Next In-Person Training Retreat: May 22 - May 27, 2025!
The waitlist is open if you have the ability to join last minute.
Please use the contact form or see the application for directly contacting us if you are interested!
Our next experiential is scheduled for May 21-26, 2026.
Enrollment for 2026 opens August of 2025.
The May 2024 retreat was approved for 29.5 continuing education credits*.
Track 1. The Certificate Program
EHI Certificate in the Foundations
of Existential-Humanistic Practice
EHI Co Directors of Clinical Training: Nance Reynolds, PhD, LCSW and Kirk Schneider, PhD (acting) Nader Shabahangi, PhD, MFT (sabbatical)
The Existential-Humanistic Institute is pleased to continue to offer this unprecedented existential-humanistic program leading to a Certificate in the Foundations of Existential-Humanistic Practice.
Why Do Therapists Attend This Training Retreat?
“The retreat is an opportunity to be part of a community where we can think together using the themes of E-H. We can apply theories to cases, watch the work of our mentors and each other. By living together we experience an intimacy that creates an environment that reduces barriers and the ensuing connections foster a greater capacity for learning."
Leading therapy researcher Bruce Wampold suggests that “an understanding of the principles of existential therapy is needed by all therapists, as it adds a perspective that might … form the basis for all effective treatments” (Wampold cited in PsycCritiques, February 6, 2008, p.6).
Wampold’s findings along with others place E-H therapy not on the fringe but squarely at the center of psychological theory and practice as the field formulates new assumptions about what constitutes the core of practice. The intention of the certificate program coursework is to provide students with such a foundational core by integrating both theory and practice into each course.
Program Description
The skill-development portion focuses on learning to:
(a) identify meaning-making processes unfolding in the present moment,
(b) illuminate these “actual but often unrecognized” processes by cultivating intrapsychic and interpersonal presence,
(c) develop a safe and intimate therapeutic relationship,
(d) recognize and work with existential life issues which may be present but disguised, and
(e) recognize and work with transference and counter transference issues within an existential framework
By gaining competency in these fundamental principles, the student will have a solid core of practice and have a foundation from which additional modalities such as a cognitive-behavioral approach can be employed. The program is intended as a mentoring experience that emphasizes the development of the trainee as a whole person, appreciating that psychotherapy is an art as much as a science.
"I was inspired to attend the retreat after reading an article in the Atlantic about Existential Therapy. I realised it was a branch of therapy that expertly cultivates awareness, presence and connection. These are the mainstays of effective coaching and the areas of my life I wanted to improve the most. I was not disappointed I came away from training with a renewed sense of the value and healing power of deep human connection.
Certificate Requirements
Average Length of Time to Complete : One Year w/ Appx Fifty Hours of Experiential Training & Consultation Groups in Combination with Two 15-page Papers on E-H Therapy
The Foundations Program Has Three Modules (click each for details)
We have designed this program to be 1 year long. This gives students 10 months of facilitator partnership for the required papers. If a student cannot complete in this time all foundations students will have a maximum of 2 years from the start of the training to complete the requirements for this certificate.
This is the annual experiential training historically held as a residential retreat at Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma, CA. In-person participation in an experiential retreat is a requirement of this Certificate program. There is an experiential evaluation on the final day of the training. This module is the only module with in-person requirements all other portions are completed remotely.
*2024 Continuing Education: 29.25 CEs were approved. CE Fee: $115. For more information about the course or to discuss disability arrangements please contact Michelle through the form below.
The Existential-Humanistic Institute (EHI) collaborates with the Society for Humanistic Psychology (Division 32 of the American Psychological Association) to provide APA Continuing Education credit at approved EHI events.
APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
This is a self-directed theory course with readings and 2 papers due to meet the requirement. Students will be paired with an instructor as facilitator after the experiential training. This is 100% remote.
