EHI VIDEO LIBRARY
This library page contains videos from EHI hosted workshops, events and trainings. Find additional videos, including interviews with EHI team members, on our Recommended Audio/Video page.
Existential-Humanistic Therapy
Experiential Training Residential Retreat
This experiential training takes place annually with a combined cohort of Foundations Certificate Students, Advanced Program Students, and those participants who elect to enroll in just the Experiential Training module. Visit the Training page for more info about attending and enrollment.
Why Do Practitioners Attend the Experiential Training Retreat?
Enrollees and instructors share the reasons why they attend and what their personal and professional takeaways are when participating in the residential and engaging in the hands-on experiential training.
Intro to the Experiential Training
Dr Kirk Schneider, EHI President, introduces the annual Existential-Humanistic experiential training course retreat.
Two Students on "Why We Chose Existential-Humanistic (E-H) Therapy"
Tyler Gamlen, EHI Student and Christopher Bradshaw, PhD, EHI Teaching Assistant
Join these two friends as they begin a discussion concerning why they chose to be (and become) E-H oriented therapists.
Find Out More About Attending the Retreat at Westerbeke Ranch in October!
- Experience how Existential-Humanistic therapy is practiced up close and personally
- Licensed professionals/graduate students come together in a facilitated and safe environment
- Engage in intensive, immersive experiential learning
2023 International Online Conference
Hosted by Existential-Humanistic Institute
Unleashing Otto Rank: The Creation of Modern Depth Therapy
The most brilliant of Freud’s students, Otto Rank transformed psychoanalytic practice and laid essential groundwork for the contemporary psychotherapy practiced by millions of therapists around the world today. And yet, his contributions and influence remain woefully under-appreciated. This conference, unprecedented in the annals of both psychoanalysis and existential-humanistic psychology, will re-introduce the legacy, focus, and implications of Rank’s genius for a new generation of depth psychologists and psychotherapists.
Otto Rank (1884 – 1939) had a highly productive life as a lecturer, therapist and writer and his work had great influence on many notable figures. Chief among them include the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, the client-centered psychotherapist Carl Rogers, the existential psychoanalyst Rollo May, the existential therapist Irvin Yalom, and the cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker. It was his profound influence on May and Rogers in particular that gave birth to existential-humanistic psychology in the U.S.
Today, many therapists inherently take for granted and employ truths Rank espoused in differentiating himself from many of the relevant theories, theorists and trends of his day. Join us for an immersion into the ubiquitous underlying influence of Otto Rank, particularly as it relates to contemporary depth psychotherapy and existential, humanistic and psychodynamic psychology.
Eight Presenters - Two Days
Each Presenter Highlights a Different View of Otto Rank's Work and His Enduring Influence
The presenters featured here are a mix of leading Existential Humanistic scholars, professors, authors, clinicians, and artists (in varying combinations).
These videos are full versions of each day’s four presentations. Only the faces of attendees have been edited out for privacy, but their fantastic interactions with the presenters have been preserved. There are timestamps included so you can navigate within each day’s video.
Unleashing Otto Rank
Day 1: Nov 4th, 2023
Introduction [0:0:17-0:3:00]
Nader Shabahangi, EHI Vice President/Clinical Co-Director and Instructor
Sonja Saltman, EHI Secretary/Communications Director and Instructor
Doug Silberstein, EHI Treasurer/Workshop Coordinator and Affiliate Instructor
Poetry Reading [0:3:00-0:5:16]
Nance Reynolds, EHI Clinical Co-Director and Instructor
“My Mother’s Body” by Marie Howe
First Day Presentations
Robert Kramer – Otto Rank and the Creation of Modern Psychotherapy [0:05:17–0:32:41]
In 2023 millions of mental health professionals practice therapy worldwide. Almost all of them are following in the footsteps of Rank, the first psychoanalyst to assert that the quality of the relationship, not an interpretation, is the healing factor in psychotherapy. If the 20th century was the century of Freud, the 21st is shaping up to be that of Rank, the “brooding genius waiting in the wings,” as Irvin Yalom calls him.
Ludwig Janus – Otto Rank as Psychohistorian [0:32:52–0:57:00]
Rank showed that the primal preverbal experiences from the beginning of our individual life is present in our adult experience, but he also showed that this is the case as well in the collective mentalities in history manifest as magic, mythical and religious experience. In this sense he understood the history of humankind as a process of internalization of earlier reenacted primordial experiences in the societal life. He was the first one who could reflect these facts of human condition. This laid the foundations of psychohistory.
