55 Courses

Ten live dialogues between Prof Ernesto Spinelli and International Existential Therapists followed by an Experiential Study Group. A phenomenological approach to re-view psychopathology: We aim to explore the lived experiences of irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes a live dialogue between Prof Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten Dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients' often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. TIMES AND DATES 2025 25 Jan. “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 2 Feb. “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson 22 Mar. “Difference” with Dr. Todd DuBose 12 Apr. “Polarization” with Prof. Kirk Schneider 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn 21 Jun. “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez 19 Jul. “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick 25 Oct. “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon 15 Nov. “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock 13 Dec. “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy Full course (including dialogues): £1260 (2 pm to 5 pm – UK time) Only Dialogues: £630 (2 pm to 3 pm – UK time) Venue: Online Zoom Read the full Programme here > Course Organised by:

RECORDING: Bundle three sessions focussing on working with families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) A chance to purchase three recorded sessions for £75 (normally individually priced at £30 per session). This training is aimed at staff at museums, art galleries and heritage sites who are interested in making their organisations more welcoming to families with SEND. Each session is led by SEND in Museums Consultant Sam Bowen, drawing on her own professional museum learning knowledge and lived experience as a SEND parent. Recording one - Working in partnership with SEND families Do you want to build your confidence to work in partnership with families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to improve the provision for them at your museum? About this training In the UK, 11% of children are disabled and in England, 18.4% have special educational needs. Adding non-disabled siblings to these numbers increases this potential audience to a fifth of children in the UK. This simple fact is a powerful advocacy tool to make a business case for SEND inclusion in your museum. During this recorded session, we will: think about areas of your provision that you could improve through working with SEND families, find out how to reach out to SEND families that are local to your museum, explore a range of examples of museum partnerships with SEND families to inspire your own work. Take a look at the full schedule. Recording two - Creating sensory backpacks for families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Do you want to create sensory backpacks for families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), but don’t know where to start? About this training One way to support SEND families during a visit is to create a sensory backpack. These resources don’t cost a lot to create, and they can make a powerful difference to a SEND family’s visit. Their economic impact, promoting a longer dwell time and potentially greater spend in the museum, pays back an initial investment quickly. During this virtual training event, we will: Understand the barriers SEND families face when visiting museums, Explore examples of best practice in museums for creating sensory backpacks, Share top tips on how to create backpacks that are bespoke for your setting. Take a look at the full schedule. Recording three - Developing inclusive activities for families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Do you want to create inclusive activities for families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), but don’t know where to start? About this training Inclusive and accessible activities, resources and programming, as well as confident staff who value the needs of all visitors, are the cornerstones to creating a SEND inclusive museum. In this session, SEND in Museums Consultant Sam Bowen will guide you through what inclusive activities look like, the positive impact they have on SEND families and how to develop them at your site. Sam will inspire you to think practically about how you can embed this accessible practice in your own organisation, show examples of best practice and then lead you through a planning exercise.  During this virtual training event, we will: find out what SEND is and how to support this audience and their families explore what good and bad experiences in museums feel like and why this work matters share how to make quick business case points for advocating for SEND activities in your museum think about how to develop a range of activities both within your programming and as self-led options for SEND families plan in the short and medium term how you can put this work into practice. Take a look at the full schedule.  

Inner Alchemy Day Retreat will be focussed on opening your heart up to more of which you yearn for… more fun, joy, adventure, excitement, love and anything else your heart desires!

