The Zen of Therapy
Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life
Published on 10. January 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-593-29663-9 (ISBN)
Description
“A warm, profound and cleareyed memoir. . . this wise and sympathetic book’s lingering effect is as a reminder that a deeper and more companionable way of life lurks behind our self-serious stories."—Oliver Burkeman, New York Times Book Review
Drawing on decades of personal and professional experience, Dr. Mark Epstein considers how his practice of psychotherapy and meditation can be used in tandem to lead his patients, and himself, to greater awareness and fulfillment.
For much of his career, Dr. Mark Epstein kept his beliefs as a Buddhist separate from his work as a psychiatrist. But as he became more forthcoming with his patients about his personal spiritual leanings, he was surprised to find how many of them were eager to learn more. The divisions between the psychological, emotional, and the spiritual, he soon realized, 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 his patients and observes how, in a given hour, his Buddhist background influences his work. He emphasizes how Western therapy can be considered a two-person meditation, and how mindfulness, much like a good therapist, can “hold” awareness, creating the necessary conditions for inner peace. Throughout this deeply personal and wise inquiry, Dr. Epstein illuminates the therapy relationship as a spiritual friendship, and reveals how a therapist can help us realize that there is something magical running through our fraught lives. For when we understand how readily we have misinterpreted ourselves, when we touch the ground of our own being, we come home.
Drawing on decades of personal and professional experience, Dr. Mark Epstein considers how his practice of psychotherapy and meditation can be used in tandem to lead his patients, and himself, to greater awareness and fulfillment.
For much of his career, Dr. Mark Epstein kept his beliefs as a Buddhist separate from his work as a psychiatrist. But as he became more forthcoming with his patients about his personal spiritual leanings, he was surprised to find how many of them were eager to learn more. The divisions between the psychological, emotional, and the spiritual, he soon realized, 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 his patients and observes how, in a given hour, his Buddhist background influences his work. He emphasizes how Western therapy can be considered a two-person meditation, and how mindfulness, much like a good therapist, can “hold” awareness, creating the necessary conditions for inner peace. Throughout this deeply personal and wise inquiry, Dr. Epstein illuminates the therapy relationship as a spiritual friendship, and reveals how a therapist can help us realize that there is something magical running through our fraught lives. For when we understand how readily we have misinterpreted ourselves, when we touch the ground of our own being, we come home.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Penguin Putnam Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 209 mm
Width: 136 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
276 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-593-29663-9 (9780593296639)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2022
Penguin Press
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Mark Epstein, M.D.