Bringing together leading scholars, scientists, and clinicians, this compelling volume explores how therapists can cultivate wisdom and compassion in themselves and their clients. Chapters describe how combining insights from ancient contemplative practices and modern research can enhance the treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma, substance abuse, suicidal behavior, couple conflict, and parenting stress. Seamlessly edited, the book features numerous practical exercises and rich clinical examples. It examines whether wisdom and compassion can be measured objectively, what they look like in the therapy relationship, their role in therapeutic change, and how to integrate them into treatment planning and goal setting. The book includes a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
This book explores the way in which loving kindness, contained within professional boundaries of practice, is essential to the building of trust necessary to the psychotherapy relationship. Arguing that loving kindness has both biological and ethical relevance in assisting recovery from the trauma of emotional injury, Heather Reeves brings forth a renewed philosophical and cultural discourse about its importance in professional work with vulnerable people. The philosophical premise of the book is the concept of alterity, or awareness of the subjective reality of others, developed by Emmanuel Levinas and expressed in psychotherapy theories since the mid-twentieth century. Understandings drawn from attachment theory, affective neuroscience and psychodynamic psychotherapy are applied to case studies (one of them written by a client) from the author’s practice and themes from literature and biography, including the long-term impact of the Covid pandemic. Loving Kindness in Psychotherapy will appeal to psychotherapists, counsellors and other mental health professionals as well as a range of other readers, including medical and palliative care professionals, educators, clergy, theologians and philosophers.
Loving-kindness, the English translation of the Pali word metta, is defined as unconditional well-wishing and openhearted nurturing of ourselves and others, just as we are. By practicing loving-kindness, you can learn to treat yourself and others-even strangers-like dear friends, putting aside criticism and judgment and choosing instead to open your heart to greater generosity, forgiveness, and compassion. While Buddha taught loving-kindness meditation as an antidote to fear, it can also quiet feelings of anger, judgment, and worry by helping you see the innate goodness within yourself and others. Whether used as part of a formal meditation practice or as daily mindfulness exercises, the 100 meditations in The Gift of Loving-Kindness make it easy to open your heart and share the seeds of loving-kindness with others.
Applying the art and science of self-compassion to day-to-day therapy work. This lucidly written guide integrates traditional Buddhist teachings and mindfulness with cutting-edge science from several distinct fields—including neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience, psychotherapy outcome research, and positive psychology—to explain how clinicians can help clients develop a more loving, kind, and forgiving attitude through self-compassion. The practice of self-compassion supports effective therapy in two vital ways: (1) It helps clients become a source of compassion for themselves; and (2) it helps therapists be happier and generate more compassion for their clients. Researchers now understand that self-compassion is a skill that can be strengthened through deliberate practice, and that it is one of the strongest predictors of mental health and wellness. The brain’s compassion center, which neuroscientists call the Care Circuit, can be targeted and fortified using specific techniques. Filled with illuminating case examples, Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy shows readers how to apply self-compassion practices in treatment. The first two chapters illuminate what self-compassion is, the science behind it, and why it is so beneficial in therapy. The rest of the book unpacks practical clinical applications, covering not only basic clinical principles but also specific, evidence-based techniques for building affect tolerance, affect regulation, and mindful thinking, working with self-criticism, self-sabotage, trauma, addiction, relationship problems, psychosis, and more, and overcoming common roadblocks. Readers do not need to have any background in mindfulness in order to benefit from this book. However, those that do will find that self-compassion practices have the capacity to add new layers of depth to mindfulness-based therapies such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
Kristin Neff, Ph.D., says that it’s time to “stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind.” Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind offers expert advice on how to limit self-criticism and offset its negative effects, enabling you to achieve your highest potential and a more contented, fulfilled life. More and more, psychologists are turning away from an emphasis on self-esteem and moving toward self-compassion in the treatment of their patients—and Dr. Neff’s extraordinary book offers exercises and action plans for dealing with every emotionally debilitating struggle, be it parenting, weight loss, or any of the numerous trials of everyday living.