Recognizing the brilliance of someone psychological disturbance normalizes their experience and opens the door to transformative change. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Invention- between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Dr. Betty Cannon “When I first saw the topic of this year’s dialogues, I asked myself whether I had anything to contribute. After all, I told myself, I do not usually work with psychoses or other so-called ‘extreme’ or’ irregular’ states of consciousness. This started me thinking about a series of demonstration videos that I have been making with students and supervisees over the last couple of years as part of a book project. Do those videos display ‘extreme states’? To my surprise, the answer is yes. They are filled with experiences that might be described as hallucinations (positive and negative), dissociative states, paranoia, delusions, manic and depressive states, crippling anxiety, schizoid withdrawal, depersonalization and derealization, and body dysmorphic phenomena. Not to mention the so-called normal neurotic trances that Freud called transference, countertransference and defenses, psychedelically induced extreme states, and those nightly hallucinations, our dreams. So why did I not remember at least some of these states as being ‘extreme’? Perhaps the answer lies in my perspective on therapy, which is largely existential-phenomenological. I think that the following quote, from a letter that Sartre wrote to R.D. Laing, captures the essence of this perspective: “Like you, I believe that one cannot understand psychological disturbances from the outside, on the basis of a positivistic determinism or reconstruct them with a combination of concepts that remain outside the experience as lived and experienced. I also believe that one cannot study, let alone cure, a neurosis without a fundamental respect for the person of the patient, without a constant effort to grasp the basic situation and relive it, without an attempt to rediscover the response of the person to that situation and––like you, I think––I regard mental illness as the ‘way out’ that the free organism, in its total unity, invents in order to be able to live through an intolerable situation.”* When a client and I together are able to appreciate the true brilliance of this invention, my experience is that it not only normalizes the client’s experience, it also opens the doorway to change. It allows us to invent something new.” Dr. Betty Cannon. Betty Cannon, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who has taught and practiced in Boulder, Colorado, for over 40 years. She is Professor Emerita of the Colorado School of Mines and president and founder of the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute, which has trained mental health professionals in Applied Existential Psychotherapy since 1989. In addition to existential philosophy, especially the philosophy of Sartre, AEP has roots in Gestalt therapy, classical and contemporary psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology (especially the person-centered therapy of Carl Rogers), and body-oriented psychotherapy. Betty is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal for the Society of Existential Analysis and Sartre Studies International. She is the author of Sartre and Psychoanalysis and numerous articles and chapters on existential therapy. Her mentor was Hazel E. Barnes, who translated Sartre into English and who was the world’s foremost Sartre scholar until her death in 2008. Betty is her literary executor, and her book on Sartre is dedicated to Hazel. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 25 October from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by:

Hysteria’s history, rooted in Greek myth, evolved into a Victorian belief of a “wandering uterus” leading to disturbing medical practices. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Hysteria- between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy “In this talk, I will compare the Histerical patient to the ancient Greek myth of Persephone, the goddess who traversed the boundaries between the world of the living and the underworld. Just as Persephone’s cyclical descent and return mirrored the changing seasons, hysteria was seen as a condition where emotions and experiences defied easy classification. This notion of transgressing boundaries became a cornerstone of early psychoanalysis. In Victorian times, hysteria took a decidedly bizarre turn. Here, the culprit was believed to be a mobile womb, an organ capable of throwing into disorder and confusion. This “wandering womb” was blamed for a variety of ailments and behaviours, particularly any expression of female desire out-of-wedlock. In a truly disturbing reflection of these beliefs, legal rulings based on this theory emerged. In some cases, women diagnosed with hysteria could be forced to undergo a hysterectomy.” Bárbara Godoy. Bárbara Godoy M.A., Adv. Dip. Exi. Psy, UKCP accredited Psychotherapist and Supervisor, MBACP and SEA – Director of Therapy Harley Street. Bárbara’s academic experience in London since 2008 includes lecturing and researching on the theory and practice of Phenomenological Existential Therapy on Doctorate, MA and professional courses at the School of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology, Regent’s University and the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling directed by Emmy van Deurzen. Bárbara has facilitated therapeutic Group Work internationally since 1997. The question about the meaning of Being-Woman was the topic of her thesis completed in 2005 and evolved into two main Women’s Groups: “Nine muses” and “Four Seasons” which she leads in addition to her individual private practice. Currently, as the clinical director of THS, Bárbara leads a team of over 20 professional practitioners in the area of Psychological services and Wellbeing consultancy. Bárbara is also the founder-director of THS’s Personal Development and CPD Programmes. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 13 December from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by:

Transgender Awareness and Understanding giving you a good overview of all trans issues, pronouns, workplace equality and so much more

