Contemplative Psychotherapy

Contemplative Psychotherapy, develped by Tringpa Rinpoche, is a union of Eastern Buddhist techniques and modern Western practices of psychotherapy. Learning to maintain a present state regardless of our current circumstances is the basis for productive psychotherapy. Being able to enter this state and realize the elements of our inner selves is at the core of contemplative psychotherapy. The true events as we experience them create a portal to our own self-awareness, acceptance, and willingness to create change.

• Differences Between Mainstream and Contemplative Psychotherapies
• Therapist Role in Contemplative Psychotherapy
• Resources Related to Contemplative Psychotherapy

Differences Between Mainstream and Contemplative Psychotherapies

Mainstream psychotherapy targets an individual’s pain source and treats the indications of that pain by altering the unwanted emotional symptoms. However, Contemplative Psychotherapy considers our introspective knowing as acutely refined and beneficial, but deems that healing occurs when the obstacles that bar that knowing are removed. Circumstances from past traumas or other emotional wounds can quickly and effectively present inner walls that prevent that wisdom from reaching the level of our consciousness needed to affect healing. The goal of this form of therapy is to free oneself from pain by awakening ourselves and experiencing the moment and our role in it wholly and completely.

Therapist Role in Contemplative Psychotherapy

The primary focus of Contemplative Psychotherapy is one's relationship with self. Additionally, the clinician will guide the individual to address how they interact with others, while maintaining their sense of self and continuing to acknowledge their own strengths, needs, and wants. In addition to having an education in traditional psychology, clinicians who practice Contemplative Psychotherapy are trained in the theories of mindfulness and awareness taken from Buddhism. The therapist gains the ability to reach within the depth of the mind while maintaining an awareness of the present. Buddhist theories on pain suggest that one tends to distract themselves in order to avoid the true experience they are enduring. The idea of external conformity drives the client to dilute their experience in order to achieve a social status quo. The therapist’s role is to assist the client to clarify their authentic experience.

Resources Related to Contemplative Psychotherapy:

Naropa University - MA in Psychology: Contemplative Psychotherapy

Contemplative Psychotherapy.net

Wikipedia's Page about Contemplative Psychotherapy