Once a person has some satisfying relationships, some skillful means of handling anxiety, and a reasonably stable sense of self, they often become more interested in spiritual or transpersonal growth. A key question presents itself in some form: how is the connection made and sustained with that which is infinite and eternal, by whatever name?
Contemplation can be described as a deep form of prayer without words or content. In contemplative psychotherapy, the depth of the therapist’s own contemplative experience is tapped into, along with the empathic, interpretive, and containing functions of traditional psychotherapy. The process may begin to include short periods of silence and stillness. The goal of this therapy is not only to build greater resilience in stressful circumstances; that is a byproduct of developing the ability to settle the mind and practice a calm openhearted awareness that is sometimes simply called presence. The strong sense of self described above remains fully intact, but is also transcended as one’s connection to the sacred is clarified and strengthened.
There are many meditative practices that can be included in this type of therapy, depending in part on each person’s temperament and faith tradition, if any. There are also many good maps available to help understand the process, and what to look for along the way. The process usually involves some trial and error, sometimes over a period of years, until each person settles into a set of practices that works best for them.
In one sense, there is no fixed outcome in contemplative psychotherapy; only an ongoing openness and curiosity to whatever life presents to us. Nonetheless, certain changes tend to occur along the way. The capacity for intimacy deepens, not only with one’s partner, but with an ever widening scope of others. The heart becomes more peaceful, at rest, fully at home. And, there is greater access to wisdom, joy, awe, and gratitude as we come into the fullness of our humanity, which has been our birthright from the very beginning.
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J. Patrick Duiven, Psy.D., P.C.
Licensed Psychologist
4133 Embassy Drive, S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Phone: 616.956.6700
Fax: 616.956.6773
© 2010 J. Patrick Duiven
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