The Existential Moment will return soon. For this mini-break we will share links to some of the posts.
Over time, Scott has shared posts about the relational foundation of E-H therapy, an understanding of which can be deepened by looking at the interpersonal dimension of the therapeutic encounter.
By Kirk Schneider and Orah Krug
“EH therapy blends the European heritage of self-inquiry, struggle, and responsibility with the American tradition of spontaneity, optimism, and practicality. This book helps therapists and trainees understand how to help people address critical life questions and attune to how clients relate to themselves and to others, appropriately reflecting back aspects of themselves that are evident but unnoticed.
New to this edition are significant updates to research and theory, including the work of Otto Rank, an often-overlooked pioneer in EH therapy, and new concepts like existential unconsciousness and life-enhancing anxiety. The cultivation of presence as a central component of the therapeutic relationship is also emphasized.”
lato’s Allegory of the Cave describes people chained in darkness, mistaking shadows on the wall for the whole of reality. Only by turning toward the light—toward what casts the shadows—can they begin to see the world as it truly is. In therapy, we often work in the shadows: the protections, old narratives, and self-world constructs that shape experience. Yet each of these is influenced by something deeper and less visible. Turning toward that source can open the way to meaningful change.
On September 10, 2025, under an open white tent at Utah Valley University, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was debating all comers in front of 3,000 people when everything changed. At 12:23 p.m., a sniper’s bullet struck him in the neck. Chaos erupted—screams, running, ducking, simple panic. The shock was immediate. In that rupture, spectacle gave way to death’s terror. For
Collaboration is central in both CBT and Existential-Humanistic therapy—whether as co-investigators (CBT) testing ideas or as “fellow travelers” (E-H) exploring lived experience and meanings. Openness and curiosity likewise are central to both. Integration builds on this shared spirit by reframing CBT’s empirical approach through an E-H lens.
EHI’s Kirk Schneider, PhD, EHI President and Nance Reynolds, PhD, EHI’s Clinical Committer Chair with Tyler Gamlen, PhD will be at the 2025 CLE! If you are a Saybrook Student, Alumni, or faculty please consider checking out these 2 events at the Saybrook 2025 Community Learning Experience in Los Angeles in August. This in-person event is an opportunity to build
The Call for Papers for the Fourth World Congress of Existential Therapy is open. In 2026 the World Congress will be held June 3-6 in Boulder, CO. The host for the next biannual is the Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychotherapy Association (RMHCPA). The conference committee encourage all those interested in submitting a proposal to begin thinking about what you
Dante finds himself lost in a shadowed wood, fear pressing in on all sides. He cannot will himself forward—he doesn’t yet know where he is, or how he got there. Then, from the darkness, appears Virgil—reason and insight in human form. Not a rescuer, not a savior, but a guide. Virgil doesn’t dictate the path; he helps Dante face it.
The Existential Moment will return on July 1st with another post highlighting Existential-Integrative therapy! Related Blog Posts: Read other Existential Moment posts on Existential-Integrative therapy. Explore the therapeutic relationship in E-H therapy in previous posts. View all the Existential Moment series posts on EHI’s blog. Existential Moment Author: Scott Gibbs, LMFT, EHI Board Member-at-Large | Website: www.mscottgibbs.com | Twitter: @Novum_Organum
“Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought.”– The Buddha, Dhammapada, Verse 1 Cognitive restructuring, a core Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) technique, systematically identifies and modifies distorted or maladaptive thoughts. Its goal is to help individuals recognize automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) that cause distress and dysfunction, evaluate their accuracy, and shift them toward more realistic
Holden Caulfield, the main character in the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye, imagines himself standing in a field of rye, catching children before they fall over the edge of a cliff—a protector of innocence, shielding them from the harsh realities of adulthood. Yet, the scene reveals a more profound truth: his fear of falling and of facing life’s
In 19th-century Vienna, Sigmund Freud confronted a mystery that medicine couldn’t explain: patients with symptoms like paralysis and seizures, yet no physical cause. One case, Anna O., became a turning point. Her symptoms eased as she recounted long-buried, painful memories during “talking therapy,” revealing an astonishing insight: the mind held hidden forces influencing the body and behavior. Freud spoke then
Existential-Humanistic Institute, Inc. Presents:The Psychotherapeutic Relationship Salon Facilitated by: Sonja Saltman, MFT – EHI Core Instructor, and Joshua Diliberto, LCHC, NCC, RYT- EHI Teaching Assistant Date/Time: Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 11am-1pm Pacific | 2pm-4pm Eastern & 6pm-8pm UTCLocation: Online Via ZoomHost: Existential-Humanistic Institute (EHI)Enrollment: $25 for General tickets. To promote effective discussion we are limiting registration to 30 people.
“Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky…” Tennyson’s words from In Memoriam call us to a reckoning with the old year and the birth of the new. His poem pulses with the longing to discard what weighs us down personally and socially—detachment, pride, regret, etc. — and to embrace a brighter beginning. But the transformation he invokes is not simply a celebration; it is a call to action, a challenge to confront ourselves honestly toward living differently.
What do we leave behind as the bells ring out, and what new commitments do we make as they ring in?
This moment of transition mirrors a deeper, ongoing question central to Existential-Humanistic therapy: “How am I presently living?” and “How am I willing to live?” These questions, like Tennyson’s appeal, invite us to envision change and engage with it courageously.
The Existential Moment, the series found here on EHI’s blog, is currently on a hiatus and will be back in the new year.
Here are some lists of of posts related to some topics in the series from the last couple of years.
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