in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. He studied at the University of Zurich, receiving his M.D. degree in 1907. He was a student of psychologist Carl Jung, and he also met Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. In 1911, Binswanger became medical director of the Bellevue Sanatorium in Kreuzlingen. He held this post until he retired in 1956. Binswanger died on Feb. 5, 1966. See Freud, Sigmund ; Jung, Carl Gustav .
From the 1920’s, Binswanger studied the work of leading philosophers in the fields of existentialism and phenomenology (see Existentialism ; Phenomenology ). He applied ideas from these schools of thought to theories of psychology. His major work on the subject was Grundformen und Erkenntnis menschlichen Daseins (1962); an abridged version of this work was published in English in 1963 as Being-in-the-World. For Binswanger, the most important part of therapy is the relationship between clients and therapists. Through this relationship, clients learn to face the anxiety that is an inevitable part of human existence, to take responsibility for themselves, and to live in an authentic way, which means being true to themselves and not necessarily conforming to values imposed by other people.
