Supervision: An Existential Therapy Perspective
Keynote Speaker: Professor Ernesto Spinelli, Ph.D.
Friday, February 20, 2026
9:00 AM - 12:30PM
Online via Zoom
Cost: $29 - $69
This workshop explores what is distinctive about an existential approach to supervision, including lecture, discussion, and live demos.
The supervision of therapists by their colleagues has become one of the primary requirements for continuing professional practice. Just about every Professional Body concerned with therapy emphasizes the importance of supervision and, typically, specifies that its members must engage in it under regular and ongoing approved conditions. Although existential therapy is no different in that its members adhere to these governances, the very concept of supervision, and in particular what its meaning and purpose might be understood to be, has remained an ongoing source of debate.
In many ways, the issues surrounding supervision have provided existential therapists with a focus through which to address the wider debate as to what constitutes and defines existential therapy and what may be distinctive about its practice.
This workshop explores what is distinctive about an existential approach to supervision. In attempting to do so, it will address several key aspects in the practice of existential therapy that can be transposed to supervision from an existential therapy perspective. As well as lecture and discussion, participants will have opportunity to take part in a live demonstration of this approach to supervision.
3 CE's are available from NASW. CE's for this workshop cost $20 to handle the administrative fees and labor. See the Q&A below for more information.
About the Facilitator:
Professor Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor.
In 1999, Ernesto was awarded a Personal Chair as Professor of Psychotherapy, Counselling and Counselling Psychology. In 2000, he was the Recipient of the BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent therapy book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. His previous books include: The Interpreted World: an introduction to phenomenological psychology, 2nd ed. (Sage, 2005); Demystifying Therapy (PCCS, 2006); Tales of Un-Knowing (PCCS, 2006); and The Mirror and The Hammer: Challenging therapeutic orthodoxies (Sage, 2001).
Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. His most recent standalone novel, Moments - A Greek Island Tale, will be published in 2025.
For any questions, contact Beth Swain at beth@ehnwpdx.org