Shifting Sands - Conference Programme

SHIFTING SANDS

An Existential Lens on Intersectionality Throughout Life

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Existential Academy

The Existential Academy is a Community Interest company, based in West Hampstead in London and is the heart of the existential psychotherapy community.

The Existential Academy serves to fulfil two functions. Primarily, it is a community facing organisation and aims to bring philosophy to the community in accessible ways through workshops, talks, groups and therapy.

The second function of the Existential Academy is to provide professional trainings In the mental health field at a variety of different levels, whether that is at a foundation level, undertaking a psychotherapy training or post-qualifying training and CPD. Our approach to psychotherapy draws on a long philosophical tradition but brings this up to date applying it in a practical way to enable people to achieve greater wellbeing despite the demands, challenges, and frustrations of contemporary life.

The Existential Academy comprises two hubs: a community hub and a professional hub. Our community hub is the perfect place to access workshops, short course and support services for all those, interested in self-development and philosophy. The professional hub aims to provide a range of courses for those who are already qualified therapists, psychologists or coaches to gain specialisms in particular areas. Existential Academy also provides a yearlong foundation course designed to be closely integrated with the training courses provided by our sister company the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling.

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NSPC is the foremost higher education college applying existential ideas to its courses and its approach to student support. Study with us if you share our vision for the future: greater opportunity for each of us to make the choices we value and carry them through. @therapytraining

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The Movement 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 wellbeing within the communities of each nation.

The movement is administered by a steering committee that directs and coordinates the Movement’s international activities. This is located at the Existential Academy, in London.

The Existential Academy is a not-for-profit community interest company, whose motto is to bring philosophy to the community.

The movement is supported and given advice by an international advisory board, of 24 outstanding professionals in the field of existential psychology and psychotherapy. The board meets three times per year and had its first meeting on 6th May 2023, in Athens, at the third World Congress for Existential Therapy.

The first President of the Existential Movement is its founder, Professor Emmy van Deurzen, who is internationally known as an expert in this field. She will be supported and guided by the steering committee and the International Advisory Board.

COURSES

NSPC's Doctorate in Professional Studies in Existential Psychotherapy fosters a supportive and collaborative learning environment. Enriched by a close-knit community of like-minded individuals, students engage in exploration of the breadth of human existence and committed to personal and professional development. With small class sizes, students benefit from individualized attention and forge meaningful connections with both peers and faculty, creating a vibrant academic experience.

This program offers an unparalleled opportunity for passionate individuals to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and professional growth. Under the guidance of our excellent faculty, renowned tutors in the field, the DProf in in Existential Psychotherapy provides a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum that seamlessly integrates theoretical knowledge with practical application. Students gain essential skills and a profound understanding of the complexities of the human existence, enabling them to empower individuals towards living and infusing meaning into their lives.

Discover the essence of existential psychotherapy, exploring themes of freedom, responsibility, meaning, and authenticity. Through immersive coursework, intensive seminars, and engaging discussions, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of the existential approach and its applications in therapy.

This program offers a unique avenue for students to engage in research at the forefront of existential psychotherapy. NSPC fosters a culture of scholarly inquiry, empowering students to explore their research interests in depth. The research initiatives provide access to excellent resources, advanced methodologies, and guidance from faculty who are internationally recognized for their contributions to the field. Whether you're interested in investigating the effectiveness of existential interventions, exploring the intersection of existential philosophy and psychotherapy, or delving into specific existential themes, our program provides a supportive environment for you to conduct rigorous research that contributes to the advancement of the field.

At NSPC, we believe in the power of experiential learning. Our program combines academic rigor with real-world application, providing ample opportunities for hands- on experience and clinical practice. You'll have the chance to engage in supervised therapy sessions, case studies, and research projects, honing your therapeutic skills under the guidance of experienced tutors. Our faculty's expertise will guide you in integrating existential principles into your practice, empowering you to facilitate profound personal growth and lasting change in your clients.

