Track 1. Certificate Program
EHI Certificate in the Foundations
of Existential-Humanistic Practice
Director of Clinical Training: Nader Shabahangi, PhD, MFT
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.
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 theoretical portion of the program focuses on existential-humanistic therapy in general and on three of its founders, Rollo May, James Bugental, and Irvin Yalom, in particular. An overarching assumption of existential-humanistic therapy is that it is the client’s in-the-moment experiencing that forms both the underlying and actual process in therapy. This assumption anchors the existential therapist in the principles of practice that focus on experience over explanation and process over content.
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
Approximate Length: One Year, Appx Fifty Hours of Experiential Training & Consultation
Three Modules, A Practicum and an Experiential Evaluation
- Residential Course Module: "Existential-Humanistic Therapy: Principles of Practice" - Experiential Training Retreat
- An Experiential Evaluation
- The Theory and Practice of Existential-Humanistic Therapy Module
- E-H Video Consultation Group Module -5 sessions over 5 Months
- A Self-Directed Practicum
*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 at your own pace and is facilitated by faculty.
Experiential Training Course
Existential-Humanistic Therapy: Principles of Practice
The mandatory 6-day, 5-night residential training course 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 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.
Having the opportunity to attend the EHI experience 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!!
2021 Experiential Training Course
EHI has scheduled the 2021 training course for our programs; the training will take place in October, 2021 at Westerbeke Ranch. Approximately forty-five hours of programming are scheduled for this experiential.
Dates: October 10th - 15th, 20201
The residential starts at 4pm on the first day and ends at 1:00pm on the final day.
Westerbeke Ranch is a beautiful retreat center on acres of land in the heart of Sonoma. Built in the 30’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 for many of the seminal writers in Existential Humanistic theory and practice such as Rollo May and James Bugental.
See this short video of Westerbeke Ranch from YouTube
What will be different about staying at Westerbeke Ranch in 2021?
- Exclusive use: We will be the only group there for the week.
- Rooming: At this time, given current conditions, we are assigning each attendee their own room with attached bathroom. (Historically shared rooms)
- Meals: The family style buffet will have staff serving from behind shields. They are slightly limited in their ability to provide very specialized diets, though they will always be careful with regards to allergy safety
The certificate program is open to licensed professionals who seek to enhance their clinical skills, and to full/half time students in a masters or doctoral psychology, counseling, social work or therapeutic arts program. It is also open to medical professionals and persons who currently hold at least a master’s degree in therapeutic arts or human services.
If you have questions about whether this program might be a good fit for you please reach out.
Early Bird Tuition Discount Offers: $250 off full tuition payment, $ 100 off for split tuition payment (applicants accepted prior to May 20th Eligible for Early Bird Discounts).
- 2021 Program Tuition Fee: $3,200
- Retreat Food/Lodging Cost: $1205.00 (billed separately)
- Appx 40 hours of experiential programming and hands-on training at the residential Experiential Training Retreat.
- 10 hours of Video Consult with EHI Faculty [5 two-hour sessions; 1 session per month to begin in Fall following the Training Retreat].
- Online survey course: Theory and Practice of E-H Therapy. Begins in the Fall following the training retreat. Set your own pace based on your schedule.
- Food and lodging for 5 nights and 6 days, billed separately from tuition, due February 15, 2020. Due to contractual obligations many months in advance this fee is both non-refundable and non-transferable.
- We hold our retreats at a beautiful conference center, Westerbeke Ranch, in the heart of Sonoma County. The cost includes modern, cabin-style shared lodging, superb family style meals and the use of all the facilities at Westerbeke such as the pool, hot tub and walking trails.
- *Coursework and tuition may be subject to change when necessary. Text books, travel cost to Sonoma, Westerbeke food/lodging costs, application fee and Continuing Education fees (when applicable) are not included in the tuition fee.
We hope the following information will guide you through the application process. If you have further questions or need additional assistance, please email us: program[at]ehinstitute.org.
How do I apply to an EHI program?
- 1. Get the EHI Program Application [WORD]
Download the Application Here! - 2. Fill out the application -select the Program track you are applying for. This is a Word doc but LibraOffice will work too. Please Save the application to your computer to send as an attachment. Please do not send scanned images. Contact Michelle if you need assistance regarding the application.
- 3. Email completed form as an attachment to the address on the application.
