Psychotherapy and Buddhism: Toward an Integration (Issues in the Practice of Psychology) [Hardcover]

Jeffrey B. Rubin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Issues in the Practice of Psychology | Publication Date: September 30, 1996

There is currently a burgeoning interest in the relationship between the Western psychotherapeutic and Buddhist meditative traditions among therapists, researchers, and spiritual seekers. Psychotherapy and Buddhism initiates a conversation between these two modern methods of achieving greater self-understanding and peace of mind. Dr. Jeffrey B. Rubin explores how they might be combined to better serve patients in therapy and adherents to a spiritual way of life. He examines the strengths and limitations of each tradition through three contexts: the nature of self, conception of ideal health, and process of achieving optimal health. The volume features the first two cases of Buddhists in psychoanalytic treatment.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Highly recommended.'
Choice
`Buddhism is now part of the contemporary cultural landscape and no other non-Western tradition has made such a large contribution to the family of psychotherapies. Rubin has done a superb job reviewing that contribution, pointing out the perils, as well as the possibilities, and describes what it looks like in clinical life.'
American Journal of Psychotherapy
`... this is an unusually well thought out and clearly articulated contribution to the integration of psychanalysis and Buddhism. It is a balanced presentation suitable for those with their own inner conflicts and who are also prompted toward a spiritual quest.'
The Psychoanalytic Review, 86:5 (1999)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (September 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306454416
• ISBN-13: 978-0306454417
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,609,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, balanced, open view--with pros & cons of each, October 21, 2005

By 

Neal J. Pollock (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Psychotherapy and Buddhism: Toward an Integration (Issues in the Practice of Psychology) (Hardcover)

This book synthesizes psychotherapy & Buddhism. The author notes the strengths & weaknesses of each, balancing them via "egalitarian dialog"/"subjective bifocality"/"reciprocity of perspectives" vs. biased, imbalanced "Eurocentric" & "Orientocentric" views. He cites a psychoanalytic (PA)-Buddhist (B) conference where, p. 51, "psychoanalysts & Buddhists spoke past each other rather than to each other," ignoring potential synergy. His is an, p. 8, "interdisciplinary investigation" (what each could do for the other & the whole); he believes both are valuable yet incomplete. His call for a (p. 9) "multidimensional perspective" describes Buddhism as-near sighted, microscopic, romantically-oriented story, non-self-centered, heterogeneous, particle oriented, while PA is-far-sighted, telescopic, tragedy oriented story, self-centered, homogeneous, wave-oriented [one might add content vs. process & Sensate vs. Intuitive (Myers-Briggs typology)]. He quotes (p. 115) Robert Oppenheimer, "The history of science is rich in the example of the fruitfulness of bringing two sets of techniques, two sets of ideas, developed in separate contexts for the pursuit of truth, in touch with each other" while stating that (as pointed out by modern feminist-oriented Buddhist leaders), p. 190, "uncritically grafting the doctrines of one tradition onto another from another age can be problematic" &, p. 193, "How we interpret and evaluate history and human experience is deeply conditioned and irreducibly shaped by the worldview we already hold." For example, p. 73: "There is evidence that the notion of the self did not exist in the Middle Ages." But, his Buddhism is primarily Theravada; he seems unfamiliar with Mahayana, incorrectly saying (p. 19): "Mahayanists believed in a personal god and a divine savior...doctrine of grace." He does, however, address drive-structure & relational PA models w/some references to Jung.

He provides many instances of how each discipline can aid/balance the other including a fascinating case study & numerous anecdotal examples such as: p. 40: Fromm: "meditation can lead beyond the limits of therapy. Psychoanalysts can help meditation avoid `the danger of false enlightenment;' p. 71: "self-nullification is self-deception" quoting Freud, "evenly hovering attention" [provided by meditation] is needed by psychoanalysts; resistance to psychoanalysis parallels resistance to meditation; p. 131: "meditation is potentially subversive of our mode of living. Hence the resistance to it;" Ch. 8: analysts facing suffering w/o reacting benefit from Buddhist equanimity to avoid/reduce stress, burnout; Buddhists can avoid idealizing leaders via PA; p. 165: Transference & Counter-transference--create blind spots; PA's can avoid pathologizing spirituality & recognize the benefits of flow [he doesn't mention Csikszentmihalyi's "Flow"]. His multidimensional model reflects, p. 49, "the asymmetrical nature of human development...[since] the complexity & multidimensionality of human experience & development is obscured by linear, hierarchical developmental models;" (e.g. even Ken Wilbur's model is orientocentric). Quoting Alfred North Whitehead, p. 57, "One must look for the assumptions which appear so obvious that people do not know they are assuming them because no other way of putting things has ever occurred to them," p. 115, Freud: "In scientific affairs there should be no place for recoiling from novelty," & citing pp. 62 & 193 Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, he proposes utilizing, p. 195, "a wider range of tools" including, Ch. 9, integration & synergy &, p. 197, open systems to create a "Contemplative Psychoanalysis." In summary, this book is incredibly refreshing (though somewhat technical in parts) in that it begins an actual integration of the two complementary disciplines through an honest critique of each in light of psychological, sociological, & spiritual perspectives. Most highly recommended. After all, "the middle way" is inherently both Buddhist and scientific.