Theory

1. Welcome & how to become an evidence-based existential practitioner

2. Why existential topics matter, and why it is important to work in an evidence-based way with existential topics

3. Overview of key ideas from existential philosophers: existential ideas in indigenous philosophers and religions; Ancient Greek; Enlightenment; philosophers of freedom, e.g. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche; Russian novelists; phenomenologists, e.g. Husserl, Heidegger, Jaspers, Merleau-Ponty; French thinkers, e.g. Sartre; ethical and relational thinkers: e.g. Buber, Levinas; political thinkers, e.g. Foucault, Arendt, Fanon, Iris Marion Young.  

4.Overview of empirical research on existential ideas (from week 3 onwards, each of the existential ideas will be explained in more detail)

5.Keep it light: the importance of laughter, fun and playfulness

Exercise: Conversation exercise

Reading: a chapter with an overview of empirical research into key existential ideas; a chapter on basis research findings on psychological therapies

Optional further reading: Cox, G. (2019). How to be an Existentialist. Bloomsbury Publishing. This is not a scientific book, but this gives a general feeling of key existential ideas; students who know relatively little about existential ideas are recommended to have read this before the start of the training. Those working in coaching may want to read: Jacob, Y. (2019). An Introduction to Existential Coaching: How Philosophy Can Help Your Clients Live with Greater Awareness, Courage and Ownership. Routledge. The following book gives many practical tips and tricks on how to work with existential themes: Van Deurzen, E., & Adams, M. (2016). Skills in existential counselling & psychotherapy. Sage. To learn about therapy in general, together with practical tips & tricks, students may want to read: Yalom, I. D. (2011). The gift of therapy. Hachette UK. A good introduction to counselling in general is: McLeod, J. (2013). An introduction to counselling. McGraw-hill (UK).

Theory:

1. Overview of existential practitioners (introduction to the five main practitioner schools: Daseinsanalysis (e.g. Boss, Binswanger, Holzhey-Kunz), meaning-centered (e.g. Frankl, Vos, Langle, Wong, Breitbart), existential-humanistic (e.g. May, Yalom, Schneider, Hoffman), existential-phenomenological (e.g. Cohn, Spinelli, Van Deurzen, Cooper); indigenous schools (e.g. Fanon, Yang).
2. Overview of research on existential practices: general outcomes, and what works best for whom?
3. Overview of research on existential-therapeutic (the next weeks will go into detail into each evidence-based existential skill)

Exercise: Formulating your own existential theory

Exercise at home before the session: The student will receive some questionnaires to fill in, to score and to interpret with the help of clear instructions. This exercise is not required, but may help to develop a better understanding of their own ideas and feelings about existential topics.

Reading: a chapter on the evidence-based existential practices framework; a chapter with an overview of research on existential practices

Optional further reading: an article on the Evidence-Based Existential Competencies Framework; The following book is very strongly recommended as this gives a comprehensive and evidence-based overview of existential practices: Mick Cooper, 2016, Existential therapies, Sage. The latter book is quite long reading; those with less time, may want to read: Mick Cooper, 2012, The existential counselling primer, PCCS. Students who want a detailed authoritative handbook with contributions from a broad range of existential therapists may want to buy: van Deurzen, E., Craig, E., Längle, A., Schneider, K. J., Tantam, D., & du Plock, S. (2019). The Wiley World Handbook of Existential Therapy. Wiley. Students interested in reading examples of how existential therapists work in case studies may want to read: DuPlock, S. (2018). Case Studies in Existential Therapy: translating theory into practice. Those interested in non-western roots and innovations in existential thinking may want to read: Hoffman, L. E., Yang, M. E., Kaklauskas, F. J., & Chan, A. E. (2009). Existential psychology East-West. University of the Rockies Press.; Gordon, L. (1996). Existence in Black: An anthology of Black existential philosophy. Routledge.