Upon successful completion of the program, you'll emerge as a highly skilled and compassionate existential psychotherapist and a researcher equipped to make a profound impact on the field of psychotherapy. Whether you aspire to establish your private practice, pursue an academic career, or expand your therapeutic skills, the Doctorate in Professional Studies in Existential Psychotherapy at NSPC will provide you with the expertise and confidence to achieve your goals.

Join us on this extraordinary academic journey where self-discovery, professional excellence, and groundbreaking research converge. Engage in thought-provoking research, interdisciplinary studies, and valuable clinical experiences. Discover existential therapy and make a profound impact on your own life and that of others. The Doctorate in Professional Studies in Existential Psychotherapy at NSPC eagerly awaits your enrolment.

The Foundation Course at the Existential Academy is your gateway to a world of academic excellence and limitless possibilities. The programme is designed to lay a strong educational foundation, this comprehensive program paves the way for further academic degrees and propels your career aspirations to new heights.

At the Existential Academy, we understand the importance of a solid groundwork for success.

Our Foundation Course encompasses a diverse range of subjects, carefully curated to equip you with essential knowledge and skills across various disciplines of psychotherapy and counselling. Our tutors will guide you through an immersive learning experience, fostering critical thinking, analytical prowess, and effective communication.

The Foundation course at the Existential Academy can be taken as a standalone course or can serve as a pathway to further academic degrees provided by the Existential Academy and the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC).

The Foundation course is designed to provide students with the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue higher education in psychotherapy, counselling, counselling psychology or coaching. Upon completing a Foundation course, students may be eligible to apply to a PGCert, PGDip, Masters, or Doctorate programme, such as those offered at NSPC or to

embark on the Existential Academy’s Existential Psychotherapy Training (EPT) through the Diploma in Existential Psychotherapy in combination with a relevant Master’s degree such as the MSc in Psychotherapy Studies. https://nspc.org.uk/course-directory/ Upon completing the Foundation Course, you will be empowered to embark on a journey towards your dream academic degree at NSPC and the Existential Academy. Our personalized guidance and support system will assist you in navigating the intricacies of university admissions, helping you secure a coveted spot in your chosen degree programme.

NSPC's Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy by Professional Studies combines Existential Theory with Counselling Psychology values. Students are supported in a collaborative learning environment. The practicalities of providing effective psychological therapies are explored through a rich encounter with philosophy and related psychotherapeutic theory. The taught material is enlivened by dynamic and deeply engaged thinking. This is fostered within an established network of practitioner-theorists who will engage with you as your supervisors and tutors. A diversity of human existence is explored, with a committed to personal and professional development. With small class sizes, supportive clinical supervision and a well-structured programme of research supervision, students forge meaningful connections with both peers and faculty, creating a vibrant academic experience. This program provides unique opportunities for passionate individuals

who are engaging with a transformative journey of personal and professional self-discovery.

The programme includes all the required elements, as set by our regulating bodies.

However, embracing diversity is a core principle, and students are supported in find their own motivations, interests and professional trajectories. With a strong emphasis on phenomenological exploration, there is a seamless connection in the programme between theoretical knowledge and practical application. Students will gain the essential skills along with a profound understanding of the complexities of human existence, within their individual learning horizon. It is with this emphasis on embodied, situated, and intersubjective human existence, that effective therapeutic skills and understandings are built.

Develop your practice with us, by exploring themes of freedom, responsibility, meaning, and authenticity. Through our immersive coursework, intensive seminars, and engaging discussions, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the existential approach and its applications in therapy.

At the NSPC, we are at the forefront of existential and phenomenological research. With many years of teaching behind us, we have an enduring and extensive range of research studies published by our graduates. We continue to build on this by fostering a culture of scholarly inquiry, and by empowering students to explore their research interests in depth.

Our research supervisors are experienced in a range of established methodologies. The are also developing new innovations, with an internationally recognised reputation for their contributions to phenomenological and existential practice across many research topics.