Ellen Handler Spitz – Otto Rank on Art, Artists, and Creative Process [0:57:00–1:24:00]
Otto Rank, at the age of 23, shyly introduced himself to Freud with an essay titled “The Artist.” Rank went on densely, albeit with remarkable acuity, authenticity, and originality to explore the theme of artistic creativity, specifically, the mental processes of working artists. He lays bare the dynamics of artists’ inner conflicts, which arise not only during but often at the anguished beginnings and endings of work. Rank frames these as struggles over birth and death, and he explores bonds and ruptures between artists’ past and present work, both their own and that of others. He writes of inspiration and of the role of the muse. This presentation spotlights a selection of nuggets from Rank’s contributions to this field of inquiry.
Marie Helen Becker – Heavenly Escape [1:24:11–1:51:44]
This presentation is on art Marie has created based on Otto Rank’s discussion of the origins of the soul and religion in ART AND ARTIST (1932), where religion and art are intertwined. Problematic to all humans from primitive to contemporary cultures is the wonder at our physical impermanence and the ensuing desire to defeat transience. Even though the subject of soul is no longer ascribed the popular attention it once was, the presenter will use her own artwork as an example of her process of rendering an art history of the soul.
Large Group Q&A with the Presenters [1:51:45-2:27:35]
Unleashing Otto Rank
Day 2: Nov 5th, 2023
Introduction [0:0:14-0:0:50]
Nader Shabahangi, EHI Vice President/Clinical Co-Director and Instructor
Sonja Saltman, EHI Secretary/Communications Director and Instructor
Doug Silberstein, EHI Treasurer/Workshop Coordinator and Affiliate Instructor
Final Day Presentations
Matthew Fox – Otto Rank as a ‘New Personality Type’ Calling for the Unio Mystica: a Reunion of Psyche and Cosmos [0:0:40-0:31:35]
Rank observed that “new personality types are created during social and spiritual crises of religious, political or economic origin.” Was Rank himself such a new personality type? In this presentation we will explore Otto Rank’s teachings on the “Unio Mystica,” (his words) including the role of love and art, the more-than-rational, the seeking for a “beyond,” letting go, being present to the “Now,” and creating. His prophetic role includes moving beyond patriarchy, “beyond Freud,” (his words) and Freudian psychology, beyond the one-sidedly rational and modern consciousness therefore.
Sara Ekenstierna – Problems of the Beyond: Exploring Holistic Thought Through Otto Rank and David Bohm [0:31:35-0:57:05]
The presenter’s own research offers a revision of current positivist understandings of self and wellbeing in mainstream therapeutic psychology, by elaborating on Otto Rank’s existential-psychodynamic philosophy of the psyche. The particular focus of this presentation is on Rank’s recognition of holistic and co-creative notions of selfhood as essential properties of human existence, and on how these approaches can further advance contemporary psychotherapeutic practices of the self.
Siebrecht Vanhooren – Therapy is the Place to Be [0:57:06-1:25:45]
One of the many revolutionary ideas Rank launched is that not only the client’s sufferings and joys can be understood in terms of existence. The process of therapy itself is the place and time where we – client and therapist – meet our nothingness, something-ness and everything-ness: our life and death. The consequences of this vision are far-reaching. Can I, as a therapist, be alive and live with my client at this very moment? Can I attune to the existential process I am a part of, listen to my own ever-changing voice, and allow myself and my client to be?
Kirk Schneider – Recasting Psychoanalysis in Existential Terms: The Lasting Legacy of Otto Rank [1:25:46-1:54:40]
Otto Rank reframed psychoanalysis in terms of our relation to existence, beyond and inclusive of our relationship to our biology, our cognition, and even ourselves. Rank also delved deeply into the experience of that relationship, inclusive of our fears, our sorrows, and our exuberances—as well as our “here-now” embodiment of such sensibilities. In this light, and in the light of Robert Kramer’s research on Rank’s impact on both Carl Rogers and Rollo May, Rank can justifiably be called the founding figure of both existential-humanistic and existential-integrative psychology. In this talk, Dr. Schneider will describe how prophetic Rank’s reformulation of psychoanalysis has proven to be, and how vital it is not only for Western psychologies, but for contemporary industrialized societies as a whole. To elucidate this foundation-shaking thesis for our times, Dr. Schneider will touch on some of his own work on existential-integrative therapy, life-enhancing anxiety, and the cultivation of the sense of awe toward living.