Values in Therapy is a powerful and practical guide for any therapist—chock-full of insight and tools to conceptualize, integrate, and effectively apply values work in-session. With an emphasis on cultivating meaning and vitality in client lives, the values component of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is what draws many clinicians to the treatment model. Yet, until now, there have been no practical guides available on values-based practice written from an ACT perspective. And while values work may appear deceptively simple, it’s often difficult to effectively carry out in practice. That’s where this comprehensive guide comes in. Values in Therapy emphasizes the facilitation of specific qualities inherent in effective values conversations, such as vitality, choice, present-focused awareness, and willing vulnerability. This book will help you move away from basic techniques and exercises and toward the nuance and skills you need to do effective values work. You’ll also learn how to use these tools, with detailed scripts for in-session exercises, handouts for clients, homework ideas, assessment and tracking tools, case examples, practical vignettes, and more. Whether you’re an ACT clinician, or simply looking to incorporate values-based work into your treatment, this essential guide provides everything you need to help clients connect with what really matters to them, so they can live full and meaningful lives.
Brilliant Sanity: Buddhist Approaches to Psychotherapy and Counseling (Volume 1: Revised and Expanded Edition) brings together influential scholars and practitioners who have studied and practiced at the intersection of Buddhism, psychotherapy, and counseling, including Karen Wegela, Mark Epstein, Han F. de Wit, Ed Podvoll, Jeff Fortuna, Robert Walker, Farrell Silverberg, Chuck Knapp, Dale Asreal, and others. Brilliant Sanity draws particularly from the Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist traditions that emphasize the importance of individuals being of benefit to others and the world. This revised and expanded edition comes 13-years after the release of the widely successful first edition and includes four new chapters. The majority of the original chapters have been updated drawing upon advances in theory and research. In this new volume, increased attention is given to multicultural and social justice perspectives as well. The introduction and 24 chapters in this new edition are essential reading for students and experienced practitioners interested in Buddhist psychotherapy and counseling.
It’s time for a kindness revolution. In The Kindness Cure, psychologist Tara Cousineau draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to show how simple practices of kindness—for ourselves, for others, and for our world—can dissolve our feelings of fear and indifference, and open us up to a life of profound happiness. Compassion for ourselves and others is our birthright as humans—hardwired into our DNA and essential to our happiness. But in our fast-paced, technical savvy and hyper competitive world, it may come as no surprise that rates of narcissism have risen, while empathy levels have declined. We now find ourselves in a “cool to be cruel” culture where it’s easy to feel disillusioned and dejected in our hearts, homes, and communities. So, how can we reverse this malady of meanness and make kindness and compassion an imperative? The Kindness Cure draws on the latest social and scientific research to reveal how the seemingly “soft skills” of kindness, cooperation, and generosity are fundamental to our survival as a species. In fact, it’s our prosocial abilities that put us at the head of the line. Blended with moving case studies and clinical anecdotes, Cousineau offers practical ways to rekindle kindness from the inside out. We are wired to care. The very existence of our human species evolved because of an intricate physiology built for empathy, compassion, and cooperation. Yet we have an epidemic of loneliness, indifference, and cruelty, and we see these destructive trends on a daily basis in our families, schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces. This important book teaches effective skills in compassion, mindfulness, and social and emotional learning, and reveals successful social policy initiatives in empathy taking place that inform everything from family life to education to the workplace. Kindness has the exponential power to renew relationships and transform how we think, feel, and behave in the world. Will you be a part of the revolution?
This wise, eloquent, and practical book illuminates the nature of self-compassion and offers easy-to-follow, scientifically grounded steps for incorporating it into daily life. Vivid examples and innovative exercises make this an ideal resource for readers new to mindfulness.
Kathy was an overachiever-an economist, technical writer, and classical singer married 27 years to her college sweetheart. It looked like Kathy was fine. But deep within her hid a pain from infancy so severe that a cascade of adult life crises finally triggered it. And once it exploded, the pain was unbearable. Kathy was suffering attachment disorder, a psychological condition potentially affecting almost half the US population. Caused by traumatic stress in the first three years of life, attachment disorder correlates with the nation's 50 percent divorce rate and widespread mental health issues. Yet no one talks about its prevalence, so many sufferers go untreated, forced to live with their pain in silence-without a hint of its cause. This was certainly true for Kathy. But when her initial forays into psychiatric help failed, Kathy decided to treat herself. It was a mistake that almost cost her life. Told with candor and quirky, ironic humor, Don't Try This Alone will resonate with anyone suffering attachment damage. It knows no boundaries; it strikes those who believe they had wonderful childhoods as well as the obviously abused. Yet there's hope! Kathy's story also shows: help and healing are out there.
