Concepts:

1. Because we are free to choose, we are responsible for shaping our destiny and the direction of our life. This idea follows the existential theme that we are self-determining beings.

2. We are what we are because of the choices we made. The existentialist's view is that we are thrust into the world, but how we live and what we become are the result of our choices:
a. We are responsible for choosing despite what life hands us. As Sartre puts it, "Our existence is a given, but we do not have a fixed nature or essence."
b. We are constantly choosing who we want to be, and as long as we live we must continue to choose.

3. Different theorists view responsibility and choosing in different ways:
a. Sartre's view was that nothing in the world has meaning outside of us. We are responsible for the consequences of our actions and any failure to act. We are then responsible for the world as a significant place.
b. Frankl believed freedom cannot be taken from us as long as we can still choose our attitude. To support his statement, Frankl drew on his experience in a German concentration camp. Frankl believed that human freedom is not freedom from conditions, but rather the ability to take a stand in the face of conditions. Frankl's logotherapy teaches that life can only be discovered by searching our own existential situation.

4. We must accept our part in creating our life. Life does not just happen to us. Life cannot be dictated but can only be discovered by searching in our own existential situation.

5. No change can happen without accepting the capacity for freedom. Freedom comes in how we think and what we do, for life does not simply happen to us. We are capable of actively influencing our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

6. Group work constantly confronts group members with not being able to escape freedom. It is pointed out that the individual is responsible for his/or her existence. The leader confronts members who are denying or restricting their freedom.

7. Groups help members to face and deal with anxiety. Instead of feeling like a victim, a group helps members believe they can direct their own destiny, thereby taking control of their lives.

8. Here-and-now focus helps members to see how they create victim states. In Yalom's view, members are responsible for how they behave in the group, which provides a glimpse of how they behave in life situations. In group, members are encouraged to observe how they are creating a victim-like stance for themselves. Through feedback, members learn to see themselves through others' eyes. Building on these discoveries, they can take on the responsibility for making changes.

9. Group leaders encourage the group to take responsibility for the group. The underlying principle is that if members assume responsibility for the group, then they have the ability and obligation to assume responsibility in all spheres of their life.

10. The group leader needs to confront members with the reality of their freedom when working on the issue of self-determination because members can restrict or deny their freedom.