Final Large Group Q&A w/ Presenters|Thank You [1:54:40-2:20:00]
Final Words from Dr Ludwig Janus [2:20:05-2:20:23]
The Experiential Democracy Dialogue
The Experiential Democracy Dialogue was developed over a 15 year period by Kirk Schneider, PhD. The intent of this intimate, one-on-one format is to apply the riches of psychology to address the deepening cultural and political divides in our society and world.
The Experiential Democracy Dialogue is also based on Schneider’s experience as a trained moderator for the grass-roots citizens movement called Braver Angels. Braver Angels also draws on psychological principles to provide supportive, highly structured group and individual formats to self-identified liberals and conservatives to mediate conflicts over a broad range of issues.
The Experiential Democracy Dialogue is fully described and presented in Schneider’s book The Depolarizing of America: A Guidebook for Social Healing. It is highly recommended that anyone trying out the dialogue format on their own read the book or join Braver Angels as background.
Also it is essential that anyone trying out the dialogue adhere strictly to the structure and ground rules, and desist from proceeding if either partner fails to adhere to these criteria. The success of the dialogue process is entirely dependent on each partner’s capacity for civil and respectful engagement.
Experiential Democracy Dialogue Videos
These videos are edits of workshops by Kirk Schneider that feature the Experiential Democracy Dialogue (EDD). The EDD has been developed by psychologist and author, Kirk Schneider, PhD and these are companion videos to The Depolarization of America: A Guidebook for Social Healing. These videos feature both demonstrations of the EDD and hands-on opportunities to try the Dialogue in a facilitated dyad with Kirk’s guidance.
January 13, 2022
Harvard Alumni for Mental Health
This presentation recording features Dr. Nizzi of Havard Alumni for Mental Health (HAMH) interviewing Dr. Kirk Schneider on his six-phase Experiential Democracy Dialogue.
Dr Nizzi, and later Dr. Caifang Zhu, Director of Community Services at HAMH, and Kirk discuss using the Experiential Democracy Dialogue (EDD) to engage to engage in meaningful connected conversation with friends, family, coworkers and others in a format that can sidestep the potential polarization of the selected topic. It is a quite thorough exploration of the approach and its implications for contemporary crises.
This presentation on the EDD was given to the Harvard Alumni for Mental Health in January of 2022.
Harvard Mental Health - Experiential Democracy Dialogue: An Interview With Dr. Kirk Schneider
This video includes a detailed description of the phases of the dialogue along with a Q & A with the attendees in the last part of the interview.
Workshop Videos With Demos & Hands-On Dyad Exercises to Facilitate Your Practice
An Experiential Democracy Dialogue on Liberal and Conservative Views of Racism
The Depolarizing of America: For Ourselves and our Clients Workshop
This recording has been edited to give viewers to opportunity to engage in facilitated dyads of the Experiential Democracy Dialogue.
This video is one of a series on depolarizing America’s divides and was sponsored by the Existential-Humanistic Institute and the Existential-Humanistic Northwest.
Facilitated Dyad Exercise
The practice portion of this video begins at 1hr 10min 10 secs.
This workshop recording features Dr. Kirk Schneider’s six-phase Experiential Democracy Dialogue and features both a demonstration & a practice dyad session; the focus of the demonstration here is on the issue of racism.
In the first portion utilizing the Experiential Democracy Dialogue format, Schneider facilitates the encounter of a self-identified liberal and conservative on the topic of how each views racism in today’s America.
In the second portion of the video, with Schneider facilitating, the audience has a chance to engage in the dialogue format on their own.
In contrast to the demonstration, audience pairs can choose from any of a range of timely topics from racism to the pandemic to political extremism, and can select liberal or conservative positions to address those topics.
This hands-on portion has Kirk facilitating the viewer’s practice of the Dialogue. Kirk is giving the instructions for each phase of the Dialogue and there is time to complete all portions of the phases.
Viewer’s engaging in the dyads portion will need a timer for switching partners according to the instructions in each phase.
