About Franco E. Santos

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Franco E. Santos, or Frank to some of his friends, is a graduate student working on his Master of Arts degree in Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy at Phillips Graduate Institute in Encino, California. Franco received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from California State University, Northridge (CSUN).

Currently, Franco E. Santos is a Marriage and Family Therapy Trainee at the Pacific Asian Counseling Services in Van Nuys, California.

Theoretical Orientation: Franco was greatly influenced by Dr. Roger Moss of Cal. State Northridge as an undergraduate. Dr. Roger Moss emphasized existentialism in his teachings, which Franco has adapted and practiced in his own life.

As a way of life, Existential theory places great importance on the here and now. It requires the acknowledgment that life is passing and to attain happiness, one must stop and appreciate the beauty of one’s surroundings, to choose one’s company, to consciously partake in everything that life has to offer rather than allow the self to be lulled into a false sense of security that life is everlasting. By taking an active role in life along with all its little nuances and decision making, the person cease to become a victim of his environment but a co-author of his new, meaningful life.

An Existential life does not only require the person to appreciate the surrounding, it also dictates an honest interaction with others. Simply put, if you knew that this moment is the last moment you have with your loved one, would you not hug a little tighter, cry a little harder, laugh a little louder? To practice the aforesaid in your interaction with friends and loved ones, which Franco calls the Long Goodbye, has the effect of making one’s relationships closer and more meaningful — with each hello an opportunity to rejoice, with each parting an opportunity to say how much one appreciates the other.

In Therapy: While Existential living is the aspiration, most clients are not in the stage of their lives that make Existentialism a good theory to deal with the multitude of problems that clients bring into the sessions.

More often, how we deal with stressors and how we interact with significant people in our lives are learned from our family of origin.

TO BE CONTINUED…