Our Vision & Mission
We are here to impact the world through our commitment to and passion for existential-humanistic values of authenticity, integrity, responsibility, inter-connectedness, inclusion, and awe.
Existential-Humanistic NorthWest enlivens and enriches human experience through our commitment to being present with ourselves, others, society, and the mystery of life. We serve the healing professions, our clients, and the public through dialogue, education, training, and advocacy.
EHNW Provides
Education
Providing educational training for clinical practitioners in the areas of E-H theory and therapy practiceAdvocacy
Advocating for E-H psychotherapy with the aim of having better representation within both professional communities and to the public.Membership, Peer Support, Outreach
Offering dynamic support through intentionally-committed membership and professional/community outreach.Interdisciplinary
Dialogue with a diverse range of academic and professional disciplinary perspectives to enhance the creative applications of E-H concepts and values.
Meet the Board
Wes Contreras
I came to psychotherapy late in life after a long, meandering path, most recently spending time in corporate technology as a software engineer and data analyst. Currently, I'm a graduate student in the clinical mental health counseling program at Adler Graduate School and seeing clients as an intern splitting time between Salem, Gresham, and telehealth, which doesn't leave much leisure time, but I hope to get back to cycling, photography, gaming, and larping once I graduate this summer.
My lived experience has taught me the value of diversity, kindness, and curiosity. As a therapist, I love working in the intersection between neurodivergence and trauma, helping people connect with the powerful wisdom inside and between all of us to live a more intentional, authentic life.
Chuck Craytor
MA, LPC
For more than 25 years, I have worked with individuals, groups, and organizations navigating change, uncertainty, and the challenges of being human. As a psychotherapist, writer, and facilitator, my work draws from existential-humanistic psychotherapy, contemplative practice, and a lifelong interest in how we remain present to ourselves, one another, and the world we share.
Growing up on a farm along Oregon’s Willamette River, I learned from nature’s rhythms and the interconnectedness of life. Those early experiences continue to shape my appreciation for wonder, relationship, and the ways we discover meaning through encounter.
As a therapist, writer, and facilitator, I am less interested in offering answers than in creating space for genuine dialogue and reflection. Again and again, I have found that when people are met with presence, honesty, and compassion, new possibilities emerge.
I believe that even in times of difficulty and uncertainty, there remains within each of us a capacity for meaning, connection, and renewal.
Bob Edelstein
LMFT, MFT
I am passionate about the existential-humanistic perspective in both my personal and professional life. To me, the perspective embraces all of what it means to exist and values each unique, individual journey. I value that we always have a choice to change our attitude and behavior, even in the most limited of conditions or circumstances. I take on the powerful responsibility that our choice matters in that we impact the world by our feelings, thoughts and actions. This perspective also embraces that as human beings we are always moving towards health and wholeness, both individually and collectively.
Sofia Elias
MA
Since I read my first self-help book at fifteen, it has been a passion of mine to understand the human psyche and to help people to make positive, meaningful and lasting change in their lives. In my private practice in Portland, OR, I work with adolescents and adults, couples+ and families, supporting the challenging yet rewarding journey of being in intimate relationship.
My Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology keeps me grounded in my eclectic approach using a blend of humanistic, systems and attachment, developmental and solution-focused modalities. I have grown in my relational work from training in Terry Real’s RLT (Certified), Hendrix & La Hunt’s Imago Relationship Therapy (Certified), Sue Johnson’s Emotionally-Focused Therapy, Bader-Pearson’s Developmental Model, and Martha Kauppi’s work with sexual issues. All of my work is supported by the Existential-Humanistic model, which I see as the foundation for all other methodologies.
Outside of the office, I enjoy spending time with my loved ones and two cats, learning new things (ukulele and salsa dancing at the moment), geeking out on psych and spiritual books, doing crosswords, perusing Little Free Libraries, and spending lots of time in nature in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, especially the beach!
Clare Knudsen
I am a student in Western Seminary’s CACREP-accredited Master’s program in clinical mental health counseling, and in the fall of 2025, I will resume seeing clients as part of my clinical internship at Charis Counseling. My previous clinical experience took place at A New Day Counseling in Portland, Oregon, and I have received additional training in Existential-Humanistic psychotherapy core skills from the Existential-Humanistic Institute (EHI). Since 2024, I have been a member of the Western Seminary chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (CSI), the international honor society of professional counseling. In November 2024, I joined the board of Existential-Humanistic Northwest (EHNW).
As I have studied the tools of counseling and found my fit in the field, the Existential-Humanistic perspective and its values have become a home. I seek to show up to every relationship authentically and to cultivate presence in my own life as well as between myself and others. As a human and as a counselor, I seek genuine connection, hold great respect and curiosity for the unique experience of each person, and believe that despite limitations of self or circumstance, we are always free and responsible to make meaningful choices. In addition, my approach is influenced by interests in ecotherapy, spirituality, and interconnectedness, a focus on meaning-making, Stephen Porges’s polyvagal theory, and an ever-growing awareness of oppressive systems. I am happy to always be learning through books, people, and continuing education.
