Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

Description: Drawing on their clinical and academic background, the authors show how Zen practices can be incorporated into psychotherapy. Christopher J. Mruk is a clinical educator and social scientist. Also contributing is Joan Hartzell who is a nurse psychotherapist. The book starts with a broad discussion of "traditional," "alternative," and "complementary" approaches to mental health. It then discusses fundamental Zen concepts about compassion, impermanence, reality, suffering, and desire. The third section of the book outlines the major traditional approaches to psychotherapy (namely the biological, behavioral, psychodynamic, cognitive, and humanistic approaches) and discusses how they may related to Zen. The fourth section discusses the practical application of Zen in actual clinical environments. The authors discuss how Zen can be applied to the treatment of anger, suicide, depression, manipulative patients, and schizophrenia. The remainder of the book looks at issues of actual clinical and academic integration of Zen approaches to psychotherapy. (Zach Rowinski 2005-01-03)

Table of Contents: Traditional, complementary, and alternative therapies -- The basic principles of Zen and their psychotherapeutic implications -- From realism to idealism: traditional therapies and Zen -- Practical applications: Zen in the clinical setting -- Integrating Zen and psychotherapy: connections and limits