Sitting and Practice: An interpretive description of the Buddhist-informed meditation practices of counselling psychologists and their clinical work

• Author / Creator

  Wiley, Jane

• Counselling psychology is increasingly curious regarding the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. This research explores the relationship between the clinical work of psychotherapists and their long-term Buddhist-informed meditation. This is an emerging and cross-cultural field. Thorne's (2008) interpretive description guided this exploratory qualitative study of the experiences of four registered psychologists. This study finds that meditation supports an unconditional, compassionate therapeutic stance that serves therapy through the development of the therapeutic relationship. Further, Buddhist-informed meditation appears to promote integrative functioning in the therapists and is related to integrated clinical decision-making. This study dips into areas of transpersonal and Buddhist psychology that require further culturally-sensitive investigation. Future directions for research are presented.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Buddhism
  • Therapist mindfulness
  • Reflective practice
  • Mindful therapy
  • Mindfulness
  • Meditation

• Graduation date

  Fall 2010

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Education

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R36H7J

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.