Contemplative Psychotherapy
If clients ask, I tell them that I am a contemplative psychotherapist. What does this mean? It means that I listen and respond out of a contemplative, loving, compassionate space.
If clients ask, I tell them that I am a contemplative psychotherapist. What does this mean? It means that I listen and respond out of a contemplative, loving, compassionate space.
Experiencing pain is part of life. Suffering is inevitable, but how we respond to it is our choice. The goal in therapy is not to try and eliminate the unpleasant and painful aspects of our life.
In a marriage or intimate relationship, our partner or spouse is like a mirror for us, reflecting back to us our best and our worst selves, hopefully in a way that we can receive it.
Abba Poeman, one of the early Desert Fathers in the Christian spiritual tradition wrote, “Teach your mouth to say what is in your heart.” Prayer in this spiritual tradition is described as bringing one’s thinking down into the heart.
Meditation is noticing the breath, thereby slowing and eventually even stilling the thought waves of the mind. Meditation calms the mind, creates a relaxed, observant state that leads to greater sense of peacefulness and purpose.