Becoming Existential

Max Karlin
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Becoming Existential is a podcast about the journey of becoming a therapist and what that process reveals about the human condition. Hosted by Max Karlin, a trainee existential therapist at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling in London, together with peers and leading figures in existential therapy, the show explores the questions at the heart of every life: freedom, meaning, finitude, relationship and the courage to face what cannot be fixed. The show is not about techniques or quick fixes, but about learning to sit with uncertainty — in therapy and in life.

Episodes

  1. Bound and Free - Claire Arnold-Baker on Paradox, Responsibility & Existential Therapy

    1 DEC

    Bound and Free - Claire Arnold-Baker on Paradox, Responsibility & Existential Therapy

    In this episode of Becoming Existential, I sit down with Dr Claire Arnold-Baker — Principal of the New School of Psychotherapy & Counselling (NSPC), existential psychotherapist, psychologist, researcher and current Chair of the Federation for Existential Therapy in Europe (FETE). Claire is one of the course leaders on my training programme and someone whose clinical, academic and organisational work continues to shape how existential psychotherapy is practiced today. Speaking with her offered a way to come back to the foundations of our approach through the lens of her own lived path into existential work. Our dialogue travelled widely. From the tensions and contradictions that characterise human existence to liberty and restriction, togetherness and solitude, accountability for ourselves and, at times, unavoidably, for others. We explored the question of why existential therapy feels as particularly significant in a current fast-paced, anxiety-driven, and technology-dominated world. An important part of our conversation was on Structural Existential Analysis (SEA) and the book on that Claire co-authored with Emmy van Deurzen: a structured way of exploring life as it is lived, through five interwoven dimensions: Space, Time, Emotion & Value, Paradox and Purpose We also spent time with Claire’s longstanding clinical and research work on motherhood, as a profound, ambiguous, identity-shaping experience — one marked by freedom and boundaries, care and responsibility, possibility and constraint. And inevitably we arrived at the contemporary themes of human connection in an age of technology and AI. What shifts and what remains essential in the therapeutic encounter and beyond the therapy room. Regardless of whether you’re a psychologist, therapist, researcher, or just someone interested in understanding how we interpret our experiences, I encourage you to engage with this insightful, meaningful conversation featuring a prominent figure in contemporary existential therapy. 0:00 – Why this series? Introducing the project & Claire 1:56 – Claire’s path into existential therapy (childhood death experiments, family philosophy, choosing psychology) 8:16 – NSPC as the “home of existential training” & what existential training feels like 13:10 – Structure, regulation & uncertainty: freedom within limits in professional practice 16:48 – Motherhood, feminism & giving voice to mothers’ existential crises 20:28 – Bound and free: the paradox of motherhood and responsibility for another life 23:09 – Structural Existential Analysis (SEA): researching life with four dimensions, time, paradox, emotion & purpose 29:12 – Clients turning to AI chatbots: human contact, disconnection & the tension of technology 34:55 – Existential therapy today: FETE, public discourse & why it’s “in its ascendancy” 39:41 – Who existential training is for & Claire’s advice on approaching philosophy and the journey About Dr.Claire Arnold-Baker Claire Arnold-Baker is Principal of the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC) in London, and also the Course Leader for the DCPsych Programme. She is UKCP-registered existential psychotherapist, HCPC-registered Counselling Psychologist, supervisor, trainer, lecturer and Chair of the Federation for Existential Therapy in Europe (FETE). 🔗 Links: https://nspc.org.uk/faculty/nspc-faculty/faculty-member/262/claire-arnold-baker/ https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/claire-arnold-baker https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Claire-Arnold-Baker/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AClaire%2BArnold-Baker https://x.com/DrClaireAB Federation for Existential Therapy in Europe https://existentialtherapies.org Existential Movement https://www.existentialmovement.world About the Host: Max Karlin - psychologist, counsellor, and trainee existential therapist at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, London. https://linktr.ee/maxkarlin https://maxkarlin.com

