Contemplative Psychotherapy
 

At the heart of Contemplative Psychotherapy is the belief that all of us are basically good and, by nature, awake and healthy. Over the course of a life time, things happen, and this clarity gets clouded, but it is always there, waiting, like the clear blue sky that is always there behind the clouds. So this approach starts with the belief in our basic goodness, no matter how out of control our coping mechanisms are, and further suggests that we all already have everything we need inside us to connect with our own beautiful wisdom and compassion. All of us. The therapist’s role then, is not to “fix”, but to reconnect a person with what they already possess. It is very much focused in relationship and reconnecting to the present. This approach grows out of Buddhist principles, so one could expect using mindfulness exercises, non-attachment, leaning into (rather than away from or “managing”) challenging emotions with curiosity and compassion to see what  is.