They will work with you to help you find your motivation, establish your specific interests, and guide you through a rigorous, successful, and publishable research project.

Experiential learning is essential in our teaching practice. You will learn theory when applying it in your clinical placements, and by exploring real-world phenomena in your research study.

Under the guidance of experienced tutors, you will integrating existential principles into your practice, empowering you to facilitate profound personal growth and lasting change in your clients.

Upon successful completion of the program, you will emerge as a highly skilled and compassionate Counselling Psychologist. You also be equipped to conduct research that can make a profound impact in your field of interest. Counselling Psychologists have wide range of employment opportunities. You may establish your own private practice if you chose, or engage in an academic career, or take up employment in either public or private mental health services.

Join us on an extraordinary journey where self-discovery, professional excellence, and groundbreaking research converge. Engage with us in thought-provoking explorations. Find out how the practice of existential therapy can have a profound impact on your own life and that of the clients you serve.

Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy by Professional Studies at NSPC eagerly awaits your enrolment.

Autism and Neurodiversity Programmes

Introducing: • MSc Autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions • PGDip Autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions • PGCert Autism • PGCert ADHD • PGCert Adult Autism Assessment The New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling NSPC has been involved in research and teaching in autism and neurodiversity since its inception in 1998. The online courses provide in-depth theory, understanding of clinical issues and research skills. NSPC believes that improving awareness, and high quality assessments and services for neurodivergent individuals is paramount. Continued research and increasing the understanding of what life is like for neurodivergent individuals is essential worldwide.

The distance learning nature of these courses means that students can learn in a flexible format that fits around work and personal commitments. The course is wholly online and is accessed by students across the world. Learning incorporates theory, references to real world settings, skills and research. Students learn together in a collaborative way, sharing knowledge and experience.

The courses provide professional development for those supporting autistic and neurodivergent individuals. If you are qualified in a relevant professional field, these courses will enable you to practice as a specialist within that area. However, the programmes are also of interest to those wanting to study autism and neurodivergence solely from an academic and research perspective.

NSPC offers a close-knit community of like-minded individuals. Students are able to engage in exploration of the breadth of human existence and committed to personal and professional development. With small class sizes, students benefit from individualized attention and forge meaningful connections with both peers and faculty, creating a vibrant academic experience.

Upon successful completion of these courses, you will have gained specialised knowledge and feel better equipped to make a profound impact in your profession, or to begin your journey in supporting neurodivergent individuals.

Join us for a new chapter in your academic, professional and personal development.

MA in Pastoral Care: Existential and Humanist Practice

NSPC's Pastoral Care programme is an innovative learning environment providing a unique, safe space for students to learn about and practice existential and humanist pastoral care.

Upon successful completion of the programme, you'll emerge as a highly skilled and compassionate pastoral carer equipped to make a profound impact on the dynamic discipline of pastoral care. Whether you aspire to establish your private practice as a celebrant, pursue an academic career, or use your practice and professional skills as a chaplain, the programme will provide you with the expertise and confidence to achieve your goals.

The programme covers: practice skills of empathy, compassion, active listening, reflection and challenge, theoretical philosophical underpinnings of existential practice, the professional competencies and skills of pastoral care in many settings, including but not exclusively, hospitals, hospices the armed forces, higher education institutions, prisons, the qualification of celebrant for namings, weddings and funerals research contributing to the expanding body of pastoral care knowledge.

With small class sizes, students benefit from individualized attention and forge meaningful connections with both peers and faculty, creating a vibrant academic experience. Discover the essence of existential themes of freedom, responsibility, meaning, and authenticity.

Through immersive coursework, intensive face to face and online seminars, and engaging discussions, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of the existential approach and its applications in practice.

