We are continuing our Global Conversations in the first half of 2022 and this time our existential figures will be joining us from various countries in Asia. In March each will join us on a Thursday evening for a 90 minute conversation on a topic of passion for them. From their home city, they will converse with Alison Strasser for 45 minutes on their topic of choice. This will be followed by discussion in small breakout rooms then a Q & A session for the last 30 minutes. Join one or, better still, take the package of all 4 conversations for a range of thought-provoking, horizon-broadening perspectives.
MARCH 2022
Magdalen Cheng
AUTHENTICITY: What does it mean for Asians to be authentic?
direct from Singapore via zoom
Thur 10 MAR 2022 7.00 to 8.30pm AEDT
Magdalen is fascinated by whether authenticity is a universal value and what it means for Asians to be authentic. Our modern understanding of authenticity is that it encourages us to be true to ourselves and express ourselves honestly and transparently. Yet, collectivistic values such as harmony and filial piety make it difficult for many Asians to express themselves honestly. Very often, in Asian cultures, expressing oneself in full honesty can lead to unpleasant consequences in the family, workplace or school. Magdalen will be sharing the day-to-day life of Singaporean millennials’ navigating having a voice in a collectivist society. She will posit that we can choose to be silent and remain authentic and will suggest that authenticity is not an ontic measurement, rather it is a part of our ontological existence.
Mark Yang, PsyD
EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE WAY OF THE TAO
direct from Beijing, China via zoom
Thurs 17 MAR 2022 7.00 to 8.30pm AEDT
Many existential and humanistic scholars have been drawn to Taoist principles because of its resonance with the tenets of existentialism. Indeed, existential thought has existed in the form of the Tao in China for over 2,500 years. Mark will share how his passion for existential psychology led him to return to his cultural roots, back to the study of Taoism including concepts such as Wu Wei (non-intentional intentionality) non-interference, respect for natural law, harmony, attunement, emptiness, stillness, relative gradation and following the client’s lead.
Evone Phoo
DEATH AND MOURNING: through the lens of an Agnostic- Buddhist
direct from Selangor, Malaysia via zoom
Thursday 24 MAR 7.00 to 8.30pm AEDT
Mourning a death is one of the most difficult things we go through and tends to be heavily influenced by our culture and religion. As an agnostic, Evone used not to think much about funeral rituals. But when she lost someone close to her, she started seeing the rituals through a different lens and found herself embracing those rituals which her agnostic self might consider illogical. Drawing on her experience as a therapist and from existential psychology, Evone gained a new appreciation for Buddhist rituals and the ways in which they can shape our grieving process.
Kripi Malviya
EXISTENTIAL GIVENS: Western and South Asian perspectives
direct from Delhi, India via zoom
Thursday 31 March 2022 7.00 to 8.30pm AEDT
Our understanding of the existential givens is influenced by our socio-cultural background. Kripi will compare and contrast the relationship to worldview and values in Western and South Asian cultures. In doing this, she hopes to shed light on how these givens are understood and inhabited in the Indian culture where the collective, rather than the individual, is the prevailing form of being-in-the-world. Trained in traditional psychology and overlaying that with her phenomenological and existential understanding, Kripi will speak about her experience of the therapeutic relationship within the ‘collective’ culture in which she practises. She will discuss her belief that therapy helps in the practice of living and can draw out a more expressive sense of self, irrespective of where we come from. Ultimately, Kripi believes that the existential relational approach is one that unites us all as humans.
The Details
Dates: See above for each respective conversation
Time: 7.00pm to 8.30pm AEDT. Please join at 6.45pm to iron out any technical issues
Location: online via zoom (registrants will receive an invitation to participate and all the details they require in advance of the date)
CPD Hours: 1.5 for each conversation
Cost: $100 – for each conversation (flat rate in AUD)
Package:
Cost: $300 (flat rate in AUD) – package of all 4 conversations
Biographies
Magdalen Cheng is a Singapore-based existential-phenomenological psychotherapist and counsellor. She specialises in working with clients who are going through life transitions. She is currently completing a Doctorate in Psychotherapy and Counselling at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, UK, and has a special interest in understanding how a western philosophy like existentialism could be useful in an Asian culture. Magdalen’s area of interest is in using hermeneutic phenomenology as a way of understanding people’s experiences. This eventually led to her research interest in the Singaporean millennial’s experience of authenticity. Magdalen also aspires to promote existential therapy in Singapore. On her days off, Magdalen hones her carpentry and ironmongery crafts, where she turns trash into treasure.
Mark Yang, PsyD is an American licensed clinical psychologist and is actively involved in the training and supervision of psychology students from the Existential-Humanistic perspective throughout Asia. Dr. Yang is currently based in Beijing and has been instrumental in establishing Existential-Humanistic Psychology as a major orientation in the rapidly developing mental health landscape in China. Dr. Yang was an Adjunct Professor at Saybrook University and the Director of Clinical Training at the California School of Professional Psychology’s Hong Kong Campus. His professional interests include: Existential Psychology, Individual and Group Psychotherapy, Grief and Bereavement Counseling, Legal and Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice and Cross-Cultural Psychology. Dr. Yang is the author of the book Lighting the Candle: Taoist Principles in Supervision Conducted from an Existential-Humanistic Perspective. He is also the editor of the book Existential Psychology and the Way of the Tao: Meditations on the Writings of Zhuangzi and the co-editor of the books Existential Psychology: East-West Volumes 1 & 2. Dr. Yang was born in Taiwan and migrated to the United States when he was nine years old. He is also a dog and cat lover.
Evone Phoo MClinical Psych (HELP) BSc (App Psych) First Class Hons (Coventry) BBus (Banking & Fin & Econ) (QUT)
Evone served in the banking industry for four years before taking the leap to clinical psychology. Throughout her training and career as a Clinical Psychologist, Evone has practiced in government hospitals, psychiatric clinic, and private counselling centres. Currently, Evone is a senior lecturer and the Deputy Head of Psychology Department at HELP University. She is also a practising clinical psychologist, and mainly works within the Existential and Psychoanalytic framework in psychotherapy. Evone finds joy in the kitchen, a place where she creates and provides; and in the company of her loving husband.
Kripi Malviya is a psychologist, existential psychotherapist and poet with a Masters in Clinical Psychology and an International Certification in Addiction Counselling and Training. Over the last decade, she has worked with adolescents, adults, couples and families with multi-disciplinary teams of international professionals from a variety of cultures and therapeutic backgrounds. Kripi promotes and facilitates the reciprocal connection and relationship between creativity and mental health. Her research and practice interests include trauma/abuse informed care, social justice-led interventions, wellbeing for artists and harm reduction. She is also the founder of SAETA (South Asian Existential Therapy Alliance); leading the movement of creating a foundation of existentially informed therapies in the Asian subcontinent.