Justin Rock
LPC, LMFT (Past President & Founding Board Member)
Justin is a Portland-based existential-phenomenological therapist, supervisor, and educator who helped launch Existential-Humanistic Northwest and later served as its President. He is currently a PhD scholar in Social Justice Leadership & Change, where his research centers on epistemic justice in mental-health care. Grounded in the conviction that being-with is the catalyst for growth, Justin works with individuals, couples, and groups to explore freedom, responsibility, and meaning: especially at life’s thresholds of loss, identity shift, and becoming.In addition to his clinical practice, Justin teaches graduate courses in family therapy, theories, development, existential-humanistic theory and supervision, mentors early-career clinicians, and designs community dialogues that weave philosophy, social justice, epistemic justice, and the arts. He speaks and writes on relational ethics, systemic perspectives on mental health, and the creative tensions between awe and anxiety.
Bonnie Rose
MA, LMFT
Bonnie is a respected psychotherapist, lecturer, and fine artist with a busy private practice based in Ojai serving California. She has learned from many mentors throughout her education and therapy career and treasures each new opportunity to mentor others.
Bonnie received her BA from UCLA in Art History with a California Secondary Teaching Credential, which enabled her to mentor junior and senior high school students in art classes for 13 years.
She enrolled in graduate school at Pepperdine University, where author and professor David Levy, PhD, taught a Theories of Personality class. He encouraged students to choose a therapeutic approach, learn it thoroughly, and bring this focused expertise to their professional life as practitioners.
In 1990, Bonnie attended an Evolution of Psychotherapy conference, where she was introduced to Viktor Frankl’s German accent. She heard his voice echoing throughout the coliseum in Anaheim, CA, as he presented his keynote address to thousands of participants. Her life’s mission began to take shape after this presentation.
At the same conference, she wandered into a presentation called “Objectivity-Subjectivity”, where James F.T. Bugental, PhD, spoke about “aliveness” and the influences of making ourselves the “object” of our lives versus the “subject” of our lives. She now saw her path more clearly and was inspired to call Jim to participate in all of his educational and experiential offerings.
Bonnie completed her MA at Pepperdine in Clinical Psychology, which enabled her mentoring to continue as a faculty member, teaching psychology classes, at Los Angeles Valley Community College and Pierce Community College.
She has been a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for nearly 30 years now. She has expertise as an existential humanistic psychotherapist. This heartfelt and highly effective approach enhances her use of EMDR, somatic experiencing, and other treatment modalities. Her extensive involvement in a broad scope of community programs adds depth and dimension to her professional and life experience. She has been privileged to work with individuals, couples, families, and to facilitate groups with members who learn to reflect upon what shows up in the present, and the mystery of their sacred inner-life concerns.
Bonnie continues to embrace mentorship, with gratitude and as profound gifts in every experience, that humbly shapes and influences who she is.
Lisa Sloan Strom
LPC CADC-I
I’m a second-generation psychotherapist, raised on warm beach sand with a passion for humanity and an unquenchable thirst for deeper meaning. Early adulthood exploration as: actor, dancer, college DJ, skateboarder, bike messenger, filmmaker, music video producer, foreign publicist, and world traveler have made for a diverse background. In mid-life, I’ve also served as a bilingual teacher (Spanish-English), parent educator, and radio producer. Life experience in the education, communication and creative industries inspired me to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. I have a private practice in Portland, where I work with adult individuals, and engage in an integration of existential, feminist and Jungian approaches with my clients. I am an addiction specialist, serving both those seeking recovery and also their loved ones. In addition to sitting on the EHNW Board of Directors, I also enjoy serving as Advisor to the Council for Sati Sangha.
Beth Swain
LPC (Current President)
I have been a licensed professional counselor (LPC) working from an Existential-Humanistic (EH) and Jungian framework for over twenty years. Currently, I have a private practice in Salem, Oregon. Coming from an EH perspective, my clients are often seeking a sense of meaning in their lives. We work to discover what blocks them from pursuing their reason for being and explore ways to live more fully and authentically. I am, also, a certified Archetypal Pattern Analyst which helps me further identify life patterns that stand in my client’s way from fully embracing their life purpose.
Prior to becoming a mental health counselor, I was an early childhood educator and director of an early childhood program for over ten years. Then, I spent several years teaching personal and career development courses in a community college where I primarily worked with single parents who were seeking a path out of poverty.
Marc Turkel
MA LMHCA - Associate
I’ve lived in the PNW for 25 years via Miami and originally, from New York City. I received a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and worked as a professional photographer. I came to Seattle to work for Microsoft and lead self actualization seminars before earning a Masters in Existential Phenomenology Psychology from Seattle University. I interned at Sound Behavioral Health and currently work in a private group practice in Seattle, WA.
I practice Existential Integrative therapy which is defined by Kirk Schneider (1999) as, “that confluence of artistic, philosophical, and clinical disciplines that employ what might roughly be called a phenomenological method of arriving at an understanding of human existence”. That is, for each client, a framework to purposefully examine life’s experience, to distinguish that which lies below the level of our consciousness and to generate the freedom to walk an intentional pathway forward. I’m grief and loss informed, I study mindfulness, eastern philosophy and a variety of selected modalities. I’m interested in the ways these all converge, how people construct meaning and how it relates to finding new capacities for generating wellbeing.
I work with people dealing with depression, anxiety, grief and loss, life transitions, relationship issues including polyamory and ethical non-monogamy.