Talk from the Chair - As the Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis I would
like to welcome you to the Society’s newly constructed website. A new Chair, a new
Website; what else is new? Well, quite a lot actually, most of which will become
evident as you familiarise yourselves with our new website and with newly appointed
committee members. Hopefully visitors to our website will find useful information
regarding the theory and practice of Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy, links
to areas of personal interest, information about forthcoming events and much more
as the website develops.
I hope that you find our new website accessible - both for existing members of the
Society, for the casual visitor and for those looking for a Counsellor or Psychotherapist
and would like to know more about what the Existential approach has to offer. Elsewhere
on the site you will find a brief description of Existential Analysis - the definition
of which still is, and needs to continue to be, a matter for healthy debate.
My expectation is that our website will become a vital tool in the development of
more immediate dialogue both between members and between the membership and the global
community. I think that in the past there has been a sense that the Society for Existential
Analysis is some sort of ‘private club’ and personally I am keen to widen the profile
of the Society and to develop our connections with other ‘schools of thought’ in
order to engage in a much needed debate - not only about the current state and nature
of Counselling and Psychotherapy, but also to engage with the underlying question
of what it means to be human in the fast moving modern world that we inhabit.
In writing my first web talk I am acutely aware of the heritage that previous highly
distinguished Chairs of the Society have bequeathed - my personal hope is that I
might at least be able to steer the Society through the next few years without running
aground; years which in many respects may prove to be difficult times. The world
of Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy is in the process of reformation, with
regulation of psychological therapies looming and the ever-increasing movement and
emphasis on outcome focused ways of practicing. Facing the challenges ahead is only
going to be possible with the support of the active members of the Society. The membership
is of course the lifeblood of the Society, but without the valiant and tireless efforts
of the committee members, the Society would simply not survive. I would like to take
this opportunity to thank the committee members and everyone else that is involved
with the Society for all the work that they have done in the past and ask them for
their continued support in the future.
Paul McGinley
Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis
chair@existentialanalysis.co.uk