This module is held remotely via Zoom. A video consultation group is 10 hours of sessions and meets approximately once per month- full attendance is required to meet the Foundations certificate requirement. Two EHI instructors will be group co-leaders. Depending on the facilitators preference it will be either a 2-hour session or one 2.5 hour session per month for 10-hours of consultation total. These are scheduled according to the group leader availability. Expect that it will be during the business day, weekdays; Pacific time. Participants should be seeing clients (in a therapeutic setting) or have prior experience to join a group. The first offering of video consultation groups for a Foundations cohort will be in the fall following the retreat. If a student is unable to make one of these groups due to a personal scheduling conflict they will be able to have credit to join a group that fits their schedule in the future. We cannot guarantee we will offer a group that meets everyone’s schedule.
*International & out-of-state program participants: Students are only required to attend in-person the Experiential Training, that is the only mandatory travel required for this program. The other requirements are completed by you remotely and are facilitated by EHI’s instructors.
Having the opportunity to attend the EHI experiential was such a gift!! Not only do I feel like I learned skills that have helped me in working more effectively with my clients- I feel it has changed me in the way I look at and appreciate more fully myself. Thanks again for the opportunity to be a part of EHI!!
Training Retreat at Westerbeke
Experiential Training Course:
“Existential-Humanistic Therapy: Principles of Practice”
The 5-night training course, historically held as a residential retreat, is the heart of EHI’s programs. It allows licensed professionals and graduate students in psychology, counseling and therapy programs to come together in a safe environment, get to know one another, and experience how E-H therapy is practiced up close and personally.
Kirk Schneider Introduces the Experiential Training Course
EHI instructors, noted leaders in the field, emphasize the key ingredients of the E-H approach, including empathy, acceptance, and genuineness, to model how trainees can create safe, collaborative and life-changing therapeutic encounters. They demonstrate how the therapeutic relationship, in and of itself is a vehicle for healing and change and how therapeutic “presence” cultivates sensitivity and appropriate responsiveness to clients emotions, relational patterns and inner worlds. These two essential principles: building the therapeutic relationship and working in the “here and now” are the foundational blocks of E-H therapy and EHI training.
2025 Experiential Training Course Module Dates
Dates: May 22 - 27, 2025
The residential starts at 3:30pm on the first day and ends 2:00 pm(after lunch) on the final day. Approximately forty-five hours of programming are scheduled for this experiential. Anticipate learning schedule to be 9am – 9 pm; with many short breaks in addition to lunch and dinner breaks.
Westerbeke Ranch is a beautiful retreat center on acres of land in the heart of Sonoma. Built in the 1930’s, the Ranch is a contemplative environment, nourishing to both body and soul.
Westerbeke as a retreat center has historic significance for our community, as it was the meeting place and preferred retreat destination for many of the seminal writers in Existential Humanistic theory and practice such as Rollo May and James Bugental. In addition to EHI keeping the tradition alive, an ongoing group of E-H authors, instructors and practitioners still meets there each year. This many decades later!
Tabs with Info on Enrolling, Fees, Safety, Eligibility & Travel
We hope the following information will guide you through the application process. If you have further questions not answered above or need additional assistance, please reach out via the contact form below.
How do I apply to an EHI program?
- 1. Get the EHI Program Application [WORD]
Download the 2025-2026 Application Here! - 2. Fill out the application -select the Program track you are applying for. This is a Word doc but you are welcome to put in Google docs and export it out again from there. Please “Save” the form responses before sending as an attachment. Please do not send scanned images or a PDF. Contact Michelle if you need assistance regarding sending the application.
- 3. Email completed form as an attachment to the address on the application.
- 4. Submit the one-time non-refundable $100.00 application fee via PayPal – the link is on the application.
What is the deadline for applying?
We accept applications for the current year until the spots available at the training are filled. Applications are reviewed from late summer until the start of May. There is a summer break following the retreat of the current year. The training retreat is limited attendance and applicants are considered in the order in which applications are received. Apply as soon as possible to secure a position in the next year’s program and to have the most payment plan and early bird tuition options!