The programme is flexible and can be completed in 1 year with students graduating with a PG Cert or after 2 years with additional research opportunities and further practice experience the student graduates with a PG Dip. or MA. Under the guidance of our excellent faculty of renowned tutors in the field, the MA, PG Dip and PG Cert in Pastoral Care: Existential and Humanist Practice provides a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum that seamlessly integrates theoretical knowledge with practical application. Students gain essential skills and a profound understanding of the complexities of the human existence, enabling them to support individuals to find their meaning in their lives, often at significant moments in their lives, and as they face their own and others’ mortality. It is a privilege to be alongside someone at these moments.

While practiced throughout the millennia, pastoral care has recently been developing rapidly to recognize the spiritual and emotional needs of diverse populations in many different settings. Linking with Humanists UK gives this programme a breadth and network which establishes students within this vibrant and fast developing world of pastoral care. The program offers an unparalleled opportunity for passionate committed individuals to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and professional growth in this expanding area.

Get in touch and we can chat through how this programme could meet your aspirations. I’d love to hear from you.

Elizabeth.Young@nspc.org.uk

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READING

By Emmy van Deurzen, Claire Arnold-Baker

Existential Therapy: Distinctive Features offers an introduction to what is distinctive about this increasingly popular method. Written by two practicing existential psychotherapists, with many years’ experience, it provides an accessible, bitesize overview of this increasingly used psychological therapy. Using the popular Distinctive Features format, this book describes 15 theoretical features and 15 practical techniques of Existential Therapy.

Existential Therapy will be a valuable source for for psychotherapists, clinical, health and counselling psychologists, counsellors, psychiatrists, and all who wish to know more about the existential approach.

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SHIFTING SANDS: An Existential Lens on Intersectionality Throughout Life

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

KEYNOTE The Shifting Sands of Female Ageing

This talk will be based on a first-person account of the hazardous transformation from womanhood to cronehood. It will focus on the importance of personal learning, choice, freedom and responsibility in the face of considerable societal pressures to conform to stereotypes. It will pose the question of how we can benefit from long-term existential awareness in traversing the shifting sands of life towards our decline, whilst remaining comfortable with who we are in the world.

Emmy van Deurzen is an existential psychotherapist and philosopher, who has written eighteen books, which have been translated into two dozen languages. She is the founder director of the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling and the Existential Academy in London and a visiting professor with Middlesex University. She is the President of the Existential Movement.

Amongst her books are the bestseller Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling in Practice (Sage, 3d edition 2012), Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness (Sage, 2009), Everyday Mysteries (Routledge, 2nd ed, 2010), Paradox and Passion (Wiley, 2nd ed 2015) and Rising from Existential Crisis (PCCS books, 2021). Her book on the Art of Freedom will be published by Penguin in 2024.

KEYNOTE Intersectional Approaches to the Midlife Crisis

In the early years of our lives, we all form varying forms of identity.We build up a career. We become parents. We like certain types of music, arts, books. We build up very much a picture of who we are in those years post-schooling, postuniversity, as we walk through the early years of our lives.The middle passage though, offers us a chance for change. The structures that we have very much found ourselves embedded within may start to fracture and fall away, for example when children leave home, or when we move house or when we change job. The shifting sands of who we are in those middle years can often leave us feeling the existential angst, of anxiety of loneliness, of isolation.

This keynote talk takes an intersectional lens to the existential questions raised by this stage of our life cycle and takes a gentle consideration of how, as psychotherapists and counsellors, we might assist our clients in helping them to re-establish an intersectional sense of their identity, recognising that identity is as much phenomenological as it is socially constructed.

Dr Dwight Turner is Course Leader on the Humanistic Counselling and Psychotherapy Course at the University of Brighton, a PhD Supervisor at their Doctoral College, a psychotherapist and supervisor in private practice. His latest book Intersections of Privilege and Otherness in Counselling and Psychotherapy was released in February 2021 and is published by Routledge. An activist, writer and public speaker on issues of race, difference and intersectionality in counselling and psychotherapy, Dr Turner can be contacted via his website www.dwightturnercounselling.co.uk and can be followed on Twitter at @dturner300 .

