EHI, Author at Existential-Humanistic Institute

The Existential Moment – Focus on the Interpersonal

Say what comes to your mind!

Researchers have unveiled a powerful adaptation of the classic Rorschach inkblot test in a groundbreaking development that some say is set to revolutionize therapeutic diagnostics. Dubbed “The Existential Rorschach,” this innovative tool is designed not only to probe the depths of the unconscious but to directly confront individuals with existential angst and the most profound existential givens: the inevitability of death, the quest for meaning in a seemingly indifferent universe, the terror of freedom, and the weight of personal responsibility. Using computational models based on chaos math and non-linear dynamics theory, a carefully curated series of AI-generated inkblots resembles cosmic disorder and the intricate patterns of life.

April 1, 2024

Recent E-H Therapy Articles

Recommended New Articles on E-H Therapy To Be or Not to Be: Engage with Life or Retreat from It By Bob Edelstein, LMFTPsychologyToday on March 13, 2024 Bob Edelstein has a new article navigating the ongoing struggle to grapple with or withdraw from life. Key points: Read the whole article from Bob’s PsychologyToday blog, Authentic Engagement. Existential Therapy for Existential Times

March 14, 2024

The Existential Moment – The Ides of March

Historically, “The Ides of March” is best known as the date, March 15, 44 BC, when a group of Roman senators, including Brutus and Cassius, assassinated Julius Caesar. The event marked a significant turning point in Roman history, leading to the end of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.

Over time, “The Ides of March” became a metaphor for impending doom or betrayal, mainly due to the cultural impact of Shakespeare’s play. Now, the term can be used in various contexts as a reminder of the unpredictability of fate and the potential for sudden, unexpected, and tragic changes in life’s circumstances. It urges caution and awareness of potential dangers lurking around what might seem like any other day.

March 1, 2024

The Existential Moment: Love

Existential Humanistic Therapy is relational and experiential. What is the role of love in therapy and in the therapeutic relationship?

February 1, 2024

The Society of Humanistic Psychology 17th Annual Conference

How can humanistic psychology actualize itself today to meet the needs of a fast-paced, distracted, survival-focused, experientially-avoidant, interpersonally-isolated, rating- and metric-centered, systems-blind, toxically-masculine, xenophobic, inequitized, traumatized, polarized, technocratic, post-truth, post-pandemic society-in-transition? Paradoxically, to accomplish that undertaking, “Old Saybrook 3” also celebrates the wisdom of our elders and reminds us not to turn a blind eye to their rich and enriching intellectual and experiential contributions. How might we demonstrate that humanistic psychology is, far from being a mere historical relic, well-equipped in its core values and theory/philosophy, pluralistic methods, and robust, decades-long canon of research/scholarship to resonate with the 2020s zeitgeist? And, with that, what can we do to promote an I-Thou way of being in an increasingly I-It world?

January 15, 2024

The Existential Moment: Micro-skills: Reflecting

Reflection is a bit like the work of the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. We mirror or reflect our client’s experience—the content presented, the process or experience in the moment (e.g., nonverbals, tone, pattern of speech, etc.), self and world constructs (e.g., “I am…”), protective patterns and inner tensions, and core vulnerabilities or wounds.

January 1, 2024

Recommended Event: The Global Existential Summit #3 Online Jan 1–5, 2024

For the 3rd year in a row, Dr Natalie Fraser has collected a group of 21 existential thinkers, including EHI’s Kirk Schneider and EHNW”s Bob Edelstein together with many more contemporary leading voices of the global Existential movement. To quote her: “The summit aims to explore hope and inspiration for living a more meaningful life. It is time for an era of inclusivity, love, and respect. Together, we can make this happen.” Many wholeheartedly agree with her – it is a time for inclusivity, love, and respect.

December 2, 2023

The Existential Moment: Bringing there-and-then into here-and-now

E-H Therapy is experiential and relational. The approach leverages several “micro-skills “to develop experience in the room, including tagging, slowing down and tuning in, reflecting back, etc. Each works to deepen presence “here-and-now.”

One skill is “bringing there-and-then into here-and-now.” It looks like, for example, the therapist’s statement above, “How does that feel to say?” The client narrated a story “there-and-then.” However, the realization of PTSD occurred in the present moment, suggesting a critical path to explore. Working in the present offers tremendous therapeutic potential. While nothing is wrong with narrating, experiencing offers immense possibilities for growth.

December 1, 2023

The Existential Moment: E-H Therapy is experiential and relational

Can we be present with it? It’s beyond difficult. The news and social media teem with stories of the Israel-Hamas War. Parents talking about the horrific murder of their children or burning of their families or video of glazed-eyed parents walking down streets carrying the limp, shrouded bodies of young kids. The stories and images are shocking, enraging, and, maybe most of all, soul-crushing. Detachment and denial are one

November 1, 2023

Early Bird Tuition Offers for Annual Existential Therapy Experiential in May

Early Bird Tuition Offers Expire in December! Existential-Humanistic Therapy: Principles of Practice A Residential Intensive Training in Sonoma for Clinicians & Students Save up to $325 off tuition with our tuition offers! Dates: May 30 – June 4, 2024Location: Beautiful Westerbeke Ranch in SonomaTraining Host: Existential-Humanistic Institute (EHI) A Deeper Dive Into E-H Therapy Practice The experiential intensive involves a

October 25, 2023

compilation of video stills of Arash, Kirk and Robert.