Theory:

1. Explaining from the outside versus understanding from within (Dilthey)
2. Understanding our unique position in time and space, and using our freedom to change
3. Religious origins (Veda, Buddhism, Daoism, Christian mysticism)
4. What is phenomenology (this is the philosophical foundation of existential philosophies and therapies; phenomenology helps to temporarily set aside our biases and preconceptions to listen more open and honestly to what our experiences tell us)
5. What are the key three stages in phenomenology, and how can practitioners use these
6. What are the ten key questions that phenomenologists ask, and how can practitioners also ask these.
7. Who are key phenomenological thinkers and what are their key ideas (Husserl, Heidegger, Jaspers, Merleau-Ponty)
8. The body in existential philosophy and practice (our body often tells more about how we are really feeling about life, than the abstract theories about life that we tell ourselves and others)
9. How can a systematic phenomenological approach help to understand the key concerns of the client (Systematic Pragmatic Phenomenological Analysis)
10. How to practically use phenomenology with clients (examples of phenomenological exercises)
11. How to explore client’s experiences (examples of experiential exercises)
12. How to use focusing (this is a technique to help focus on the client’s experiences)
13. Socratic questioning (this is an evidence-based way of asking open questions to help clients develop self-awareness and self-insight)

Exercise in the session: Socratic questioning; phenomenological questioning

Reading: a practical chapter on phenomenological and existential skills; an article on the ten key questions that phenomenologists ask (Systematic Pragmatic Phenomenological Analysis)

Optional further reading: A good introduction to phenomenology is: Spinelli, E. (2005). The interpreted world: An introduction to phenomenological psychology. Sage. Students interested in using phenomenology in research may want to read (although somewhat outdated): Langdridge, D. (2007). Phenomenological psychology: Theory, research and method. Pearson education. Those wanting to read more on the Socratic method may want to read: Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2019). The Thinker's Guide to Socratic Questioning. Rowman & Littlefield. Those interested in focusing may want to read Gendlin, E. T. (2003). Focusing. Random House. A philosophical overview of phenomenology is: Moran, D. (2002). Introduction to phenomenology. Routledge.

Theory:

1. Boundary situations in life (these are crossroads in life when we need to make fundamental decisions)
2. Life’s givens (the existential therapist Yalom describes four givens in life that we cannot change and that each individual will be confronted with in their life: freedom/responsibility, death, meaning, loneliness)
3. Existential defence mechanisms (how individuals may try to ignore or deny existential feelings and existential questions; e.g. Terror Management Theory)
4. How to work with existential defence mechanisms
5. Existential development through the lifespan
6. How to use psychoanalytic skills to help clients connect with suppressed feelings and beliefs (Lacan, Jung)
7. How to use cognitive and behavioural skills to help individuals develop a helpful existential attitude (Ellis, Beck, Schema Therapy, ACT)
8. How to use narrative skills, such as autobiographic writing (e.g. Ricoeur, Pennebaker, Westerhof & Bohlmeijer)
9. How to stimulate clients to take up their responsibility for their self-development

Exercise:

Reading: a practical chapter on how to do existential assessments; a chapter on death in existential therapies; an article on existential topics in chronic and life-threatening disease

Optional further reading:  Vos, J. (2015). Meaning and existential givens in the lives of cancer patients: A philosophical perspective on psycho-oncology. Palliative & supportive care, 13(4), 885-900.; Those interested in existential defence mechanisms may want to read: Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (2015). The worm at the core: On the role of death in life. Random House. Some individals find the follow book inspiring, but be aware that many explanations in this book are inaccurate and not-evidence-based: Yalom, I. D. (2020). Existential psychotherapy. Hachette UK.

Theory:

1. Overview of existential questions and concerns that clients may explicitly ask
2. Overview of existential moods that clients may report (e.g. death anxiety, meaninglessness, hopelessness, FOMO/existential urgency, feeling existential overwhelmed, absurdity)
3. Overview of crises in life: psychological crisis, identity crisis, existential crisis, meaning crisis, spiritual crisis
4. How to identify existential questions, moods, and crises
5. How to assess mental health problems (and when to refer clients)
6. Overall benefits of existential practices for existential, spiritual, social, mental, and physical health
7. Overview of which clients may benefit from existential practice and who may not.

Exercise: existential assessment

Reading: chapter on existential moods

Optional further reading: Those wanting to learn more about how to do assessment in general may want to read: Van Rijn, B. (2014). Assessment and case formulation in counselling and psychotherapy. Sage. Students wanting to learn more about problems in how mental health is usually addressed, diagnosed and treated in mental health care systems may want to read: Vos, J., Roberts, R., & Davies, J. (2019). Mental health in crisis. Sage.

