WCP 2025

Every form of psychotherapy is grounded in a psychological theory. Each approach is anchored in a specific model of the human psyche, establishing its own conceptions of psychological development, the origins of disorders, and the most effective methods for psychological transformation. The choice of a theoretical foundation is not merely methodological but also philosophical, as it defines the therapist’s perspective on human nature and the capacity for change. Phenomenological psychology, developed by Edmund Husserl and furthered by Edith Stein, provides a foundation that transcends the naturalistic, psychologistic, and reductionist models predominant in psychotherapy. Unlike traditional approaches, which often assume fixed diagnostic categories or naturalized psychic structures, phenomenological psychology proposes a rigorous investigation of lived experience. It employs epoché and psychology reduction as methodological tools to uncover the ways in which psychic consciousness is constituted. This workshop will explore key ideas in phenomenological psychology, presenting it not as just another therapeutic approach but as a radical rethinking of how the psyche is understood. Furthermore, it aims to establish phenomenology as a secure and rigorous foundation for psychotherapeutic practice - one that is deeply committed to lived experience, not as a mere technique or therapeutic style, but as a path toward a genuine understanding of psychological experience.