A playful, active, experientially based form of supervision that is deeply and
specifically grounded on Sartre's philosophy
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This group is a place to hone skills and consider important issues of therapy
from the perspective of existential philosophy. Combining the leader’s
experience with the wisdom of the group fosters an active experientially
oriented and interpersonally open way of doing supervision. It includes
role-playing clients as well as looking at stuck points in therapy – stuck
points that may belong to the therapist or supervisor as well as the client. It
uses body-oriented as well as verbal interventions to get beyond words to the
pre-reflective bodily-lived intentionality of all three.
Applied Existential Supervision is rooted in a psychotherapeutic approach
developed and taught by Betty Cannon at the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute for
more than 30 years. Thoroughly and specifically grounded in the philosophy of
Sartre, Applied Existential Psychotherapy also draws inspiration from Gestalt
Therapy, Rogerian person-centred therapy, body-oriented psychotherapy, and
classical and contemporary psychoanalysis. Betty agrees with British object
relations theorist D.W. Winnicott that psychotherapy is (or ought to be) a very
special form of ‘two people playing together. When one of them, hopefully, the
client, is unable to play, therapy becomes two people learning to play together.
Both Winnicott and Sartre view play as arising in what Winnicott calls the
‘transitional space’ between the subjective and objective worlds. This is the
place where, phenomenologically speaking, this world becomes my world – or your
world. Focusing on this transitional space allows us to move from doing therapy
in what Sartre calls the ‘spirit of seriousness’ (which is the deterministic
mechanistic approach of a great deal of contemporary psychotherapy) to what
Betty has elsewhere called the ‘spirit of play’. It is a perspective that
encourages us to recognize and support our own and our client’s freedom – in
situation. And it can help open us to new more creative and authentic
possibilities for living, loving, and being with each other.
Because taking this perspective makes room for the radically new and the
unpredictable and relieves us of the burden of trying to ‘fix’ our clients, it
is less tiring and less likely to produce therapist burnout. It can also make
therapy more satisfying, joyful and exhilarating for both client and therapist.
But therapy done in the spirit of play becomes at the same time less certain and
predictable. We cannot know the outcome of the therapy because our client is
free. For this reason, approaching therapy (and supervision) in this way can be
anxiety-provoking or even terrifying. Moving from the spirit of seriousness to
the spirit of play makes us aware of the lightness as well as the heaviness of
being – and that can be challenging as well liberating.
Of course, no one can live with the full awareness of freedom, responsibility,
and possibility all the time. The temptation to bad faith is universal for all
humans, including therapists. But if the challenge to do so at least some of the
time appeals, please come play with us in Applied Existential Supervision Group.
Betty Cannon, PhD, licensed psychologist, is the founder of Applied Existential
Psychotherapy (AEP). Her book on Sartre and Psychoanalysis (1991) is often
considered a classic in the field, as Ernesto Spinelli predicted it would be.
She has published many articles and chapters on existential philosophy,
psychology, and psychotherapy. Betty’s mentor, Hazel E. Barnes, translated
Sartre into English and was the world’s foremost Sartre scholar until her death
in 2008. Betty is Hazel’s literary executor, and her book on Sartre is dedicated
to Hazel. She is currently working on a new book: In the Spirit of Play: Applied
Existential Psychotherapy.
Betty is the president and founder of the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute, an
emerita professor of the Colorado School of Mines, a senior adjunct professor at
Naropa University, and a member of the editorial boards of three international
journals: Sartre Studies International, Existential Analysis, and Review of
Existential Psychology and Psychiatry. In addition to Applied Existential
Psychotherapy, she has recently introduced an Applied Existential Coaching Class
at the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute.
Betty has taught AEP to hundreds (if not thousands) of students over the past
years. She has also done therapy with individuals, couples, and groups in
Boulder for the past forty years, as well as presented at many professional
conferences and workshops. She is particularly interested in an existential
approach to relationships and groups and leads 15 to 20 groups (therapy,
practice, process, and supervision) each month.
All dates: Saturdays 13 January, 10 February, 9 March, 13 April, 11 May, 8 June,
14 September, 12 October, 9 November and 7 December 2024
Fee: £1260 the whole year (£140 per session)
Time: Saturdays from 3 pm to 6 pm (UK time)
Venue: Online – Zoom
CPD by Therapy Harley Street