Theory:

1. Freedom
2. Responsibility and courage
3. Authenticity
4. Awe
5. The lies about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
6. How to explicate existential themes in the stories of clients

Exercise: explicating existential themes in client stories

Reading: an article on awe; an article on responsibility and courage

Optional further reading: Those interested in the philosophy of courage and responsibility may want to read: Tillich, P. (2000). The courage to be. Yale University Press. Those interested in the topic of awe may want to read: Schneider, K. J. (2004). Rediscovery of awe: Splendor, mystery, and the fluid center of life. Paragon House Publishers. Those interested in the popular misconceptions and lies about the pyramic of Maslow may want to read: Kaufman, S. B. (2021). Transcend: The new science of self-actualization. Penguin.

Theory:

1. World history of meaning in life
2. The six universal types of meaning
3. The three main approaches to meaning
4. Overview and research of evidence on evidence-based meaning-centered practices
5. Cognitive-behavioural skills to discover meaning
6. Existential skills to discover meaning
7. An overview of an evidence-based meaning-centered training

Exercise: meaning-centered arrow-down technique (asking questions to help the client identify the most meaningful experience)

Reading: two chapters on working with meaning in life in existential therapies; chapter on working with meaning in cognitive-behavioural therapy; students will be provided a video on the science of meaning in life (2 hours), and a video on working with meaning in psychotherapies (2 hours); article Logotherapy and the Challenge of Suffering by Viktor Frankl (not evidence-based, but this gives an insight in some of Frankl’s key ideas)

Optional further reading: The classic easy-readible book to learn about the role of meaning in overcoming horrific life situations is: Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man's search for meaning. Simon and Schuster. They key handbook on evidence-based meaning-centered practices is: Vos, J. (2017). Meaning in life: An evidence-based handbook for practitioners. Macmillan International Higher Education. This book has many practical examples and includes a step-by-step treatment manual; other IMEC courses offer a Certificate in Evidence-based Meaning-Centered Practitionership (EMCP). Those interested in how society influences our personal sense of meaning may want to read: Vos, J. (2020). The Economics of Meaning in Life: From Capitalist Life Syndrome to Meaning-Oriented Economy. University Professors Press.

Theory:

1. Existential theories about relationships (Buber, Levinas, Boszormenyi-Nagy)
2. How a deep practitioner-client relationship can help to explore deep topics
3. Research on how to develop a deep practitioner-client relationship
4. How to be authentic
5. How to be empathic and compassionate
6. How to effectively use the practitioner-client relationship
7. How to repair ruptures in the relationship
8. How to work ethically, e.g. professional boundaries
9. How to empower the client & stimulate shared informed decision-making
10. How to develop a unique treatment for the unique client in their unique situation
11. How to work with couples and families
12. How to stimulate authentic and meaningful relationships

Exercise: developing a meaningful relationship

Reading: text on basic practitioner skills

Optional further reading:  Mearns, D., & Cooper, M. (2017). Working at relational depth in counselling and psychotherapy. Sage.

Theory:

1. Which clients to accept, and who to refer to professional mental health care
2. How to work with hopelessness, demoralisation, and suicidal thoughts
3. How to work with clients who want to harm themselves or others
4. How to do critical self-reflection & reflexivity (a key skill for practitioners is to reflect critically on themselves and their practices)
5. How to continue your self-development (e.g. recommendations for further education)
6. What are the main professional bodies, laws, and ethical requirements
7. How to work ethically
8. How to work with diversity & how to stimulate social justice
9. How to work in groups
10. How to ethically market yourself & get clients
11. How to work confidentially and protect data
12. How to organise your work environment (e.g. where to meet, how to keep client records, safety issues, supervision and peer-groups)

Exercise: ethical dilemmas

Reading: Fisher, C. B. (2021). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists. Sage Publications. This book is based on the Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association, and may not be relevant for all students.

Optional further reading:  O'Donohue, W., Ferguson, K., & Ferguson, K. E. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook of professional ethics for psychologists: Issues, questions, and controversies. Sage.;  ethical codes from professional bodies on their websites (you may want to skim through these; e.g. British Psychological Society, British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, United Kingdom Counselling Psychotherapy)

Theory:

1. How to start a practice session
2. How to end a practice session
3. How to end working with a client
4. Reflections on lessons during this training and how to continue one’s professional development

Exercise: Each student is invited to present a brief case study in which they describe how they would work with themselves as a client; they imagine that they are their own client, and describe what the main aims of the practice would be, what the main methods would be, and what the main findings and outcomes would be; they are also invited to reflect critically on any possible ethical issues and limitations in their work. If students have worked with clients, they could choose to describe a client they have worked with; they can either describe how they have actually worked with the client or how they would like to have worked with the client. If clients do not want to describe themselves or a client, they could imagine that they work with a person they know well, such as a friend or colleague. Students are not required to present a case study, but if they want to get the certificate and CPD credits, they will need to present a case study. Specific instructions will be given in previous weeks.