Aim To equip care staff with the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills to respond effectively and safely when a resident experiences a cardiac arrest, ensuring best practice in emergency resuscitation procedures. Learning Objectives By the end of the session, staff will be able to: Recognise the signs of cardiac arrest in a care home setting. Initiate a safe and effective emergency response, including correct positioning of the resident. Perform high-quality CPR on an adult using correct technique and rhythm. Use a defibrillator (AED) confidently and correctly. Identify environmental risks and adapt the environment to enable effective resuscitation. Demonstrate teamwork and role allocation in an emergency. Reflect on the importance of debriefing and support following a resuscitation incident. Location for delegates attending in person Foresters Nursing Home, Walton Pool, Stourbridge DY9 9RP Timings of the course 9.30am to 11.30am 12.00pm to 2.00pm 2.30pm to 4.30pm Before you book: Please do not send along staff who have just worked a nightshift. People arriving tired, stressed or late cannot gain the most benefit from a training course. We reserve the right to turn away individuals too exhausted to focus on the training or staff who turn up late for a course and disturb the flow of the proceedings. All CH Care Training courses are fully inclusive, but if you have any concerns about a member of staff's ability to participate because of physical, sensory or learning differences then please let us know in confidence in advance, so that we may make the appropriate adjustments. Cancellations CH Care Training operates a sliding scale of cancellation; If you cancel more than two weeks before the start date of a course, you can ask for a full refund, to change the names of the delegates being sent along, or to transfer a delegate to another training date. If you give less than two weeks but more than one week's notice of cancellation, 50 percent of the booking can be refunded. If you cancel less than a week from the training delivery date we wont be able to refund. There are no refunds for staff who do not turn up on the day of the training course. If CH Care Training needs to change the date or cancel a course for any reason we will give you the maximum notice we can. In exceptional circumstances we may cancel a course due to extreme weather or circumstances at the training venue. You will be offered a full refund or the opportunity to transfer your booking to an alternative date. Please ask your staff to read the following guidance before they attend the course: Arriving at the Venue The course will start promptly so please arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time of the training to allow plenty of time to use the toilet, and be seated ready for the start of the course. You can call Training direct on 0798 999 5180 if you are struggling to arrive on time. Please note that the meeting will be locked to late arrivals 10 minutes after the actual course starts. During the course As this is a working environment please ensure you allow the necessary time and focus to get the best from the material being presented. Please bring pen and paper to make notes during the course. Our training sessions are fun and very interactive. We will encourage plenty of comments, points of view and the sharing of lived experiences. Delegates should not share any sensitive information about a client or organisation. Our session agreement asks delegates to maintain confidentiality about individuals and organisations and to respect the views of others on the course. All CH Care Training courses are inclusive, but if you have any concerns about your ability to participate, such as sensory or learning differences then please let the Trainer know in confidence before the start of a course, so that they may make the appropriate adjustments. If the course contains practical elements such as Moving & Handling or First Aid, then please wear appropriate clothing to take part in these activities. You will be asked confidentially if you have any health concerns that could prevent you from taking part in the practical activities. Please let a Trainer know if you have any concerns about taking part in the practical courses. Refreshments are provided for free. Please bring a packed lunch for any full-day courses. After the course We will email you a pdf of the course once the training has finished and we have checked that everyone was able to join. If your Manager booked you onto the course using your work or personal email, or if you book yourself onto a course, you will receive the pdf directly. If your Manager booked you onto the course using your organisation’s email address a copy of the course will be available on request from your Manager. We will also email a link to an online evaluation and we ask that you please fill this in and return it to us so that we can continue to improve our services. All of our evaluations are gathered anonymously. If you have any questions, please contact Training on 0798 999 5180 or email sales@chcaretraining.co.uk.

A starting point to this series of dialogues on insanity, where we will be analyzing R. D. Laings brilliant book "Knots". With Bárbara Godoy We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Knots - between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy “As a starting point to this series of dialogues on insanity; I wanted to return to R. D. Laings brilliant book which was originally published in 1970. Knots consists of a series of dialogue-scenarios that can be read as poems or brief plays, each demonstrating the intricacies and insanities of human relationships. I would like to expand on Laings insights by exploring the professional relationship between therapist and client as yet another human relationship that, while constantly expanding (and expounding on) its intricacies, might do well to pay more attention to its accompanying insanities.” Prof. Ernesto Spinelli. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Bárbara Godoy M.A., Adv. Dip. Exi. Psy, UKCP accredited Psychotherapist and Supervisor, MBACP and SEA – Director of Therapy Harley Street. Bárbara’s academic experience in London since 2008 includes lecturing and researching on the theory and practice of Phenomenological Existential Therapy on Doctorate, MA and professional courses at the School of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology, Regent’s University and the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling directed by Emmy van Deurzen. Bárbara has facilitated therapeutic Group Work internationally since 1997. The question about the meaning of Being-Woman was the topic of her thesis completed in 2005 and evolved into two main Women’s Groups: “Nine muses” and “Four Seasons” which she leads in addition to her individual private practice. Currently, as the clinical director of THS, Bárbara leads a team of over 20 professional practitioners in the area of Psychological services and Wellbeing consultancy. Bárbara is also the founder-director of THS’s Personal Development and CPD Programmes. Date and Time: Saturday 25 January from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by:

