Existential Dialogue: In Search between Dr Betty Cannon & Prof E. Spinelli

A phenomenological method for existential seekers.

One of the ten live dialogues between Prof Ernesto Spinelli and International Existential Therapists which clearly illustrate their own personal journey intertwined with the method of the investigation. We are looking to highlight the role of the researcher as an existential seeker.

“According to Simone de Beauvoir, Sartre’s first response to encountering Husserl’s phenomenology in a café in Paris in 1933 was to turn pale with emotion. What so excited Sartre about Husserl, he tells us, was his concept of ‘intentionality’. On the surface, this concept may seem obvious, perhaps even a little trite: All consciousness is consciousness of something – perceived, remembered, or imagined. But it is not trite, according to Sartre, who immediately saw its implications for overturning all previous academic philosophy and psychology. No longer is the human ‘psyche’ or ‘mind’ a box filled with representations of objects, states, and qualities – or the human person a mere product of the laws of cause and effect. Consciousness is instead a direct encounter with the world and other people, and the human subject is an agent in a particular context or situation. As Sartre puts it, ‘Husserl has restored to things their horror and their charm. He has restored to us the world of artists and prophets: frightening, hostile, dangerous and with its havens of mercy and love.’ He has restored to us the vividness of lived experience. This is the object of study in existential-phenomenological research. My research project, which I will discuss with Ernesto next year, is a series of 18 demonstration video sessions with each of 13 student volunteers using an approach to therapy that I have been developing and teaching over the past 40 years. My aim is to explore the intentional structures of what we are doing together as they unfold over time. Existential phenomenology is both the method of inquiry in the sessions and the method that I am using to look at the transcripts and videos. This should allow me to explore what I actually do (as opposed to what I think or wish or fear I am doing) in sessions. I will use this material for a book I am currently writing: In the Spirit of Play: Applied Existential Psychotherapy.” Dr. Betty Cannon

Betty Cannon, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who has taught and practised in Boulder, Colorado, for over 45 years. She is Professor Emerita of the Colorado School of Mines and president and founder of the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute, which has trained mental health professionals in Applied Existential Psychotherapy since 1989. In addition to existential philosophy, especially the philosophy of Sartre, AEP has roots in Gestalt therapy, classical and contemporary psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology (especially the person-centred therapy of Carl Rogers), and body-oriented psychotherapy. Betty is a member of the editorial boards of three international journals: Existential Analysis, Sartre Studies International, and Review of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry. She is the author of Sartre and Psychoanalysis and numerous articles and chapters on existential therapy. Her mentor was Hazel E. Barnes, who translated Sartre into English and who was the world’s foremost Sartre scholar until her death in 2008. Betty is her literary executor, and her book on Sartre is dedicated to Hazel. This is Betty’s third dialogue with Ernesto.

Note: The quotes above are from a little essay that Sartre wrote in Berlin in 1934. It was published as ‘Intentionality: A Fundamental Idea of Husserl’s Phenomenology’ in 1939.

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, supervision, 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 2000, he was the Recipient of 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 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. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels.

Date and Time: Saturday 26 October from 2 pm to 3 pm – UK time)

Individual Dialogue Fee: £40

Venue: Online Zoom

FULL PROGRAMME 2024:

Ten Saturdays 2 pm to 5 pm (UK time)

27 Jan. “Placebo” with Prof Ernesto Spinelli and Barbara Godoy

24 Feb. “Reflexivity” with Prof Carla Willig and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

23 March “Homecoming” with Prof R. Romanyshyn and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

27 April “Ungraspable” with Dr Todd Dubose and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

18 May “Homelessness” with Dr Greg Madison and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

22 Jun. “Psychedelics” with Dr Yaqui Martinez and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

20 Jul. “Anxiety” with Prof Kirk Schneider and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

26 Oct. “Intentionality” with Dr Betty Cannon and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

23 Nov. “Vulnerability” with Prof Simon du Plock and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

12 Dec. “Enacting” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof Ernesto Spinelli

Read the full programme here >

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Host or Publisher Therapy Harley Street