    44 min
  2. Persefoni Kaltaki on Learning, Changing and the Path Toward Practice

    15 NOV

    Persefoni Kaltaki on Learning, Changing and the Path Toward Practice

    What happens when the path you’ve followed your whole life suddenly stops making sense? What does it really take — emotionally, personally, existentially — to become a therapist? In this intimate and reflective conversation, I sit with my peer and fellow trainee Persefoni Kaltaki, with whom I began my journey at the New School for Psychotherapy and Counselling. Together, we speak openly about the emotional and existential cost of becoming a therapist. Persefoni shares what it’s like to navigate training with dyslexia and ADHD, to move countries, to learn in a new language, and to start over while trying to hold space for others. She reflects on the limits of neurobiology and psychopharmacology in understanding the human condition and how discovering existential thought offered a way back to meaning. “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.” — Nikos Kazantzakis This isn’t a conversation about methods or theories. It’s about what happens when therapy stops being a profession and becomes a way of being — about the laughter, vulnerability, and quiet courage it takes to keep becoming. 00:00 – 01:20 Intro — Meeting Again 01:20 – 04:00 How It All Began: Psychology, Curiosity & Early Certainties 04:00 – 06:40 Setbacks, Dyslexia, ADHD & the Weight of Academia 06:40 – 09:20 Moving Abroad & The Isolation of Training 09:20 – 12:00 Hitting the Void: Depression & Directionlessness 12:00 – 14:30 Turning Toward Existentialism 14:30 – 17:20 What Existential Therapy Feels Like 17:20 – 20:10 Starting Over: New Country, New Language, New Practice 20:10 – 23:00 The Hardest Thing She’s Ever Done 23:00 – 25:30 Ethics, Responsibility & Knowing When You’re Ready 25:30 – 28:00 Meaning, Capitalism & Going Against the World Around You 28:00 – 30:20 Staying With Uncertainty 30:20 – 32:30 Time as the Real Existential Anchor Why time, more than death, shapes her awareness, choices, and orientation to life. 32:30 – 34:40 The Mutuality of Therapy — And Some Laughter Too How connection nourishes the therapist, the thin line between personal and professional needs, and shared humour in the process. 34:40 – 35:00 Outro About Persefoni: Persefoni Kaltaki is a psychologist and UKCP trainee psychotherapist with an MSc in Clinical Psychology and advanced training in existential psychotherapy at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC) in London. She currently works both in private practice in Copenhagen and remotely with UK-based clients through Headstrong Counselling. Her therapeutic work is trauma-informed and rooted in existential and phenomenological approaches, with a focus on relational depth, self-exploration, and psychological awareness. She has supported clients navigating cultural displacement, gender identity, neurodivergence, and systemic marginalisation, committed to inclusive, reflective practice that responds to each client’s unique context and lived experience. She is also trained in working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse and has facilitated group work and psychoeducational spaces focused on resilience, emotional wellbeing, and identity exploration. In addition to her independent practice, Persefoni collaborates with Daggry an organisation supporting LGBTQIA+ communities in Copenhagen. 🔗 Find out more about Persefoni : 🌐 persefonikaltaki.com 📧 persefonikaltaki@gmail.com 📍 Based in Copenhagen | Online therapy across the EU and UK About the Host: Max Karlin - psychologist, counsellor, and trainee existential therapist at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, London. On this channel I share existential therapy insights, interviews, and reflections to explore how psychotherapy can help us live more authentically and meaningfully. https://linktr.ee/maxkarlin