Formal acceptance into the program and payment of deposit will hold your space in the cohort prior to tuition fee deadlines. Apply as soon as possible to secure a position in the program and to have the most enrollment payment plan options.
What happens after I apply?
Once received, your application will be reviewed by EHI’s admissions team and responded to within a 4- to 6-week period. Once accepted into the program, a letter of formal acceptance will be sent to you and then an admissions team member along with Michelle, the Program Administrator, will work with you to complete your enrollment.
How do I complete enrollment?
Once accepted, you can begin the enrollment process: you will need to complete and sign an Enrollment Agreement form detailing payment options and schedule. Once EHI receives that form, along with your tuition deposit, your spot in the cohort is held – conditional upon EHI receiving tuition balance and lodging payments by relevant deadlines. Tuition fees and lodging/food costs are invoiced and you can pay these online securely. Michelle will assist in enrollment and can answer enrollment questions
2025 Foundations Certificate Program Tuition Fee: $3,290*
Early Bird Tuition Discounts Available for Applications Received thru 12/15/2024:
- Full Tuition Payment Option: $250 Early Bird Discount
- Split Tuition Payment Option: $100 Early Bird Discount
- 2025 Retreat Lodging/Food Cost: $1,215 Billed Separately in March. This includes cabin-style shared lodging of a few people/cabin with superb family-style meals (plue pool and hot tub). There is no single room lodging at Westerbeke.
- The food and lodging cost is billed separately from tuition, and is due April 1, 2025. Due to contractual obligations many months in advance, this fee is both non-refundable and non-transferable (please see “Refund Info & Corona virus Safety” info tab for specific refundability options for lodging cost and tuition fees).
- The program is comprised of:
- Retreat Module: Appx 40 hours of experiential programming and hands-on training at the residential Experiential Training Retreat. (29 CE Learning Hours)
- Consult Module: 10 hours of Video Consult with EHI Faculty [Monthly sessions of 2 or 2.5 hours; appx a session per month to begin in fall that follows the Training Retreat].
- Online Theory Module (survey course): Theory and Practice of E-H Therapy. Begins in the Fall following the training retreat. You are paired with an instructor and you will be crafting two 15-page papers; set your own pace based on your schedule (18 month deadline).
- Food and lodging for 5 nights and 6 days stay at Westerbeke Ranch. Billed separately from tuition unless you request differently; due by April 1, 2025.
Please note: coursework and tuition may be subject to change between years when necessary. Text books, travel costs to Sonoma (airfare & local shuttle), COVID testing fees, application fee and Continuing Education fees (when applicable) are not included in the above rates.
The certificate program is open to licensed professionals seeking to enhance their clinical skills, and to full- or half-time students in a master’s or doctoral psychology, counseling, social work or therapeutic arts program who have begun their practicum or internship. It is also open to medical/health care professionals, and persons who currently hold at least a master’s degree in health or human services. International practitioners and master’s and doctoral students in therapeutic programs listed above are also welcome!
Past enrollees have included domestic and international clinicians including: psychologists, LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCs, ministers and chaplains, medical counselors, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, doctors, nurse practitioners, music/art/movement therapists, higher education faculty, and more!
If you have questions about whether this program might be a good fit for you, please reach out.
Certificate programs include mandatory attendance at the annual Experiential Training Retreat, which is an intensive experience. By enrolling, a student is voluntarily agreeing to participate in a training on existential-humanistic approaches to psychotherapy hosted and organized by Existential-Humanistic Institute, a California Benefit Corporation (EHI), and should be aware that professional training in E-H therapy involves a direct focus on personal development. In participating in the Experiential Training Retreat, a person might experience strong and difficult emotions, and challenging personal psychological and/or psychosomatic material might be evoked.
In particular, role play is used in this training and due to the nature and intention of the training, a number of the role plays involve one individual playing a therapist and another playing a client. Participants can role-play a client or choose to bring in personal material, but either way – and whether role-playing the “client” or the “therapist” – these role plays are not actual therapy sessions and are for training purposes only.
