Facticity and Transcendence: Facilitating Authenticity and Value Creation in Existential Psychotherapy
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Presentation and Q & A
Location: LSC 1100 and/or Zoom link: Click Here
Faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the public welcome!
Presented by Dr. Alfredo F. Palacio, PhD – candidate for Clinical (Open Rank, Assistant-Associate) Professor, for Counseling (COUN)
This presentation presents arguments that meaning-making and authenticity are central tasks to the human experience that become centered in counseling. Students will explore the nature of our ontological freedom as the context of identity development and value creation. We will also consider the significant tension between our actualizing potential and the conditions of one’s daily life. We will explore how in cross counseling relationships authenticity cannot be understood apart from socio political barriers, drawing on the work of Fanon, Du Bois and Beauvoir, to show how colonialism racism and patriarchy can distort agency and self-definition. Students will learn skills needed to conceptualize cases from this lens and use help their counseling relationships become spaces for liberation, self-definition, and the shared expansion of freedom.
A brief bio for Dr. Alfredo F. Palacios:
Dr. Alfredo Palacios is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, a practicing clinician, educator and researcher. In his practice, he sees adults and youth, employing a humanistic-existential approach to counseling. His scholarship focuses on social emotional learning, and mindfulness-based interventions for youth. In addition, his conceptual scholarship aims to challenge forms of existential and humanistic theorem as to include broader relevance for diverse client populations and other ethical circumstances. He is the host and producer of the Theory of Change Podcast discussing sociological and philosophical issues relevant to the helping professions.
Dr. Alfredo F Palacios’s CV can be found here. Please note that certain personal information has been redacted.
Please arrive and/or log on to Zoom a few minutes prior to the presentation as we will start promptly.
Please share your feedback by Thursday, April 2nd using the below short survey link: https://ucdenverdata.formstack.com/forms/candidate_feedback_form