Exordium Existential Psychotherapy

23/12/2024

Here is the trailer for the Global Existential Summit. I would love to see you all there. I am excited for all of you to listen to the brilliant thinkers involved in the Summit! See you there!

Register for your FREE Ticket here: https://existentialsummit.com/THE GLOBAL EXISTENTIAL SUMMIT IS BACK!During this 5 Day Online Summit we join pinoeering th...

17/12/2024

I am privileged to be speaking during The Global Existential Summit on January 8, 2025. I am inviting you to come and listen to these amazing people and the conversations during the summit. I am excited to see you there. Details are in the link.

Programme Day 1 Pninit Russo-Netzer: A Philosophy of The Beauty and Gravity of Being Human | Israel Robert Stolorow: A Philosophy of Crumbling Metaphysical Illusion In Emotional Trauma | USA Marc Boaz: A Philosophy Exploring Neurodivergence, Trauma, and Dehumanization | UK Day 2 T Storm Heter: A Phi...

04/07/2024

“Man Plans, and God Laughs.” – old Yiddish adage
Life can throw a wrench into our best laid plans. This was a big year for me. It is my 40th birthday and I have set big plans for myself. As with many things in life, I faced unexpected changes and had to upend those plans and give up on some things I felt I needed to do for myself. I was reminded of my mortality and the unknowns of life. I had to face my limitations. I needed surgery and I needed to get it fast. At some point I asked myself, “Why me and why now?”. The immediate response I gave was “Why not?”. Life did not owe me anything. I was sad, disappointed and scared, yes. But who wouldn’t be? I did not deny myself these feelings because I needed them at the moment.
Yet, I was also reminded of what Frankl has famously said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” I chose to make the most of the situation and to work with what I had. I was reminded that we can choose to accept our limitations and pivot our lives towards other goals and ways of being. We can choose to make things work out regardless of how hard circumstances seem to be, provided we learn to surrender when we are faced with an immovable wall or accept that we are pushing into a dead end. Either way, we can choose our attitude and actions, actions that represent us and our values. I chose to accept and make do with what was given. “Nidawat ko sa gitugot.” You can too, if you choose to. Believe in yourself… I do… 😉

01/05/2024

Anger gets a bad rap. Anger is often misunderstood. Most people respond to anger too harshly. I often say that anger is not the issue but rather the expression of it. The expression will be experienced as noxious by others and will often be severely punished. It will feel like anger is always unwelcome and if we resort to it the world will invariably turn against us.

I urge you to reconsider though. When other unpleasant emotions are expressed they are often met with more empathy and understanding. Sadness gets a hug, Fear and Anxiety get re-assurance. Why can't there be the same consideration and space given for Anger? Why can't understanding be provided for Anger when expressed? Granted of course that it is not too explosive.

Anger is an emotional response that provides the energy for a person’s struggle to prevent the loss of important values. It is valid. It infuses a person with power when powerlessness is feared. It is however important to understand that it should be expressed in a manner that is not raw and destructive. This can be learned and practiced over time.

Remember, all of your feelings are valid. But NOT all of your actions are. You can learn to control your actions, you do not NEED to control your feelings... Believe in yourselves... I DO! ;)

26/04/2024

"Flowers are only flowers because they fall" - Toda Mariko

This is such a beautiful line. It alludes to the transient beauty of the sakura. These beautiful blossoms will fall and that makes them all the more beautiful. Beauty and impermanence, such is the nature of life. Life is fleeting, it is finite, that finiteness gives it more value. We fear the end, but that is what makes the life we have now, all the more valuable, precisely because it ends... Some might say "Flowers are pretty until they die." No, they are beautiful BECAUSE they die.

"But thankfully, the wind" - Ochiba-no-kata

Thankfully, meaning. Meaning makes life all the more beautiful and worthwhile. Life is a cycle. We are born, we grow, we bloom and peak, and we decline, then we die. This reminds me of a tombstone that has two significant dates, the birthday and the day of death. For me, there is a more important symbol, the dash, it symbolizes our entire life. That line is where we derive the meaning of the life we live.

Life is fleeting and impermanent, but thankfully, meaning. Seek or make meaning out of yours, believe in yourself, I DO... ;)

16/04/2024

Thank you FORWARD Publications for the feature.

14/04/2024

It is with deep gratitude that I write this post. I am in awe at the amount of support and pride I have seen from all of you, as I join you in celebrating this success. Personally, this is a major life career goal I have set a few years ago. I am grateful to all who have been instrumental in helping me climb this mountain. From the voices that challenged me not to settle but pursue this goal to the ends it will lead me, to the voices of encouragement and support and the voices of wisdom from whom I have truly grown both as a person and as a therapist, I am humbled by your generosity. I am an Existential-Humanistic therapist because I recognize we all struggle with freedom of choice, the quest for meaning or purpose, and the problems of isolation, suffering, guilt, anxiety, despair, and death. I hope to journey with you as we "stand naked in the storm called life" and struggle with you as we do so.
As I move forward, I would like to invite like-minded counselors and therapists who resonate with the Existential-Humanistic perspective in our region and our country to work with me and grow the presence of Existential psychology, counseling and psychotherapy so we can show the world that we too have an Existential presence. This is my dream and I hope to make it a reality.
To all my clients and potential clients, I see you... I journey with you... BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES, I DO....😉

14/04/2024

It is with deep gratitude that I write this post. I am in awe at the amount of support and pride I have seen from all of you, as I join you in celebrating this success. Personally, this is a major life career goal I have set a few years ago. I am grateful to all who have been instrumental in helping me climb this mountain. From the voices that challenged me not to settle but pursue this goal to the ends it will lead me, to the voices of encouragement and support and the voices of wisdom from whom I have truly grown both as a person and as a therapist, I am humbled by your generosity. I am an Existential-Humanistic therapist because I recognize we all struggle with freedom of choice, the quest for meaning or purpose, and the problems of isolation, suffering, guilt, anxiety, despair, and death. I hope to journey with you as we "stand naked in the storm called life" and struggle with you as we do so.

As I move forward, I would like to invite like-minded counselors and therapists who resonate with the Existential-Humanistic perspective in our region and our country to work with me and grow the presence of Existential psychology, counseling and psychotherapy so we can show the world that we too have an Existential presence. This is my dream and I hope to make it a reality.

To all my clients and potential clients, I see you... I journey with you... BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES, I DO....😉

| Congratulations to one of our professors under the Department of Psychology and Library Science for being the first and only Certified Existential-Humanistic Psychotherapist in the Philippines!

Vincent Thomas Evangelista also ranked third in the August 2016 Psychologist Licensure Examination. He is currently teaching Psychology students in USJ-R.