Existential-Humanistic Therapy in Practice

Understanding existential-humanistic therapy is one thing. Knowing how to use it in the moment with a client is another. How can you translate principles of presence, empathy, and meaning into therapeutic responses that deepen awareness and support meaningful change?

This 4-hour live webinar explores what existential-humanistic therapists actually do in sessions and why their interventions matter. Discover how to work more intentionally with clients’ emotions, lived experiences, and relationships while honoring their individual needs and readiness for change.

Led by Louis Hoffman, PhD, a licensed psychologist and internationally recognized educator in existential-humanistic psychotherapy, this training draws on decades of clinical practice, research, and teaching. Dr. Hoffman is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and nine of its divisions, recipient of the Rollo May Award, and author or editor of 28 books, including Case Formulation in Existential-Humanistic Therapy and The Evidence-Based Foundations of Existential-Humanistic Therapy. His extensive experience in psychotherapy and clinical supervision brings both scholarly depth and practical relevance to the training.

Dr. Hoffman will demonstrate how existential-humanistic principles inform moment-to-moment therapeutic decisions. Through a phenomenological approach, participants will examine how to set aside assumptions, explore clients’ subjective experiences, and select interventions that respond to what is unfolding in the therapeutic encounter. The workshop connects existential-humanistic theory with clinical application while considering the integration of research evidence, clinical expertise, and client preferences.

The training examines primary existential-humanistic interventions, including working with psychological protections, meaning-centered approaches, genuineness, therapeutic self-disclosure, and embodied empathy. Participants will explore how emotion, relationship, and meaning interact to facilitate therapeutic change. Attention will also be given to recognizing existential concerns in everyday clinical presentations and inviting greater awareness of emotional experiences, bodily sensations, and relational patterns without compromising clients’ safety or autonomy. Multicultural perspectives will inform discussions of how culture, power, marginalization, and personal values shape the therapeutic relationship and the selection of interventions.

Key Takeaways:

• Translate theory into therapeutic action: Identify existential-humanistic interventions and use a phenomenological approach to understand clients’ lived experiences and guide clinical responses.
• Foster deeper therapeutic engagement: Explore how embodied empathy, authenticity, emotional awareness, and meaning-centered interventions can help clients engage with difficult experiences and examine new possibilities.
• Integrate evidence and cultural responsiveness: Learn how existential-humanistic therapy aligns with evidence-based practice and how to adapt interventions to clients’ cultural backgrounds, personal circumstances, and preferences.

Why this course?

• Move beyond abstract theory: Gain a practical understanding of what existential-humanistic therapists actually do and how to choose interventions that fit the client and the evolving therapeutic process.
• Learn from a leading authority: Benefit from Dr. Hoffman’s extensive contributions to existential-humanistic psychotherapy as a clinician, researcher, author, educator, and supervisor.
• Strengthen your clinical versatility: Expand your therapeutic repertoire through continuing education from Telehealth Certification Institute, with an emphasis on thoughtful clinical decision-making, cultural humility, and individualized care.

 Learning Objectives:

• Identify primary existential-humanistic interventions.
• Apply a phenomenological approach to explore and understand the client’s lived experience.
• Describe how to align existential-humanistic therapy with evidence-based practice.
• Identify ways to adapt existential-humanistic therapy to the client’s cultural and personal context and preferences.

Existential-humanistic therapy offers more than a philosophical perspective. It provides a way of engaging with clients that brings emotion, relationship, and meaning into the center of therapeutic work. This live webinar offers an opportunity to refine your clinical presence, strengthen your intervention choices, and help clients explore more meaningful and flexible ways of living.