Max Karlin

Becoming Existential

Health EN ↓ 6 episodes

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.

Author

Max Karlin

Episodes

Therapy Is Alchemy - Paulo Ribeiro on Blindness, Embodiment and Presence 24.05.2026 1:11:22

Paulo Ribeiro lost his sight after a near-death experience and discovered a new way of seeing. On embodiment, alchemy, and presence. What happens when a therapist can't see their client? Paulo Ribeiro is an existential psychotherapist and senior clinical supervisor at Headstrong Counselling in London. He holds a BA in Social Communication, an MA in Integrative Psychotherapy, and is completing...

Presence Over Technique: An Existential Dialogue with Paola Pomponi 25.03.2026 37:01

In this conversation with Paola Pomponi, we explore what existential therapy really means — not just as a theory, but as a way of being with others. We talk about therapist training, authenticity, absurdity, everyday existential encounters, and why humor may be one of the deepest forms of connection. Paola reflects on what first drew her into existential therapy, including the impact of reading Ir...

Ernesto Spinelli: What Is Therapy Really For? 25.01.2026 58:24

Professor Ernesto Spinelli - one of the founders of the existential psychotherapy in the UK, author of foundational texts including The Interpreted World and Practising Existential Therapy, and one of the most influential voices in the field globally. WE DISCUSS: [02:00] "An old man with a young mind" — Ernesto on aging and unfinished projects [05:00] How he "fell into" existen...

Bound and Free - Claire Arnold-Baker on Paradox, Responsibility & Existential Therapy 01.12.2025 44:13

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 organisationa...

Persefoni Kaltaki on Learning, Changing and the Path Toward Practice 15.11.2025 37:51

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...

The Gift of Presence with Kirk Schneider, PhD 23.10.2025 45:51

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 beyo...