Sanity is privileged over insanity, which is stigmatized. A therapoet views differences without hierarchy, valuing each unique expression. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Difference - between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Dr. Todd DuBose "Sanity and insanity have been situated in relation to each other on a hierarchical scale that privileges sanity over, beyond, above, and more than its “less than” subjugated copy, insanity. Framed in this way, insanity can only be stigmatized, devalued and pathologized, while sanity is that to which we are to strive, uphold, and genuflect. The therapoet as a phenomenological hermeneutic horizontalizes a spectrum of “sayings of suffering souls”, or “befallings”, which is the originally meaning of “symptom”, not as a pathogen to be excised. Countering supremacist hierarchies of sanity/insanity, or health/illness, the therapoet sees difference, not as deficient, but just different, anew, and not in relation to any centric norm, but just to other differences. The relation to other differences is a relative gradation, whose incomparability resists any kind of nothing-but-ism any more than a fish can be said to be nothing but a squirrel with fins, or dirt as nothing but dry water. The therapoet, therefore, attends to each showing or saying of the suffering soul, sufficient in itself, as it is, in its own way of presencing, by being with it, letting it be, without why.” Dr. Todd DuBose. Dr. Todd DuBose is a world-renowned, Distinguished Full Professor at The Chicago School’s College of Professional Psychology. He teaches philosophical foundations of practices of care, ethics, loss and mourning, psychology and spirituality, psychopathology, among other courses, all from a human science perspective, and with a particular focus on therapoetic care. He is a licensed psychologist, supervisor, consultant, and former chaplain, with over thirty-five years of experience. He holds degrees in continental and comparative philosophy of religion and existential-hermeneutical-phenomenological human science clinical psychology and integrates these approaches as a way of caring for such experiences as the impossible (no way out, boundary or limited situations), extreme experiences (such as psychosis, nihilism, suicidal and homicidal ideation), and the taboo (the places no one wants to go: the unwanted and unacceptable, unsayable, unforgiveable, forbidden, and irreverent). He regularly presents workshops in several international venues such as the Circulo de Estudios en Psicoterapia Existential, in Mexico City, Mexico, the Zhi Mian International Institute of Existential-Humanistic Psychology in Dali, China, and the Centre for Existential Practice in Melbourne, Australia. He is widely published and has written on caring for others in very difficult situations including traumatic loss, surviving the COVID-19 pandemic, and meaninglessness. He has also written a short dialogue with Miles Groth, edited by Loray Daws, called, Dialogues on The Soul of Existential Therapy, published by The Society for Existential Analysis. Most of all, he considers himself simply a fellow human being. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 22 March from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by:

To understand psychopathology, one must learn a foreign language, lend an ear as it were to a language that is complex and symbolic. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Character- between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Prof. Robert Romanyshyn “I begin with the term psychopathology to emphasize that the word is about the logos—the thinking/speaking—about the sufferings of the psyche. To understand psychopathology, one must learn a foreign language, lend an ear as it were to a language that is complex, symptomatic, symbolic, and embodied. As complex, psychopathology reveals and conceals the sufferings of psyche. As symptomatic, psychopathology reminds one of things too important to forget but which are forgotten because they are too painful to remember. As symbolic, psychopathology is neither about facts nor ideas but about images, alchemical vessels that not only hold and contain psyche’s sufferings, but also cooks them. As embodied, psyche’s sufferings are inscribed in the flesh, etched as lines of character. To practice psychotherapy as an existential therapist situates therapist and patient in a dialogical field that is complex, symptomatic, symbolic, and embodied as a gestural field between them.” Prof. Robert Romanyshyn. Prof. Robert D. Romanyshyn, an Affiliate Member of The Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, a Fellow of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, and a Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, was recently awarded the Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to Humanistic Psychology Award from the Society for Humanistic Psychology APA Division 32. He has published eight books and numerous articles in psychology, philosophy, education, and literary journals. He is also a published poet and has written a one-act play about Frankenstein. In 2009 he created a multi-media DVD entitled Antarctica: Inner journeys in the Outer World, which offers a psychological reflection on the melting polar ice. In addition to online seminars and interviews, he has given lectures and workshops at universities and professional societies in the U.S., Europe, Australia, South Africa, Canada, and New Zealand. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 3 May from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by: