The contribution of the British School of Existential Analysis and Psychotherapy

The first conference of the society was held on 3 December 1988, just two weeks before a huge crisis hit Regent’s College. This was the Lockerbie plane bombing, in which a number of Regent’s College students died. The awfulness and sadness of their young deaths was to be a strong motivation in establishing an existential approach that could face human and existential issues head on in a spirit of openness and mutual respect. Gradually the momentum around this new therapeutic approach gathered force. The British School became particularly known for its emphasis on the philosophical roots of the existential approach in a radical manner. It generated many publications and influenced the creation of existential training programmes across many countries of Europe and even in other parts of the world.