Arash’s World Podcast: An Introduction to Upcoming Otto Rank Conference

Arash Farzaneh, Arash’s World Podcast, talks with Robert Kramer and Kirk Schneider, two of the organizers who are also some of the upcoming speakers for the long-awaited and fascinating Otto Rank International Conference entitled “Unleashing Otto Rank: The Creation of Modern Depth Therapy” to be held online via Zoom on November 4th and 5th! This first conference (2024 will see

October 5, 2023

Fall Existential Therapy Consultation Groups Opening

Consultation in the Existential-Humanistic (E-H) Therapy groups focuses on cases that illustrate the existential-humanistic orientation to therapeutic practice. These groups are an opportunity to explore how therapeutic orientations are enhanced by incorporating existential and humanistic perspectives. Next Series Starts in October! Group Leaders: Stephanie Weissman, PsyD, EHI Affiliate Instructor and Almudena Sánchez Mazzaro, Psychologist with teaching assistant, Adam Kahn, LMFTSessions: 4 sessions.

September 12, 2023

The Existential Moment – Authenticity

Authenticity is a core concept of existential philosophy and an essential touchstone in E-H therapy. Moral connotation (i.e., socio-political ideal) aside, authenticity means congruence with oneself – who we really are. It stands opposite ideas like “bad faith” or “alienation.”

Clients often grapple with societal pressures, parental expectations, an oppressive conscience, self-deceptions, internal conflicts, past traumas, etc., that deter them from seeing and living their authentic path.

August 31, 2023

The Existential Moment – On Freedom and Responsibility

Unfairly imprisoned for 27 years in apartheid-ruled South Africa, Nelson Mandela refused to succumb to the chains of victimhood, blame, and rage, instead embracing the powerful message of self-mastery and determination of the poem “Invictus.” For Mandela, “Invictus,” meaning “unconquered” in Latin, was a guiding light of inner freedom in dark times of brutality, isolation, and hopelessness. The mindset helped turn a prison into a crucible of resilience and a man into a beacon of inspiration of hope, forgiveness, and unwavering strength

August 1, 2023

New Articles on Depolarizing America

We are sharing a newly published article here- a substantive piece on “how to depolarize America” and what needs to be done to get there from the Urbana-Champaign Gazette. Includes interviews with Kirk Schneider and eight colleagues who specialize in organized efforts to build bridges among divided cultural and political groups across America: This is the 2nd part in a

July 10, 2023

Dr Wang sitting next to a microphone during a presentation in a classroom setting

Registration Opens for September Workshop

The Literary Legacy of Existential Psychology:A Comparison of Lu Xun’s ‘Iron House’ and Rollo May’s ‘The Caged Man’Presented by: Xuefu Wang, PhD When: Saturday, Sept. 23rd @ 3pm – 4:30pm PDTWhere: Online through ZoomFee: $20 General/$10 Elders & StudentsPresentation Host: Existential-Humanistic Institute Imagine an iron house without windows, absolutely indestructible, with many people fast asleep inside who will soon die

July 10, 2023

Fall Events Through EHNW in Portland!

Join our Friends at EHNW in Portland for an Annual Workshop in September, a Lunch-n-Learn in August and a Student Salon in November!

July 3, 2023

The Existential Moment: The Paradox of Meaning

According to NASA, the image above covers an area of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. That’s a crazy thought. That speck reveals thousands of galaxies. Thousands. And that’s galaxies, not stars! The estimated average size of a galaxy is 100 million stars. You get it. The number of stars in the universe

July 1, 2023

2nd International Existential Scholars Presentation Announced

Both Lu Xun and Rollo May are existential thinkers as well as existential literacy figures. They both use metaphors to reflect on human existence. With Lu Xun’s reflection on the Chinese psyche or even the Chinese nation as a whole, he advocates for the destruction of the Iron House to set people free to live as individual humans with respect and dignity. Rollo May, in addressing the perspective of an individual being persecuted by an alienating power, touches on a related fundamental theme of humanity.

June 9, 2023

Becker, Rank, and Existential Psychotherapy

By Kirk Schneider, PhD

PsychologyToday.com
May 22, 2023

Kirk Schneider has a recent article on the topic of Ernest Becker, Otto Rank and Psychotherapy as “an intimate trio.”

Key points:

We must understand our relationship to existence, not only to our parents, culture, cognition, or physiology.

Life-enhancing anxiety is the ability to live with and make the best of the depth and mystery of existence.

A key result of life-enhancing anxiety is awe-based consciousness—a sense of adventure toward all living.

May 23, 2023

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