Supervision Essentials for Existential-Humanistic Therapy

Existential–Humanistic (E–H) approaches have a long and rich tradition in psychotherapy. Grounded in a philosophical tradition that emphasizes the transformation of objective experience into subjective meaning, E–H therapists offer an appreciation of the unique perspective we bring to our worlds, and try to identify and illuminate the protective patterns that both constrict and support our survival.

In this concise guide, authors Krug and Schneider show readers how to apply the principles of E–H therapy to the practice of clinical supervision. With the skillful use of case examples — including excerpts from Dr. Schneider's companion DVD, Existential–Humanistic Psychotherapy Supervision, also available from APA Books — the authors demonstrate how E–H supervisors can embody the key ingredients of the E–H therapeutic approach, including empathy, acceptance, and genuineness, in order to create safe, collaborative, and supportive relationships with clients. E–H supervisors teach trainees how to enter their clients' self-constructed worlds, using their own personal contexts to develop responsiveness to clients, while also cultivating the "presence" that enables genuine encounters and real therapeutic change.

About the Author

Orah Krug has been clinical director of training and education at the Existential–Humanistic Institute of San Francisco (EHI) since its inception in 1997, where she oversees its educational offerings, developing the curriculum and the programmatic structures for the varied training programs. Dr. Krug leads the faculty and supervises the teachers-in-training at the experiential retreats, in Sonoma County CA. Information about the educational programs are available on the Existential–Humanistic Institute website. She also maintains a private practice in Oakland and Sausalito, CA, is an adjunct faculty member of Saybrook University, and an editor for the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. In addition to this text, she and Kirk co-authored Existential–Humanistic Therapy (2010) part of a monograph series for APA.

Kirk Schneider, a leading spokesperson for contemporary existential–humanistic psychology, is a graduate of Saybrook University where he was mentored by James Bugental and Rollo May. Dr. Schneider is the president APA Division 32 (Society for Humanistic Psychology, 2015–2016), recent past editor of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology (2005–2012), co founder and vice-president of the Existential–Humanistic Institute (EHI), and adjunct faculty at Saybrook University and Teachers College, Columbia University. His previous books include The Paradoxical Self, Rediscovery of Awe, Awakening to Awe, Existential–Integrative Psychotherapy, Existential–Humanistic Therapy (with Orah Krug), and The Polarized Mind. Dr. Schneider's primary interests are in helping to broaden the therapeutic field through the individual and collective applications of existential–integrative practice and the spirituality of awe, or the humility and wonder, and sense of adventure toward living.