An Experiential Democracy Dialogue on Liberal and Conservative Views of President Donald Trump
Meeting Across the Divide: Depolarizing America for Ourselves and Our Fellow Citizens Workshop
This recording has been edited to give viewers to opportunity to engage in facilitated dyads of the Experiential Democracy Dialogue.
In this video, one of a series on depolarizing America’s divides, sponsored by the Existential-Humanistic Institute, the focus of the demonstration is on the controversial leadership of U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
Facilitated Dyad Exercise
The practice portion of this video begins at 1hr 17min 19 secs.
Utilizing the Experiential Democracy Dialogue format, Schneider facilitates the encounter of a self-identified liberal and conservative on the topic of how each views Trump’s effectiveness as U.S. President. This workshop recording features Dr. Kirk Schneider’s six-phase Experiential Democracy Dialogue and features both a demonstration & a practice dyad session.
In the first portion utilizing the Experiential Democracy Dialogue format, Schneider facilitates the encounter of a self-identified liberal and conservative on the topic of how each views racism in today’s America.
In the second portion of the video, with Schneider facilitating, the audience has a chance to engage in the dialogue format on their own.
In contrast to the demonstration, audience pairs can choose from any of a range of timely topics from racism to the pandemic to political extremism, and can select liberal or conservative positions to address those topics.
This hands-on portion has Kirk facilitating the viewer’s practice of the Dialogue. Kirk is giving the instructions for each phase of the Dialogue and there is time to complete all portions of the phases.
Viewer’s engaging in the dyads portion will need a timer for switching partners according to the instructions in each phase.
Experiential Dyad
Facilitated by EHI Instructors
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EHI Instructors: Kirk Schneider, Troy Piwowarski, Sonja Saltman, Nader Shabahangi Plus…
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Training Clip
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Working with Dreams and Understanding our Life Myth
Dreamwork Facilitator: Sonja Saltman, LMFT
This video demonstrates Dream Re-entry: a method in which you place yourself in a meditative state and go back into your dream from a waking state in order to re-experience your dream more fully and in present tense and possibly resolve it, followed by working with Gestalt Therapy guidelines to fully exploits nuances of the dream. Filmed at experiential training.
EHI 2016 Conference
Theme: ‘Always Going Home’: Human Evolution and Digital Revolution
Keynote Presentation: Erv Polster, PhD
EHI was honored to have preeminent Gestalt Psychotherapist Dr Erving Polster present the EHI 9th Annual Keynote via Skype.Kirk Schneider Shares Jason Silva's "Radical Openness" Video
Kirk Schneider shares Jason Silva’s “Radical Openness” video from TEDGlobal 2012. This video is described by Jason Silva as “an anthem on the power of IDEAS.” A group discussion of the video and its possible implications follows the viewing of the video.
View Jason Silva’s “Radical Openness” video here on Vimeo.
Break-out Groups: Digital Work and Relationships
Attendees break out into small groups to discuss digital work and relationships.
EHI 2015 Conference
Theme: The Power of Presence
EHI dedicated its 8th Annual Conference to Jim Bugental, a founder of Humanistic Psychology, co-founder of the Existential-Humanistic Institute, master Existential Therapist, author, teacher, and pioneer of Transpersonal Psychology.
Roger Walsh, PhD, MD Keynote Speaker
In this Keynote presentation Roger Walsh shares his experience in therapy with Jim Bugental. Jon Carlson, who created the videotape series of expert therapists for the American Psychological Association, has probably seen more master therapists in action than anyone else in history, and he said of Jim Bugental, “He was the best therapist I ever saw.” I had the privilege of being in therapy with Jim for almost two years and it was the most transformative experience of my life, changing everything from my values, career, and worldview to my understanding of human nature and potentials. Many others were similarly affected. In this talk I’ll share what it was like to work with Jim, the kinds of insights he fostered, how and why he was so effective, the risks he was willing to take, the many things we can learn from him, and the legacy he leaves.
Roger N. Walsh, MD, Ph.D., is an Australian professor of Psychiatry, Philosophy and Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, within UCI’s College of Medicine.
2015 Conference Intro
This conference brought together a number of Jim’s former students and associates, many of whom now are respected mentors, therapists and teachers themselves. In this intro some of these peers, colleagues, students, and clients share some of their stories of Jim and his influence on their personal and professional lives.
2015 Conference Presentations & Excerpts
The presenters that joined EHI for the 2015 conference came together to celebrate Jim Bugental’s everlasting influence on their work.
