The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life
- Downloads：4505
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-12 20:21:01
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Mark Epstein
- ISBN：B092LCZCW7
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A remarkable exploration of the therapeutic relationship， Dr。 Mark Epstein reflects on one year's worth of therapy sessions during which he brought together his years of experience with Western psychotherapy and his equally long investigation into Buddhism to understand how the practices， in tandem， can lead to even greater awareness - for his patients， and for himself
For years， Dr。 Mark Epstein was careful not to let his spiritual leanings as a Buddhist overtly intrude into his work as a psychiatrist。 Content to use his training in mindfulness as a private resource， letting it guide the way he listened to his patients， he hoped that the Buddhist influence on his work would remain invisible。 But as he became more forthcoming about the spiritual aspects of his thinking， he was surprised to find that many of his patients were in fact eager to learn more， and he soon realized that the divisions between the psychological， emotional， and the spiritual were not as distinct as one might think。
In The Zen of Therapy， Dr。 Epstein reflects on a year's worth of selected sessions with patients and examines how， in the incidental details of a given hour， his Buddhist background influences the way he works。 In this cross-section of life in his office， he emphasizes how therapy， an element of Western medicine， can in fact be seen as a two-person meditation。 Meditation and psychotherapy each encourage a willingness to face life's difficulties with courage that can be hard to otherwise muster。 Mindfulness， too， much like a good therapist， can hold our awareness for us - and allow us to come to our senses。 With practice and patience， as awareness becomes dominant， and the observing mind becomes stronger than that which is being observed， a change can occur， and with it a wellspring of positive and life affirming energy。
Diving deep into dialogues with his patients， describing sessions in real time， and then explaining the thinking behind his own words and behavior， Epstein shows how the actuality of our being is not always something we have an easy time making room for。 But the Buddhist practices of meditation and mindfulness， like therapy， can help us find peace。 A chronicle of deeply personal inquiry， one which weaves together the wisdom of two worlds， Dr。 Epstein illuminates the therapy relationship as spiritual friendship， and reveals how a therapist， as a spiritual friend， can help patients cultivate the sense that there is something magical， something wonderful， and something to trust running through our lives， no matter how fraught they have been or might become。 For when we realize how readily we have misconstrued our selves， when we stop clinging to our falsely conceived constructs， when we touch the ground of being， we come home。
For years， Dr。 Mark Epstein was careful not to let his spiritual leanings as a Buddhist overtly intrude into his work as a psychiatrist。 Content to use his training in mindfulness as a private resource， letting it guide the way he listened to his patients， he hoped that the Buddhist influence on his work would remain invisible。 But as he became more forthcoming about the spiritual aspects of his thinking， he was surprised to find that many of his patients were in fact eager to learn more， and he soon realized that the divisions between the psychological， emotional， and the spiritual were not as distinct as one might think。
In The Zen of Therapy， Dr。 Epstein reflects on a year's worth of selected sessions with patients and examines how， in the incidental details of a given hour， his Buddhist background influences the way he works。 In this cross-section of life in his office， he emphasizes how therapy， an element of Western medicine， can in fact be seen as a two-person meditation。 Meditation and psychotherapy each encourage a willingness to face life's difficulties with courage that can be hard to otherwise muster。 Mindfulness， too， much like a good therapist， can hold our awareness for us - and allow us to come to our senses。 With practice and patience， as awareness becomes dominant， and the observing mind becomes stronger than that which is being observed， a change can occur， and with it a wellspring of positive and life affirming energy。
Diving deep into dialogues with his patients， describing sessions in real time， and then explaining the thinking behind his own words and behavior， Epstein shows how the actuality of our being is not always something we have an easy time making room for。 But the Buddhist practices of meditation and mindfulness， like therapy， can help us find peace。 A chronicle of deeply personal inquiry， one which weaves together the wisdom of two worlds， Dr。 Epstein illuminates the therapy relationship as spiritual friendship， and reveals how a therapist， as a spiritual friend， can help patients cultivate the sense that there is something magical， something wonderful， and something to trust running through our lives， no matter how fraught they have been or might become。 For when we realize how readily we have misconstrued our selves， when we stop clinging to our falsely conceived constructs， when we touch the ground of being， we come home。
Reviews
Lorena
，
In The Zen of Therapy， Psychiatrist Dr。 Mark Epstein elucidates how Buddhism and meditation have informed his psychotherapy practice。 It’s a very personal story， and I would classify it more as memoir than anything else。 Dr。 Epstein describes some of his relevant academic experience and influences， then the bulk of the book is him sharing notes on some of his therapy sessions with patients。 The emphasis is on his evolving thoughts about how his Buddhism affects his therapeutic relationships。 He In The Zen of Therapy， Psychiatrist Dr。 Mark Epstein elucidates how Buddhism and meditation have informed his psychotherapy practice。 It’s a very personal story， and I would classify it more as memoir than anything else。 Dr。 Epstein describes some of his relevant academic experience and influences， then the bulk of the book is him sharing notes on some of his therapy sessions with patients。 The emphasis is on his evolving thoughts about how his Buddhism affects his therapeutic relationships。 