KEYNOTE

This presentation offers a sociological and existential reading of the idea of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). By considering ACEs as a sociocultural and intersectional artefact, it asks how we can understand the impacts of adversity across the life span.

In doing so, it will explore the ways in which the idea of ACEs can inadvertently render humans as ‘risky subjects’, and how psychological disorder and social pathology is envisioned and located in of future and potentiality of the person, and not the context and system they are located in.

Marc Boaz is an existential psychotherapist, and a visiting Professor of Public Mental Health at the University of Northampton. He is also a member of the UK Trauma Council hosted by the Anna Freud Centre

KEYNOTE

It used to be taken for granted that wisdom accumulated with age, and that this occurred particularly in men hence the commonly used term for religious leaders of 'elder' or 'patriarch'. Wise women on the other hand could be a synonym for healer, but also a euphemism for witches. Do these traditional ideas provide any guidance on aging well? I will argue for both 'yes' and 'no' in this talk: a typical elderly approach.

I am a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist with interests in autism spectrum disorder, existential philosophy, and group psychotherapy. I am currently working on three book projects: a neurodevelopmenttal approach to psychiatry currently called 'Psychiatry's disease'; a part-biography, part philosophical commentary on selected female existentialist philosopers; and a book on intelligent design and evolution entitled 'why is the sky blue?'

Digby Tantam is the author of Emotional Well-Being and Mental Health (Sage, 2014) for which Emmy provided a Foreword.

KEYNOTE

Motherhood is a significant event in a woman’s life bringing with it changes to the body, identity and social relationships. This experience has been likened to adolescence in the transitional experience that it provokes and has been termed matrescence to reflect the ‘mother becoming’ process (Raphael, 1975). Arnold-Baker’s (2020) research and work has demonstrated how becoming a mother evokes an existential crisis for women and how their lives from this point become transformed.

This is not a one-off experience as mothers become intrinsically linked to their children in a dynamic process of change and adaptation bound by love and responsibility. Motherhood reveals existence in a new way that has a transformational effect on a woman’s life.

Claire Arnold-Baker is Academic Director at NSPC and also Course Leader for the DCPsych Programme. She is a lecturer and clinical supervisor on the doctoral programmes and provides research supervision to both doctoral and masters students.

KEYNOTE

Priscilla Eyles (they/them/name), will explore the complex and often complicated nature of navigating relationships as a multiply-marginalised person, using an intersectional lens to illuminate some common challenges that can occur, whilst highlighting how much can be gained once enabled to create healthier relationships which neuroqueer/subvert normative expectations.

Priscilla will illustrate these relationship challenges using their own lived experience coming to terms, and ultimately embracing, their identity as a racialised, queer, gender non-conforming neurominority (ADHD, autism). In particular looking at their struggles with this as a teenager and young adult, how this impacted how people viewed them and their subsequent hyper critical selfimage.

A self-image informed by a childhood/youth spent trying, and often 'failing' to socialise or behave with others in ways that were deemed 'appropriate' or 'normal' by neurotypical, white, heteronormative standards that are far too often bewildering and overwhelming.

A lack of self-belief in the ability to have long-term relationships, when not adequately countered with an affirmation of unique strengths, an intersectional framework, a fostering of identity-based pride alongside an understanding of personal boundaries and toxic behaviours, can have dangerous consequences.

As Priscilla will demonstrate through reference to their own experience as a cult survivor and current research.

In conclusion, Priscilla will demonstrate that it is only with a compassionate connection to authentic self and in embracing every part of their marginalised identities, that allows someone like me to truly unmask and feel enabled to create their own version of a healthy relationship. Whilst finding like-minded and neuroqueer/marginalised communities and the right curious, empathetic and social justice informed (and still learning!) therapist, can be key in helping to enable this.

Priscilla Eyles is a JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) trainer, writer and speaker specialising in an intersectional understanding of neurodivergence, workplace inclusion and how cults abuse neurodivergent and multiply marginalised people. They are currently a trustee for Camden Disability Action.