Reading: there is no reading for this week, to give students time to prepare their case study

The live sessions will be from 19:00 to 21:30 UK-time on Monday evenings: 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 October, 7, 14, 21, 28 November, 5 December 2022. (subject to change)

Click on the link below, and follow the instructions.

There is a temporary discount until 1 June 2022. Sign up now, not to miss this unique 50% discount!

Yes, you can! For each person that signs up for the training, you get a discount of 50GBP (with a maximum of 50% of the total price, and the total discount can never be more than the maximum price). If another student signs up thanks to you, you need to ask them to send an email with your name to [email protected] As a suggestion: to get others sign up for this course, share the link on Facebook or Twitter, or send an email to your friends, colleagues and family.

We know how hard financial struggles can be. Therefore, we offer an extra 10% discount for individuals who can prove that they have no income (e.g. benefit papers, retirement card); after paying for your course, send an email with the evidence to [email protected] If you cannot afford to pay for the course but you believe that you need this training to get out of long-term unemployment, you can apply for a further discount by writing an email to [email protected]. There is only a limited number of discount places available; priority will be given for paying students if the maximum number of students is reached.  

Be quick to sign up for this training! There is a maximum of 20 students, and this course is likely to fill-up quickly. The course has a minimum of six students; if there are less than six, we may unfortunately need to postpone the course.

Absolutely! We strongly recommend combining this training with other training courses offered by IMEC. This training particularly works well in combination with the Certificate in Evidence-based Meaning-Centered Practitioner (EMCP). Practitioners who intend to help clients, are recommended to also follow a personal training course to discover their personal meaning in life and explore their existential issues; this will help them develop their own sense of meaning in lift, to experience how it is like to be a client, and to understand how evidence-based meaning-centered practice looks like in practice. Other IMEC courses offer professional training on other topics, and there will be no or minimum overlap with this training.

There are ten sessions of each 2.5 hours (25 hours total). The videos in the online learning platform are approximately 10 hours in total. The required reading will cost approximately 15 hours. The home exercise and final assignment will take 20 hours. This does not include the optional recommended reading; you may want to take another 10 hours per week for a selection of optional reading.

A week before the start of the course, you will get access to the online learning platform via a link in your email. You will keep access to the online platform until three months after the last session of the training. You can download the reading and videos during the course, for your own use. You are not allowed to share these with others (there is copyright on this material).

No. You do not need to do the suggested home exercise, quizzes, and final assignment. However, for the best learning experience we recommend you to do the home exercise and quizzes. If you want to get the certificate and CPD credits, you will need to successfully complete all 10 weekly quizzes, and you will need to submit the final assignment

No. You can find all answers to the multiple-choice quizzes in the live session; you will find the same answers also in the reading material and/or videos in the online learning platform. You can redo each quiz as often as you want. All students have past the multiple-choice quizzes in the past.

For the final assignment you will get very specific instructions during the live sessions. You will need to write a text of minimum 500 and maximum 800 words on an imagined or real case study with yourself, a client or someone you know. In the last session, you can already share some of your ideas about this and get some input for the final assignment. Each student is invited to write about a brief case study in which they describe how they would work with themselves as a client; they imagine that they are their own client, and describe what the main aims of the practice would be, what the main methods would be, and what the main findings and outcomes would be; they are also invited to reflect critically on any possible ethical issues and limitations in their work. If students have worked with clients, they could choose to describe a client they have worked with; they can either describe how they have actually worked with the client or how they would like to have worked with the client. If clients do not want to describe themselves or a client, they could imagine that they work with a person they know well, such as a friend or colleague. Students are not required to write a final assignment with a case study, but if they want to get the certificate and CPD credits, they will need to submit this. Specific instructions will be given in the live sessions. You will need to submit the final assignment within two months after the last live session to [email protected] You will receive an email with individual feedback on how you have done the assignment, and with suggestions for your further personal and professional development. All students have passed the assignment in the past.

At the start of each live session, students get time to share their experiences and questions about the reading and the home exercise. During each session, students try-out some individual exercises or exercises with fellow-students. Students will get feedback from each other and from the trainer. The student will receive brief feedback on the assignment.  

The course will be fully in English: all live sessions, website, readings, and videos. Most pre-recorded videos have subtitles which the student can switch on. The live sessions have unfortunately no subtitles.

