3rd World Congress of Existential Psychotherapy
ATHENS | May 3–6, 2023
Living in the Here and Now!








Embracing Our Roots, Creating Our Future
Amidst an atmosphere of deep emotion and enthusiasm, the 3rd World Congress of Existential Psychotherapy concluded on Saturday, May 6, 2023. For the first time as “Gignesthai,” we had the opportunity and joy to host such a significant event in our small country, where over 600 participants from 48 different corners of the world came together to form a unique human mosaic, overflowing with both sensation and knowledge.
Heraclitus states that “everything flows and nothing stands still” and that “one cannot step twice into the same river,” explaining not only that the river’s water flows but also that people change from one moment to the next. Our existence is always rooted in the present, encompassing our entire biological and social prehistory. At the same time, while existence contains the past, it envisions and moves toward the future — a future that humans do not simply approach but actively create through their inherent freedom. Past, present, and future unfold within a continuous flow. Heraclitus further asserts that beginnings and endings merge within the cycle, and every human being possesses the capacity for self-awareness.
In the here-and-now of the Congress days, with the full energy of accompanying emotions, the concepts and values of Existential Psychotherapy emerged from every direction, as did the demands of a differentiated human stance in the world we inhabit — cooperation, care, tenderness, kindness, empathy, joy, humanity, love, spirituality, creativity, humor, and also courage and bravery in the face of existential anxiety, which accompanies the human condition and vulnerability amid the uncertain and unpredictable human journey, which, as always, comes to an end somewhere. In this sense, the Congress was not only a reflection on a cycle that concluded but also a moment of forward-looking contemplation — an opportunity to deeply reflect on our existential condition and the ways in which we engage with fundamental questions of human anxiety, as well as our potential for creativity and love. And perhaps finally, a feeling of gratitude for the gift of existence itself, for the opportunity to share this experience with the unique people we encountered during these few, yet immensely precious, days.






A large portion of the presentations from the main lectures of the Congress has been recorded and is available on the “Gignesthai” YouTube channel. Additional information and printed materials can also be found on the official Congress website: www.existentialworldcongress2023.gr
THE CONGRESS WAS HELD UNDER THE AUSPICES, KIND SUPPORT AND SPONSORSHIP OF THE FOLLOWING