    38 min
  3. The Gift of Presence with Kirk Schneider, PhD

    23 OCT

    The Gift of Presence with Kirk Schneider, PhD

    In this first episode of Becoming Existential, I’m joined by Dr. Kirk J. Schneider — psychologist, author, lecturer, and one of the most influential voices in contemporary existential–humanistic and existential–integrative psychology. Kirk has written more than a dozen books, including Life-Enhancing Anxiety and The Spirituality of Awe, and has devoted his career to bringing existential ideas beyond the therapy room — into education, politics, and dialogue across divided communities. Together, we explore the gift of presence, the paradox of anxiety as a life-enhancing force, and what it means to stay human in an age of AI, quick fixes, and polarization. We also talk about the training journey of therapists today, and Kirk offers grounded, compassionate advice for those entering the field. This conversation challenged and inspired me — and it feels like the right way to begin this series about becoming a therapist, and becoming human. 00:00 – Introduction 01:00 – Kirk’s Childhood & Early Trauma 03:00 First Encounters with Therapy 07:10 – The Essence of Existential Therapy 11:00 How the Existential Approach Shapes Us Professionally & Personally 15:00 – On Presence as the Greatest Gift 18:00 – Family, Relationship & Parenting Reflections 20:00 Advice for Aspiring Therapists 24:00 Getting personal experience of therapy first 25:00 Learning therapy skills 27:00 How Existential Approach contributes to the world 30:00 – Anxiety as a Constructive Force 33:00 The Space for the dialogue 35:00 Existential Question for Society 39:00 The Danger of a Machine-Like Society 41:00 – Final Reflections & Existential Question for Society Dr. Kirk J. Schneider, Ph.D., is a leading voice in contemporary existential-humanistic and existential-integrative psychology. A licensed psychologist, he is past editor of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, adjunct faculty at Saybrook University and Teachers College, Columbia University, and president of the Existential-Humanistic Institute (EHI). Dr. Schneider has authored or edited over a dozen influential books — including Awakening to Awe, Existential-Integrative Psychotherapy, The Polarized Mind, and his recent Life-Enhancing Anxiety: Key to a Sane World. His work has been translated into multiple languages and featured in outlets such as Scientific American, The New York Times, and Psychology Today. He is a Fellow of five divisions of the American Psychological Association and recipient of the prestigious Rollo May Award for his pioneering contributions to humanistic psychology. Internationally recognized, Dr. Schneider has delivered keynote addresses at the World Congresses of Existential Therapy and the International Existential Psychology Conference in China. At the heart of his work is the idea that awe and anxiety are central to living more fully, authentically, and humanely — both in therapy and in society at large. Kirk Schneider https://kirkjschneider.com Existential-Humanistic Institute: https://www.ehinstitute.org/ Social Media: @kirk.schneider.908 @kschneider56 / kirk-schneider-a526a661 Books by Kirk J. Schneider Ph.D.: Life-Enhancing Anxiety, Awakening to Awe, Existential-Integrative Psychotherapy and more: https://www.amazon.com/Kirk-J-Schneid... Other links: New Corps of Depth Healers website and Certificate Program: https://www.corpsofdepthhealers.com Latest Book: “Life-Enhancing Anxiety: Key to a Sane World” https://www.amazon.com/Life-Enhancing... New YouTube Channel-“Corps of Depth Healers” / @corpsofdepthhealers-ws9nq I’m Max Karlin, a psychologist, counsellor, and trainee existential therapist at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, London. On this channel I share existential therapy insights, interviews, and reflections to explore how psychotherapy can help us live more authentically and meaningfully. https://linktr.ee/maxkarlin

    46 min
  • 3 Episodes

About

Becoming Existential is a podcast about the journey of becoming a therapist and what that process reveals about the human condition. Hosted by Max Karlin, a trainee existential therapist at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling in London, together with peers and leading figures in existential therapy, the show explores the questions at the heart of every life: freedom, meaning, finitude, relationship and the courage to face what cannot be fixed. The show is not about techniques or quick fixes, but about learning to sit with uncertainty — in therapy and in life.

Information

  • Creator
    Max Karlin
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Max Karlin
  • Show Website
    Becoming Existential