He frequently references Buddhist teaching stories， Zen koans， poetry， music， and art。I found the book interesting， although I wish the discussion of therapy sessions was either shorter or more detailed。 I felt like some of the discussion was going over my head。 I loved the author’s explanation of mindfulness and different types of meditation and his comments on gurus。 I enjoyed some of the poems he shared。 My favorite parts were when Dr。 Epstein discusses his interactions with Ram Dass。 Those sections were much easier for me to understand and relate to， and some of that imagery is likely to stick with me。 Also， I appreciated the emphasis on kindness and how transformative noninterfering attentiveness can be。If you are interested in Buddhism and psychotherapy， and you think you might enjoy a somewhat meandering exploration of how one psychiatrist is integrating the two， then I would recommend this book。Thanks to Penguin Press for providing me with an unproofed ARC through NetGalley， which I volunteered to review。 。。。more
Ryan
，
I’ve read Mark Epstein’s books and listened to his interviews for years。 His thinking has fascinated me and been helpful not only in my practice as a therapist， but also in my private life。In The Zen of Therapy he explains how became interested in Buddhism， psychiatry， and then blended the two into his therapeutic approach。 For years he made a point to avoid using Buddhism openly with his patients。 However， when they started inquiring about it while in therapy， he made a choice to openly discuss I’ve read Mark Epstein’s books and listened to his interviews for years。 His thinking has fascinated me and been helpful not only in my practice as a therapist， but also in my private life。In The Zen of Therapy he explains how became interested in Buddhism， psychiatry， and then blended the two into his therapeutic approach。 For years he made a point to avoid using Buddhism openly with his patients。 However， when they started inquiring about it while in therapy， he made a choice to openly discuss it with them。 I really enjoyed his session notes， the deep dives into the process， and how applicable it is not only to the therapeutic process， but also to real life。Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Press for an ARC of this book。 。。。more
Joan Bechtold
，
Thie Zen of Therapy is an uneven read。 The book didn't hang together well， and by the end you learn that the relationship between Zen Buddhism and psychotherapy is really quite simple， and did not really justify all that had gone before。 There are moments where I found Dr。 Epstein to be quite insightful -- particularly when discussing patient sessions involving anger/aggression and mindfulness。 However， at other times I felt as if I was reading a book written in the nineteenth century by Freud o Thie Zen of Therapy is an uneven read。 The book didn't hang together well， and by the end you learn that the relationship between Zen Buddhism and psychotherapy is really quite simple， and did not really justify all that had gone before。 There are moments where I found Dr。 Epstein to be quite insightful -- particularly when discussing patient sessions involving anger/aggression and mindfulness。 However， at other times I felt as if I was reading a book written in the nineteenth century by Freud or Jung or any of their other white male acolytes。 For example， there are undoubtedly examples of "injured innocence" that are rooted in feelings of inadequacy caused by parental failings， and both meditation and psychotherapy can help the patient work through that process。 However， what about the many examples of "injured innocence" rooted in socioeconomic circumstances where women and people of color feel inadequate because they are paid significantly less than white men and are in fact demeaned and told that they are worth less？ This is a political injustice that creates a felt experience of inequality， and not a personal problem to resolve/detach from in therapy。 I was equally shocked by Dr。 Epstein's sincere discussion of "male" and "female" elements within each person that simply mimic tired stereotypes of female passivity in order to justify gender inequality。 Ironically， the most enlightening portions of the book involve the often-cryptic quotes from Ram Dass -- such as "we are all walking each other home" -- which linger beyond the pages， A begrudging 3。5 out of 5 starsThanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Lorraine
，
All Exists WithinThank you Penguin Press for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication。 I did enjoy the first part of the book - mindfulness is definitely my bag。 Unfortunately I didn't get to finish it before access was removed。I highlighted lots of passages and will sing row， row， row your boat toward my inner peace。 Life is but a dream！ All Exists WithinThank you Penguin Press for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication。 I did enjoy the first part of the book - mindfulness is definitely my bag。 Unfortunately I didn't get to finish it before access was removed。I highlighted lots of passages and will sing row， row， row your boat toward my inner peace。 Life is but a dream！ 。。。more
Toni
，
This book is about the combination of using Spiritual， Emotional and Buddhist practices in psychotherapy sessions。 I liked the authors background history of bringing Transcendental Meditation （TM） from the Beatles and a Guru into medical practice。Examples of using Buddhist philosophy within counseling were very well done and therapists will like being able to go back and look in this book for references。I am grateful to NetGalley， the Publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and revi This book is about the combination of using Spiritual， Emotional and Buddhist practices in psychotherapy sessions。 I liked the authors background history of bringing Transcendental Meditation （TM） from the Beatles and a Guru into medical practice。Examples of using Buddhist philosophy within counseling were very well done and therapists will like being able to go back and look in this book for references。I am grateful to NetGalley， the Publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book。 It will be one that becomes well used。 It published on 1/11/2022 。。。more
Annie McDonnell
，
It’s nice to read a new book on how to be present， I was so impressed when he spoke with Ram Dass， enlightened people have so much to share with us。 I was moved。I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review。
Bharath
，