Existential Dialogue 2026: "Art" with Dr. Yaqui Martinez

Existential Dialogues 2026: "A Chorus of Voices"

Topic: "Art" between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Dr. Yaqui Martinez.

“In many ways, existential therapy can be seen as an artistic practice. Just as art does not aim to explain or fix life but to reveal its depth and complexity, existential therapy is not about applying rigid techniques but about opening space for human existence to unfold in its richness. Both the artist and the therapist engage with the mystery of being, working with presence, sensitivity, and creativity. Art teaches us how to look more closely at ourselves and at the world, to hold ambiguity, and to encounter beauty and tragedy as part of the same fabric of existence. In this sense, the therapeutic relationship, like the artistic process, becomes a space where truth, freedom, and transformation may emerge. This reflection is part of a broader dialogue opened by the recent book on the theme, published by the Society for Existential Analysis, authored by Gianfranco Buffardi and Yaqui A. Martínez-Robles.

How can we understand art from an existential perspective?What does it mean to approach therapy as an art form rather than a science?How does the encounter with art prepare us for the therapeutic encounter?Can we, as therapists, allow ourselves to be as vulnerable and creative as artists in front of their canvas?And what might emerge in therapy if we embraced ambiguity not as a problem, but as a path toward discovery” – Dr. Yaqui Martinez.

Dr. Yaqui A. Martínez-Robles is a psychologist with Masters, PhD and PsyD in Psychotherapy. He has training in Gestalt Therapy; Music Therapy; Transpersonal Psychology and Holotropic Breathwork (with the Grof Transpersonal Training Association); Narrative and postmodern therapies and Social Constructionism; and in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (with the Integrative Psychiatry Institute and MAPS-Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies). He is the author of four books, and co-author of another four, focused on the existential perspective. He has participated with chapters in several books and with articles in several journals. Yaqui is the founder of the Circle of Studies in Existential Therapy, in Mexico City and in Medellin, Colombia,. He teaches existential-phenomenological psychology and therapy in Mexico and different countries of South America. He is honorary president of the Latin American Association of Existential Psychotherapy (ALPE). He works in private practice as an existential-phenomenological therapist, in modalities one-on-one, couples and groups

Recommended readings for “Art”:

Gianfrranco Buffardi & Yaqui Andres Martínez-Robles (2023). DIALOGUES ON THE PLACE OF CREATIVITY IN EXISTENTIAL THERAPY. The Society for Existential Analysis. London

Visit our website to see the Full Programme.