The Evidence-Based Foundations of Existential-Humanistic Therapy

This comprehensive volume aligns existential-humanistic therapy (EHT) with the standards of evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP).

It provides a solid empirical foundation for EHT as a therapeutic modality, while also demonstrating how it can serve as an integrative approach. The book identifies evidence for primary existential competencies and best practices, as well as multicultural considerations for prioritizing an individual client’s needs.

In each chapter, expert psychologists detail a key principle of EHT, including therapeutic presence, empathy, working with emotions, authenticity, therapist self-disclosure, here-and-now work, and the self within the therapeutic context. Integrative strategies including mindfulness, art therapy, experiential therapy, and equine-assisted therapy demonstrate the effectiveness of these foundational elements, when combined into a single approach.

Contributors draw on three pillars of EBPP--research evidence, clinical experience, and client characteristics--to demonstrate how EHT can be just as effective as other evidence-based approaches, if not more so in some contexts.

Louis Hoffman, PhD, is a licensed psychologist in private practice and executive director of the Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association. He has published over 20 books and 100 journal articles and book chapters. His books include the APA Handbook of Humanistic and Existential Psychology, Eros & Psyche: Existential Perspectives on Sexuality, Existential Psychology East-West, and Becoming an Existential-Humanistic Therapist. He has been recognized as a fellow of the American Psychological Association and six of its divisions (1, 10, 32, 36, 48, and 52) and received the Rollo May Award of the Society for Humanistic Psychology.

Veronica Lac, PhD, is founder and executive director of The HERD Institute, offering training and certification in equine facilitated psychotherapy and learning. She works through a decolonized lens with marginalized, neurodivergent clients with eating disorders and relational trauma. She is also a PATH International certified therapeutic riding instructor and a certified equine specialist in mental health and learning. She has served on executive boards of professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association’s Division 32 and PATH International, and is a peer reviewer for a number of journals. Dr. Lac received the 2022 APA Division 32 Camri Harari Early Career Award.