Compare and contrast the existential and mindfulness approaches to understanding and working with fear and sadness. Which of these two approaches do you feel more drawn to and why?

Word limit: 2000

 ‘Compare and contrast’ means outlining the similarities and differences between these two approaches (both in terms of their theories and their practices). You should focus your assignment on how these approaches understand problems relating to fear and sadness and where they come from, as well as how counselors from these approaches work with people who are struggling with such issues.

You will need an introduction setting out what you are going to cover in the assignment, and what your position is with regard to which approach you feel drawn to, and a conclusion at the end. Other than this you will need some space to briefly set out each of the approaches (what are their main theories in relation to fear and sadness, and how do they work with these issues?) and sufficient space to make the necessary comparisons between the approaches.

For example, it could be structured like this:

• Example 1: You could use 300words summarising the existential approach, 300 words summarising the mindfulness approach, and around 800 words to compare and contrast them, leaving about 200 words for reflection on which counseling approach you are most drawn to and why plus about 175 words for the introduction and 175 for the conclusion and 50 words for self-reflection (that will be done by me the self-reflection).

With this assignment, you should give an idea about which of the approaches you are drawn to in terms of your own practice and way of understanding problems. Although academic assignments don’t always use the first-person (i.e. they often say ‘this essay will consider …’ or ‘in conclusion, it seems that …’, rather than ‘I will consider …’ or ‘I conclude that …’), it is appropriate when tackling this element of the question to use the first-person in order to say what you are drawn to and why in a more personal style.