In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Kirk Schneider, an integrative existential psychotherapist.  He shares the early experiences he had that later shaped his approach to his psychotherapy practice.  He describes the impact of his older brother’s untimely death that led him to his first visit to a psychoanalyst at the age of 6. Though he managed this early trauma fairly well, he had a nervous breakdown in graduate school that led to panic attacks and cognitive distortions. Through his work with an existential therapist, Dr. Ann Gustin, he was able to heal and move from terror to curiosity to possibility.

Dr. Kirk Schneider is a leading spokesperson for existential-humanistic and existential-integrative psychotherapy.  He is an adjunct faculty at Saybrook University and Teachers College, Columbia University.   He is also the author or coauthor of 14 books, including Existential-Humanistic Therapy (with Orah Krug), Awakening to Awe, and his most recent book Life-Enhancing Anxiety: Key to a Sane World. For more information, visit: https://kirkjschneider.com/