Episode 3: Today, as part of our 50th anniversary kick-off, I am thrilled to release my interview back in December with Saybrook’s first leader and co-founder, Dr. Eleanor Criswell. She is a powerhouse of ideas and transformational change, still going strong in the areas of mind-body therapies and humanistic practice. She talks about the early days of humanistic psychology along with Saybrook’s first iteration – the Humanistic Psychology Institute. I have every confidence you’ll find this episode engaging on multiple levels.
To learn more about Saybrook University, visit us online at saybrook.edu.
Dr. Criswell's Biography (Website: https://equinehannasomatics.org/eleanor-criswell)
Eleanor Criswell, EdD, C-IAYT, is emeritus professor of psychology Sonoma State University, where she taught for nearly 40 years. She has a Masters in Counseling and Guidance (University of Kentucky, 1961) and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Florida (1968). She is founding director of the Humanistic Psychology Institute (1970) (now Saybrook University, Oakland). Director of the Novato Institute for Somatic Research and Training, she has written Biofeedback and Somatics: Toward personal Evolution, How Yoga Works: An Introduction to Somatic Yoga, and edited Cram’s Introduction to Surface Electromyography. She is one of the pioneers in the field of biofeedback, yoga education in the United States, and somatics. She served as president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology (1976), Division 32 (1999-2000), and the International Association for Yoga Therapists (2010-2013). She founded Freeperson Press in 1975 to publish books relevant to the field of humanistic psychology. She is a California licensed psychologist and practices humanistic psychotherapy. She is originator of Somatic Yoga, Equine Hanna Somatics®, and Canine Hanna Somatics®. She conducts trainings in Hanna Somatic Education. In the past 59 years she has worked with thousands of students and clients, women and men—all from a humanistic orientation. She is the first recipient of the Eleanor Criswell Hanna Award for Outstanding Contributions to Women in Humanistic Psychology given by Division 32—the Society of Humanistic Psychology, American Psychological Association.