Kirk J. Schneider, PhD is a psychologist and psychotherapist who has taken a leading role in the advancement of existential-humanistic therapy [1][2][3], and existential-integrative therapy[4]. His major books are Existential-Humanistic Therapy (2010), Existential-Integrative Therapy (2008), The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology (with James Bugental and Fraser Pierson) (2001), The Psychology of Existence (with Rollo May)(1995), Rediscovery of Awe (2004), and Awakening to Awe (2009).
He worked closely with existential and humanistic psychology pioneer Rollo May, and in 2004, was himself the recipient of the Rollo May Award from Division 32 of the American Psychological Association for “outstanding and independent pursuit of new frontiers in humanistic psychology.” He has been integral in fostering global dialogs surrounding existential themes in psychology, and in April 2010, he delivered the opening keynote address at the First (East-West) International Existential Psychology Conference in Nanjing, China. He is also a Fellow of three Divisions of the American Psychological Association (Humanistic, Clinical, and Independent Practice) and has published over 100 articles and chapters and has authored or edited eight books. He is currently vice-president of the Existential-Humanistic Institute (EHI), adjunct faculty at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, and contributor to Psychology Today.
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With the advent of Existential-Integrative Psychotherapy[5], Schneider expanded the traditional focus of existential therapy on depth exploration to include other, more mainstream treatment modalities. By the same token, he broadened mainstream treatment modalities with the ever-present availability of depth exploration[6]. Existential-Integrative therapy is a "deeply relational approach which uses a range of therapeutic concepts and strategies to help clients engage more fully with their experiencing"[7]. With Rediscovery of Awe[8] and Awakening to Awe[9], Schneider drew upon the rich heritage of existential-spiritual philosophy as elaborated by such thinkers as Paul Tillich, Martin Buber, Abraham Heschel, Soren Kierkegaard, and William James as well as his own clinical and personal observations to cultivate an "awe-based" approach to psychology and life. By "awe-based," Schneider means the sense of humility and wonder or adventure one experiences simply by living. While the sense of awe may be inherent to living it also must be cultivated periodically, lest it be crushed by our "quick fix," efficiency oriented culture; or by political or religious dogma. In Rediscovery of Awe[8], Schneider set forth the principles of an awe-based psychology as well as applications of those principles to concrete spheres of life, such as the educational setting, the work setting, and the ethical-spiritual setting. In "Awakening to Awe," Schneider focused specifically on how the sense of awe radically transformed seven lives. Among the people he investigated were a former gang member who became a gang mediator, an ex drug addict who became a case worker and Yoga instructor, and a survivor of stage-three cancer. Finally, in Existential-Integrative Psychotherapy, Schneider showed how the humility and wonder cultivated in good therapy can inspire the humility and wonder, or, in short awe, that can be nurtured outside of good therapy.
(Reprinted in paperback, August, 2002).
http://www.psychologytoday.com/search/query?keys=kirk+schneider&x=0&y=0
Schneider, K.J. (2006). Existential Psychotherapy. American Psychological Association Video Series: Systems of Psychotherapy I. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Available at www.apa.org/videos).
May, R. (2007). (Speaker). Rollo May on existential psychotherapy. [DVD.] Psychotherapy.net (Available online at http://www.psychotherapy.net), San Francisco, CA. Interviewed by Kirk Schneider, John Galvin, and Ilene Serlin.
Schneider, K.J. (2008, December). The Mystery of Being. TV Ontario Big Ideas Series. [Available at youtube.com]
Schneider, K.J. (2009). Existential-Humanistic Therapy. . American Psychological Association Video Series: Psychotherapy Over Time [6 session format]. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Available at www.apa.org/videos).