In order to attend the training, each enrollee needs to sign a waiver (release of liability) that highlights the experiential and challenging nature of this training, and that emphasizes that enrollees are agreeing to voluntarily participate in it with full knowledge of the risks involved: enrollees take responsibility for choosing to participate in a training that can be deeply personal and stirring.
The full waiver is provided at the same time as the acceptance and enrollment documents so the accepted applicant can review before enrolling.
CURRENT UPDATE: EHI is an organization founded upon existential humanistic values, and we believe strongly in the importance of both personal and social responsibility. In the context of concerns about COVID-19, our intention is to address the issue in a way that values independence and interdependence and balances both freedom and responsibility. In that light, our safety protocols are listed below:
- In order to attend the May 2024 Experiential Training Retreat, you will need to bring three COVID-19 “at-home” antigen test kits with you to the training. You will need to take one test on the first day, shortly after arrival at Westerbeke Ranch, and another on the third day. The result of these tests will be recorded with our staff each morning.
- The third test kit is to be used in the event you start to experience symptoms of illness after the first two tests have been taken.
- If you start to experience symptoms of illness at any time during the training, we ask that you take an “at-home” antigen test and report your results to our staff.
- If you test positive for COVID-19 at any time during the training, you will obviously no longer be able to participate in the training and we will discuss with you at that point the next best steps.
- Masks are not required, yet you are certainly free to wear one as we support personal choices made regarding mask-wearing.
- These protocols might change depending upon COVID-related conditions and CDC and local COVID-related guidelines around the time of the Experiential.
- In the spirit of communal care, we request that if you test positive for COVID-19 in the days following your return home, that you let us know so we can inform others that someone from the training has tested positive.
- All rooming is shared rooming- there are no private rooms at Westerbeke.
Getting to Sonoma: When planning travel to Westerbeke Ranch please note that EHI does not provide transportation up to Westerbeke Ranch, though we do encourage carpooling and initiate it with an email to all attendees prior to the retreat.
Planning Your Visit to the Bay Area for the Retreat: We start at 4:00 pm the first day so we recommend pre-planning travel up to Westerbeke. We suggest that if you are flying during these times, purchase a refundable and transferable ticket. We also suggest that if you can arrive to the area a day early, you bypass the risk of being late or missing a ride due to a late arrival or a canceled flight. Arriving early helps give the best advantage for carpooling opportunities as picking up at an airport on starting day of the retreat can be difficult for carpool drivers. Also there is less risk of late or canceled flights which are on the rise. We ask that everyone is on time to prevent interruption to the training. On the day of the retreat, if you are driving up from places south of Sonoma (San Francisco or Oakland) or one of these airports, you will want to start travelling by 1:30pm to negotiate traffic. Staying north of San Francisco the night before has worked well for attendees. If you will be staying in the area the night before make your reservations early as possible. Our final training session on the 15th ends at 12:15 pm and we will have lunch together from 12:30-2:30pm; our time at the ranch ends at 3pm (some people will need to leave during lunch to catch their flight). Historically we encourage carpooling and we can initiate and facilitate this for those who would like to connect with someone else for the drive up and back.
*Continuing Education Info
The 2024 training was approved for 29.5 CEs. We will be submitting a course proposal for 2025 also. Please contact us through the form below for more info regarding the course or to request disability accommodations.
APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
*These continuing education credits are accepted by most licensing boards across the US.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please reach out to us. We look forward to talking with you more about the program!
Clinical Training Co Directors
Nance Reynolds, PhD, LCSW
Kirk Schneider, PhD (Acting)
Nader Shabahangi, PhD, LMFT (Sabbatical)
Clinical Training Coordinator
Stephanie Weissman, PsyD
Attendees Share Their Experiences
The residential training has multiple enrollment tracks including the introductory Foundations Certificate Program and the modular Experiential Training Retreat Program (just the retreat module). We ask that prospective attendees apply to the program that fits their needs best. The programs are open to both licensed therapeutic professionals and graduate students. International attendees are very welcome!