As a child, I drove my parents crazy with my constant stream of questions. “Why? What if? How come?” I know my friends with kids can relate to the exhausting process of fielding random questions with convincing enough answers. At times, it must be easier to ask for some quiet time and answer with “Because… Read more »
When did giving up something for Lent turn into something self-serving? As a child, it was drilled into me through my Catholic upbringing that Lent was about giving up something valuable to us, so that we may appreciate the sacrifices of Christ during his 40 days and nights in the desert. So we would abstain… Read more »
This Sunday was a typical one. I entered church with our five children, knelt down and attempted to pray while the two youngest squabbled over who sat in what place on the pew. When the Mass began, I listened to the first reading and was struck by the ending line. The reading was from Job… Read more »
Imagine facing the most challenging client on earth. It could be a rapist, murderer, or both in one. What about a serial killer? Do you think you could still uphold the humanistic-existential values, knowing the serial killer is a pathological liar, manipulative, and a sociopath who cruelly inflicted torture on his victims as subjects for… Read more »
My wife, Angie, served on the Executive Board of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions from 2002 to 2010, the first Pagan to be appointed to a leadership position in that prestigious interfaith organization. I served as an Ambassador for the Parliament for their event held in Melbourne, Australia in 2009. Though… Read more »
The psychiatric-industrial-complex keeps telling us that depression is best solved by pills, but every new advance in therapeutic treatments tell us otherwise. We just don’t hear about it as much because talk therapy doesn’t have a billion dollar advertising budget. The newest exhibit comes courtesy of The New York Times, which reports on a new… Read more »
Photo by Miguel Virkkunen Carvalho. In the beginning of October, I was lucky enough to participate in a two-day workshop with Dr. Kirk Schneider, here in Athens, Greece! It was organized by “gignesthai,” the Hellenic association for Existential Psychology. I’ll write to you about this experience, with my own little words and from where I… Read more »
This contribution is my 13th article for the New Existentialists. I have now contributed one for every lunar cycle over the past year, and I find myself in a celebratory mood as I reflect back over the past year of contributions. It is also fitting that I write this at the end of the old… Read more »
Courtesy Paramount Pictures. In a recent article in The New York Times, entitled “Why Doctors Need Stories,” Peter Kramer makes the case for the use of the anecdote or vignette to fully understand a patient’s experience. Rather than relying on empirical data alone, doctors are factoring in patients’ narratives, viewing them as an important part… Read more »
Maria Yakunchikova’s “Fear” 1893-95. Welcome to the Existential Roundup, where we bring you links to some articles currently trending that may be of interest to those in the existential-humanistic psychology community. With Hallowe’en approaching, it seems appropriate to start getting in the mood with a variety of treats, or maybe tricks, from the recent news…. Read more »