Priscilla previously worked for Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations, most recently as an Intersectional Project Coordinator and previously as a Disability Job Coach. Priscilla (she/they) is passionate about raising awareness of the issues Neurodivergent and Disabled people with multiply marginalised identities like them face. Alongside destigmatising the conversations around cults and coercive control in the multiply-marginalised community as a bi-racialised, neurodivergent queer person and cult survivor.

They also have a special interest in effective and holistic therapeutic frameworks and completed a foundation certificate in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling in 2019 at the Minster Centre.

SHIFTING SANDS: An Existential Lens on Intersectionality Throughout Life

PANEL SPEAKERS

ONLINE CONFERENCE

Stella Duffy is completing a doctorate in Existential Psychotherapy and her research is in the embodied experience of postmenopause. As well as her private psychotherapy practice, Stella has worked in NHS cancer psychological support and hospice bereavement support.

Alongside her therapy work, Stella is the award-winning writer of seventeen novels, over seventy short stories and fifteen plays and worked in theatre for over thirty-five years as an actor, director, facilitator and improvisor. The co-founder and, for eight years, the co-director of Fun Palaces working with communities and inclusion across the UK, Stella has been active in equalities and diversity work in the arts and LGBTQ+ communities for many decades. She is also a yoga teacher, leading regular workshops in yoga for writing.

Marcie Boyer is in the final year of a doctorate in Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling. Her research explores of the experiences of mid-life women who make the decision to withdraw life support for their mothers, following a sudden life-threatening health event.

Like her research, her clinical interests draw upon many of her own life experiences. She has worked for three years and continues to work with first-generation women of colour and with traumatically bereaved parents, partners, and families. Supporting others to find meaning and healing following abuse, racism, trauma, and loss sits at the heart of both her research and practice.

ONLINE CONFERENCE

Dr Ruth Millman is a neurodivergent counselling psychologist and existential psychotherapist. She is the course leader for the postgraduate programmes in neurodiversity at The New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling.

Ruth has worked with neurodivergent individuals, couples and families for 18 years. She currently works in private practice, as well as running online groups, training and consultancy. Ruth specialises in working with LGBTQIA+ neurodivergent people, and supporting neurodivergent practitioners develop their skill and confidence.

My Name is Michelle Blake and I have lived experience of being both Autistic and ADHD. I am also part of a neurodivergent family and have chosen to specialise in this area.

I have qualifications in Autism, ADHD and neurodevelopmental conditions across the lifespan which supports my own lived experience in this area. This feels really important to me both personally and professionally as I can evidence my understanding with theoretical explanations and research.

I have chosen to work exclusively in a Counselling/Coaching capacity specialising in supporting Autistic and ADHD individuals, including self-diagnosed and pre/post diagnosis, as well as their families.

I also work with those who are exploring the possibility of being neurodivergent (ADHD and/or ASC).

ONLINE CONFERENCE

Aneesh de Vos is a seasoned trainer, therapist & supervisor, currently studying for her doctorate in psychological trauma. All Aneesh’s work is underpinned with both compassion and somatic-based practices which she sees as an integral part of a holistic understanding of ourselves. Aneesh is currently studying for her doctorate in Psychological Trauma and she holds a Masters in Trauma Informed Practice, and a PGC in Coaching. Aneesh coproduces the popular ‘Community Connections’ podcast, which introduces trauma and its many guises, without the fancy jargon

Dr Martin Adams is an Existential Psychotherapist, Lecturer, Supervisor and Writer. He wrote A Concise Introduction to Existential Counselling (2013) and (with Emmy van Deurzen) Skills in Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy (2016). His most recent book is An Existential Approach to Human Development: Philosophical and Therapeutic Perspectives (2018). He also contributed to Case Studies in Existential Therapy (2018) and to the Wiley World Handbook for Existential Therapy (2019). He is co-editor of Existential Analysis. He is also a sculptor.

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