- 4. Submit the non-refundable $100.00 application fee via PayPal- the link is on the application.
What is the deadline for applying?
The cohort is filled on a first-come basis and when all spaces for the residential retreat are filled (max 17 cohort attendees). Applications are accepted year-round. 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 payment plan options.
What happens after I apply?
Once received, your application will be reviewed by clinical team members and responded to within a 2-week period. Once accepted into your program of choice, a letter of formal acceptance will be sent to you and both Stephanie, the Clinical Training Coordinator, and Michelle, the Admin Assistant, will work with you to complete your enrollment.
How do I Complete Enrollment?
Once accepted you can be enrolled in the program you will receive your completed payment agreement form outlining the payment schedule and your deposit and tuition are submitted. Complete that and return it to us. Tuition fees and Lodging costs are invoiced and you can pay this online securely. Michelle, our Admin Assistant, will assist in enrollment and can answer enrollment questions.
It is the policy of EHI to make every reasonable effort to provide qualified students with disabilities with the opportunity to take full advantage of its programs.
If you have a disability, please contact us ahead of time so we can work with you arrange the programming to needs. Please contact either our Admin, Michelle at program[@]ehinstitute.org or our Clinical Director, Nader, at info[@]ehinstitute.org to make arrangements.
At this point, we anticipate holding our 2021 Experiential Retreat Training in-person at Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma, California, October 10 – 15. This is based on a best guess that it will be safe enough to meet in person by that time. (Please keep in mind that even though we’re anticipating that it will be safe enough, there might still need to be some social distancing protocols to follow.)
However, there is the possibility that we might end up needing to cancel the in-person 2021 retreat and hold an online version of the training instead, depending upon the continued unfolding of the coronavirus pandemic and related administering of the COVID-19 vaccine. In registering for the October, 2021 in-person retreat (or 2021-2022 Certificate Program cohort), please be aware that we will make a final determination by August 1st, 2021, as to whether we will continue with our current in-person plans or shift to an online option for October 2021 instead.
If we shift to the online version, registrants will have the following options:
- 1. Take the online training intensive at the reduced rate. The online training tuition is $325 less than the in-person training (and there would, of course, be no lodging/food payment needed) and registrants would be refunded any difference they’ve already paid. The online training would begin October 10th but would most likely end the 16th instead of the 15th. For those registered for one of the Certificate Programs, there would be no fee reduction for the Consultation and Theory Course components of the program since there would be no programmatic change to those components.
- 2. Transfer their tuition to either the 2022 or 2023 Experiential Retreat Training/Certificate Program cohort. The tuition fee would be locked in, so that even if the tuition fee increases, students who paid for 2021 would not have to pay the increased difference (the lodging/food fee is not locked in). In choosing to transfer, please keep in mind that currently the 2022 experiential retreat is scheduled for May 26 – 30, which means the 2022-2023 Certificate Program cohort would begin in May 2022; and the 2023 dates have not yet been set. We traditionally hold our experiential training in May or October.
- 3. Request and receive a full tuition refund, minus the $500 deposit. Of that deposit, $450 would be credited to the student’s account so he/she/they could apply that credit to any EHI event – including future Experiential Retreat Trainings – through the end of 2023.
If we decide on August 1, 2021, that we will be shifting to an online training for 2021 (and the 2021-2022 cohort), registrants will have till August 20, 2021 to decide which option they’ll choose. Again, we are optimistic we will be gathering at Westerbeke in October of this year, but we want to be as clear as possible about the potential for the need to adapt. We greatly appreciate your understanding during this challenging time!
COVID-19 Vaccination Policy
In order to attend the in-person October 2021 Experiential Training Course, enrollees must be fully vaccinated and able to show proof of that by October 1st, 2021. (Fully vaccinated means being a minimum of 2 weeks past your 2nd shot, or only shot, depending on the vaccine received). The only exceptions are for those with medical or religious exemptions. Those with these exemptions need to show documentation proving the exemption and show proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test no more than 72 hours before the start of the experiential. Regarding mask-wearing, social distancing and other potential safety measures, EHI will be following CDC and local guidelines at the time, but those who have not been vaccinated due to an allowable exemption should anticipate being requested to wear a mask at all times when around others.
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!
Director of Clinical Training
Nader Shabahangi, PhD, LMFT
Clinical Training Coordinator
Stephanie Weissman, PsyD