In the face of the complex challenges that characterise our world, join three distinguished voices in the crossroad between philosophy and psychology – Alfried Längle, Emmy van Deurzen, and Kirk Schneider – for an informative workshop titled “Anxiety in a Troubled World.” This session offers an engaging opportunity to gain a better understanding of anxiety and explore existential perspectives on navigating its intricacies.
Course Content
Organisation
“Bringing Wisdom to the World”
If you have been wondering where you might be able to find a group of people who want to bring their knowledge and experience to a worldwide movement for a better way of life, you have just found it.
Existential ideas are a powerfully alternative way of looking at human existence. These ideas have been around for many millennia, in the Athenian philosophies, the Eastern philosophical traditions and even, in a sense in pagan philosophies.
They became much more prominent in the 19th century with the writings of Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche and came to fruition with the work of Husserl, when he provided the method of phenomenology.
Most people have heard about existentialism, a mainly French 20th century philosophical movement, that broke the mould of philosophy and made it about human existence, rather than about human knowledge.
Since then existential ideas have been applied vigorously to the practice of psychology and psychotherapy and a movement of existential therapy was generated over the past century, that is now extremely popular. All around the world existential therapists work in this way and every four years they come together for the World Congress of Existential Therapy.
However it has now become vital to broaden the scope of the movement. As the world is in turmoil and going through extremely dangerous times, humanity seems to have lost track of the things that really matter. People have placed consumerism, profitability and competition at the foreground of human existence and have stopped noticing how they are ruining the eco system of the planet as well as the emotional climate in which we all live.
Presenter
Kirk Schneider, Ph.D. is a leading spokesperson for existential-humanistic and existential-integrative psychology, an adjunct faculty member at Saybrook University and formerly Teachers College, Columbia University, and a cofounder and current president of the award-winning Existential-Humanistic Institute. He was also a 2022 candidate for president-elect of the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Schneider has authored/coauthored 15 books including The Polarized Mind, The Depolarizing of America, and his latest book: Life-Enhancing Anxiety: Key to a Sane World.
The Existential Movement exists to reduce interpersonal conflict and psychological suffering and to enhance well-being in the community. It is a non-religious, non-political movement, using existential ideas derived from existential philosophy, psychotherapy, and psychology to achieve these aims. Its motto is to ‘bring wisdom to the world’.
The Existential Movement is composed of international members who wish to pursue the aims as the Existential Movement of enhancing emotional and spiritual health and well-being within the communities of each nation.
Find out more by clicking the website link under the logo.
Alfried LÄNGLE, M.D., Ph.D. (Psychology), born 1951 in Austria, founder (1983) and long-term president of the International Society for Logotherapy and Existential Analysis (Vienna), scholar and collaborator of Viktor Frankl. Has developed the modern approach of Existential Analysis which is not only focussed on meaning as Frankl’s Logotherapy is, but has a broader phenomenological access. Professor at Vienna’s Sigmund Freud University and Univ. of Klagenfurt. Over 400 publications, two honorary doctorates, six honorary professor degrees.
Emmy van Deurzen is a professor of Psychology and Psychotherapy with 18 books to her name, several of which have been translated into a dozen languages. She is the Co-Founder and Principal of the Existential Academy, where she also runs post graduate courses through the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling in partnership with Middlesex University and her private practice.
Born and raised in the Netherlands, she lived, studied, and worked in France before settling in the UK in 1977. Emmy has been instrumental in founding or cofounding numerous organizations, including the Society for Existential Analysis, the Federation for Existential Therapy in Europe and the World Confederation of Existential Therapy. She has helped people in facing their life problems and suffering for nearly half a century.
Amongst her books are the bestsellers Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling in Practice (3d edition 2012), Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness (Sage, 2009), Everyday Mysteries (2nd edition Routledge, 2010) and Paradox and Passion (2nd edition, Wiley, 2015). Her book Rising from Existential Crisis was published with PCCS books in 2021. She is currently writing a book on Existential Freedom for Penguin.