Presence and the Polarized Mind: How Can We Apply Jim's Principles to Social Conflict?
Dr Kirk Schneider
This talk depicts Kirk’s own inspiration, based on Jim’s inspiring model, to apply the sensibility of presence to a range of social conflicts beyond the consulting room. Drawing from his recent books he considers how presence, or the holding and illuminating of that which is palpably significant between therapist and within client (or partners) can facilitate the rejuvenation of communities to enhance the enrichment and stabilization of our world.
The Art of Jim Bugental’s Psychotherapy
Bob Edelstein, MFT
Jim Bugental was a master at facilitating a client in their self-discovery in what is alive for them in the moment. Through lecture, discussion, an experiential exercise, and demonstration, five key concepts that informed Jim’s work were explored. The concepts are: inward searching, self-and-world constructs, resistance, subjectivity, and presence.
Who’s Aging Are We Living? Re-Visioning the Purpose and Power of aging
Dr Nader Shabahangi and Dr Bruce McBeath
Excerpted video: Nader and Bruce explore participants’ personal images of aging, address the impact of cultural stereotypes on our perception of aging, and move beyond culturally imposed limitations to recapture the gifts aging offers for personal development and sorely needed cultural maturity.
Radical Intersubjectivity: Attunement Through as a Portal to Authentic Existence
Dr Suzan Bollich
Abstract: This presentation aims to demonstrate a more radical approach of intersubjective work with (a) an enthusiastic talk that integrates actual case vignettes from Dr. Bollich’s clinical work with relevant short quote selections from Jim Bugental’s writings, and (b) an experiential exercise to demonstrate radical intersubjective attunement.
The Poetics of Psychotherapy
Dr Tom Greening
In this video excerpt of the presentation Dr Greening shares a poem he wrote, during Roger Walsh’s keynote presentation, called “I Turn to You.” He deprecatingly pokes some irreverent fun at the “preciousness” of the words “we use to describe” the work we do as Dr Orah Krug describes the poem. He talks about his personal and professional relationship with Jim Bugental. And the group discusses how modeling vulnerability can help the client.
Poetics Expressions in the Shadows: The Use of Poetry to Facilitate the Grieving and Loss
Dr Louis Hoffman and Dr Micheal Moats
Long before psychotherapy, poetry was used to facilitate painful expressions of grief and loss. In so doing, poetry often served roles similar to psychotherapy in promoting the grieving process.
Raising the Stakes: Increasing Client Presence and Commitment in the Living Moment
Dr Bruce McBeath and Dr Paul Bracke
Excerpted video: The presentation included fresh perspectives from Bugental’s original teaching, clinical case examples and participant interaction.
The Subtle Somatic Qualities of Presence
Jon Prendergast, PhD
The Abstract for this presentation:
Our bodies express presence in subtle, recognizable ways. As our bodies become increasingly free of conditioning and as our capacity for felt-sensing refines, we are able to experience one or more of the following facets of presence: spaciousness, groundedness, open-heartedness, and an inner alignment/aliveness. These subtle somatic markers can be experienced by both therapist and client in the shared field. Therapists can use these signals to help track experience and to mirror clients’ deepening authenticity and presence during an inner search, facilitating greater self-trust and autonomy.
Authenticity, Presence, and the Shamanic Journey: Jim Bugental as Shaman
Dr Steven Schmitz
The Abstract for this presentation:
Dr. James F. T. Bugental is quoted as saying, “Humanistic psychology is founded on a dedication to the wholeness of human life, a conviction that life has greater potential than has yet been realized, and an openness to a wide range of observations, methods, and practices. In this perspective, we draw humility, challenge, and encouragement from the realization of how much about human beings is yet unknown.” In his book, Psychotherapy and Process, Jim wrote about psychotherapy as a journey. This talk will explore how Jim’s psychotherapy was like a shamanic journey to become more present and authentic in one’s life, and to discover the “greater potential than has yet been realized.”
1998 EHI's Grand Opening
EHI celebrated it’s grand opening in 1998 less than a year after it was conceived as a program under the auspices of the former Pacific Institute.
Video of Skit with Victor Yalom & Nader Shabahangi
EHI has been honored to work with documentary filmmaker and photographer, S Smith Patrick, since the early 2000’s. Her innate talent as a story teller and her deeply humanist style have helped us to capture moments in our learnings that are often personal and transformative.