The lectures in the live sessions may be recorded for use in future training. The trainer will say when the recording starts and when the recording stops. Only the speakers and the slides will be recorded. If students prefer, they can change their name in Zoom to ‘Anonymous’ or a pseudonym, and they can switch off their camera.  

Students are requested not to share any personal information about any of the students outside of this training. The trainer will not share any information of any of the students with anyone outside of this training. The website saves the answers to the quizzes until three months after the last live session, and after his the answers will be deleted. The trainer will not share the personal assignment and any personal emails with others. Three months after the end of the course, the personal assignment will be permanently deleted. The certificate and name of the student will be saved on a password-protected website until 10 years after the end of the course; if needed, the student can request a copy of the certificate until the end of 10 years, for an admin fee of 50GBP. An exception of confidentiality are legal requirements to share information with authorities, for example when an individual threatens to harm themselves or others.   

If the sole and only aim for the student is to find their personal meaning in life, and they are not interested in learning how to help others, they are recommended to follow one of the other training opportunities of IMEC. Most students benefit personally from this training, by developing more insight into their personal meaning in life. The home exercises and exercises in the sessions will give opportunities to work on personal examples if students want. However, during the live sessions, the time needs to be shared between all students, and therefore each student only has limited time to share their personal experiences and questions; students may be asked by the trainer to shorten their contributions to sessions, and it cannot be guaranteed that each student can get much time in each session. Participation in this training cannot replace mental health treatment by a professional. In case of mental health emergency, please contact your family doctor, go to the nearest Accident and Emergency Department, call 111/112/999/911, contact www.samaritans.org Free or low-cost mental health services may be available via https://easewellbeing.co.uk/ or https://www.metanoia.ac.uk/therapy/metanoia-counselling-and-psychotherapy-service/

Yes. You are not required to share any personal information in the sessions, or to do the personal exercises in the sessions. You can give a pseudonym in the Zoom sessions. However, to get the certificate and CPD credits you still need to write the final assignment, preferably about yourself, but you could also write the assignment about a client or a person who you know well; if you want to write this about someone else, write an email to [email protected] for detailed instructions how to do this.

The IMEC motto is: ‘Because everyone deserves to live a meaningful life’. Everyone is welcome in this training, as long as you are able to read and have conversations at a level of GCSE/A/Further education or beyond. The live sessions will not have subtitles and will not offer sign language to people who arre deaf or hard of hearing; if you are deaf or hard of hearing and want to access the online materials only, send an email to [email protected] for a tailored course. The live sessions will have a brief break of maximum 10 minutes in the middle. The texts will be provided in the standard print format that the texts have been published, and unfortunately, we cannot change the print format. Students who struggle with dyslexia could make a video recording instead of the written final assignment, and send this to [email protected] We expect students to treat each other with respect. Discrimination or unequal treatment in any form will not be tolerated. Students are expected to have read and follow the IMEC Safe Space Policy which will we use in this course. In case that students refuse to follow the Safe Space Policy, for example when they repeatedly treat others without respect despite at least two warnings from the trainer, they may be asked to leave the training without a refund.

The online learning portal will give all the required reading for the course. However, students are strongly recommended to buy the handbook that this course has been built upon: ‘Meaning in life: an evidence-based handbook for practitioners’ by Dr Joel Vos, 2017, MacMillan. The fifty most important findings of this book have been translated into an accessible self-help book with self-reflective questions: ‘Fifty pictures of living a meaningful life’ by Dr Joel Vos, Independent Publishing. Those interested in the role of meaning in society can be recommended to read the book: ‘The economics of meaning in life’ by Dr Joel Vos, University Professors’ Press. For an introduction into critical modern mental health care, students may want to read ‘Mental health in crisis’ by Joel Vos, Ron Roberts, and James Davies, 2019, SAGE. If students want to learn more about the psychology of COVID-19, and more in particular about to cope in a meaningful way with the self-isolation and existential threat of the pandemic, they could read: ‘The psychology of COVID-19’ by Joel Vos, 2020, SAGE. All books can be found via Amazon and larger bookstores.

You will get the digital certificate via email. A paper copy with hand-written signature can be sent via mail for an additional fee of 30GBP for administration costs; postal costs for addresses in the UK are free, for non-UK destinations an additional fee may apply.

Do not hesitate to contact us via [email protected] You can also contact the trainer, Dr Joel Vos, via [email protected]