Dr Marc Boaz
Marc is an existential psychotherapist, clinical and research supervisor working in Brighton (UK) and online (UK, Europe and internationally). He is also a visiting Professor of Mental Health and Psychotherapy at the University of Northampton, UK, a visiting Senior Research Fellow (Hon) at the University of Sussex, UK, and teaches at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC), UK. Marc is an author of works on interpersonal trauma, childhood adversity and neurodivergence.
He is a former founding member of the UK Trauma Council (hosted by the UK charity Anna Freud). Marc has a background in social research and social policy, having been a director in the UK charity and public sectors focusing on mental health, disability, health and youth. He has worked with Governments, public sector bodies and NGOs (in the UK, Europe, and internationally) on legislative and policy reform, approaches to research and insight, engagement and involvement, and service change.
Marc’s latest book explores psychotherapeutic approaches to working with people’s experiences of trauma: An Existential Approach to Interpersonal Trauma (Routledge, 2022), and is consolidated in his contribution to an edited collection on existential-phenomenological insights into post-traumatic growth (Routledge, 2025), an edited collection on rediscovering existential wellness in the wake of trauma (Ethics International Press, 2026) and two forthcoming collections (2027/8).
Existential Psychotherapy
Making space for what it means to be human.
I offer existential psychotherapy in person (Brighton and Hove) and online (UK, Europe and internationally) to provide a thoughtful, non-judgemental space to explore what is happening in your life, deepen your understanding of yourself, and find new ways of approaching life's challenges.
Primarily I work with people who have experienced trauma (particularly neglect and sexual violence), dissociation, facing existential and life crises, and/or have complex family relationships.
Existential psychotherapy offers a relationship where you can explore these experiences at your own pace, and understand their impacts on your sense of yourself, others, and the world around you. Therapy is not about having all the answers. It is about exploring questions you have about your life, making sense of your experiences, and discovering ways of living with more meaning and purpose, and in ways that feel right for you.
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Clinical supervision
I offer existential-phenomenological clinical supervision for counselling psychotherapists, psychotherapists and counsellors.
My practice focuses on supporting practitioners working predominantly with clients who have experiences of:
trauma and dissociation - particularly sexual violence, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, abuse and neglect.
relationships and psychosexual concerns - specifically around trauma-related impacts.
familial complexity.
existential and life crises.
neurodivergence - particularly autism, ADHD and complex presentations.
With colleagues I have also co-developed a specific approach to existential-phenomenological clinical supervision, which focuses on the incorporation of movement and somatic processes in psychotherapeutic practice and relationships.
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Research and supervision
Marc is a visiting Professor of Mental Health and Psychotherapy at the University of Northampton, UK, a visiting Senior Research Fellow (Hon) at the University of Sussex, UK, and teaches at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC), UK.
He is best known for his work on existential approaches to interpersonal trauma, having published academic books, articles and papers in the field. Marc continues to research and write on issues surrounding sexual violence and trauma, with a new edited collection due to be published in 2028 (Routledge). He continues to supervise doctoral and masters students in counselling psychology, psychotherapy and allied professions who focus on trauma (especially sexual violence, intimate partner violence and domestic violence) and familial complexity.
Additionally, he has written and taught on existential and critical phenomenological approaches to neurodivergence. He is also currently editing a collection focused on formulation, bringing together the wide variety of traditions within existential psychologies, psychotherapies, counselling, and therapies, which is due for publication in 2027 (SEA).
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In addition to being a doctoral research supervisor at both the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC) and Metanoia (accredited by Middlesex University), Marc offers independent research supervision for masters and doctoral research students, and established researchers in the fields of sociology, psychology, psychotherapy, social policy and social work. He has further acted as an internal and external examiner for doctoral vivas in counselling psychology, clinical psychology, psychotherapy (by professional studies) and health and social care.
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Existential movement practice and psychotherapy
All of our existence emerges from movement, and our moving bodies are the means by which we have a self, relate to others and experience the world around us.
Frequently we find ourselves grappling with questions, dilemmas and experiences that are indescribable and cannot be put into words. Existential movement psychotherapy starts with your non-verbal, felt-sense of your moving body.
I offer existential movement psychotherapy in person (Brighton and Hove), and primarily I work with people who have experienced trauma (particularly neglect and sexual violence), dissociation, facing existential and life crises, and/or have complex family relationships.
Existential movement psychotherapy offers a relationship where you can explore these experiences through a greater sense of your body-in-movement, and through our movement dialogues. There is no right or wrong way to move. You don’t need to be a dancer or have any previous experience in movement to do existential movement therapy. The work begins wherever you are, with curiosity, openness and respect for your own pace.
In addition to existential movement psychotherapy, I have developed a range of existential movement practices and have delivered PlayFight workshops, which more specifically explore the relationships between play, assertion and aggression, including the thresholds and boundaries within these.
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Existential movement psychotherapy
Existential movement practices
image © Ian Hodgson
