Brilliant Sanity explores the diverse and evolving interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy. This volume includes chapters that discuss how Buddhism interacts with contemporary clinical theory and practices such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, psychoanalysis, neuroscience, the treatment of psychosis, existential psychology, body psychotherapy, therapist subjectivity and more. Contributors include Tibetan meditation teachers such as Chogyam Trungpa and the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts such as Mark Epstein and Ed Podvoll, eminent Buddhist psychologists such as Han De Wit, Karen Wegela and Robert Unger, as well as other prominent psychotherapists and researchers. As Harvard Medical School Professor, Eleanor Councilman writes, "It make the reader aware of the multitudes of Eastern and Western perspectives and is one of the most culturally sensitive psychological books I have read. It is extremely readable and enjoyable." The Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche commented that this collection "brings forth the heart of Buddhism as applied to the contemporary practice of psychology."
BRILLIANT SANITY is a rare feat. This engaging and informative book is sure to become essential for psychotherapy scholars, acceptance and mindfulness researchers, and clinicians alike. This is one not to be missed.
-- DOUG MENNIN, Ph.D. Yale University -- Book Cover
Celebrating contemplatively informed psychotherapy, this exciting volume contains a rich sampling of thought and practice that emerges out of the ongoing dialogue between the liberating tradition of Buddhist wisdom and meditation, and the modern healing tradition of psychotherapy. I strongly recommend this work for those interested in expanding their vision through a variety of perspectives in the emergent world of contemplative psychotherapy.
-Harvey B. Aronson, Ph.D., author Buddhist Practice on Western Ground, -- Book cover, full version
From my first contact with Buddhism I realized it's virtual simpatico with the therapeutic process. Various elements in Buddhism rang a bell.The concept of immediacy as a form of dynamic transference; the self translating into the observing ego, and being receptive to induced feelings.I received the same psychological nutrients as I had in the most significant moments of therapeutic leverage. I was at home in the arena of Buddhism and I was going west because there was so much more to gain. When I met Chöygam Trungpa, I knew I was in the presence of a Master. Almost everything he said I could fit into my treatment schema. I absorbed his incorruptable honesty in pursuing and confronting pathology and I made it part of the warp and woof of my professional functioning. The same spirit emanated from all his faculty and community, and above all they showed me the presence of resistance and habitual patterns that hold us prisoner. This book opens the door to a vital appreciation of working with patients in the moment. To overlook it, is to overlook the essence of our craft.
- Louis Ormont, Ph. D. Author of The Group Therapy Expereince -- Book Cover, full version
Many patients arrive at psychotherapy seeking quick solutions for permanent, pain-free happiness, but both Freud and the Buddha knew that this was not essential human nature. This excellent book succeeds at a daunting task: the integration of Buddhist core values into Western psychotherapy practice and training. It provides the reader of multiple perspectives, yet it is remarkably well written and easy to read. One should not assume that an Eastern philosophy can be easily integrated into Western culture, and this is one of the most culturally sensitive psychotherapy books I've read. Openness of mind involves feeling pain; clarity means accepting things as they are, and compassion involves letting go of self-protection. I recommend this book to all clinicians - Buddhist or not - interested in thinking more about how to help people uncover their brilliant sanity.
-Eleanor F. Counselman, Ed.D., ABPP, Harvard Medical School -- Book Cover, full version
When Chöygam Trungpa started to train psychotherapists in Buddhist meditation more than thirty years ago, he envisioned a new therapy that would be informed by wisdom, compassion, and scholarship. This collection captures this vision. It brings forth the heart of Buddhism as applied to the contemporary practice of psychology. - The Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, author of Turning the Mind into an Ally and Ruling Your World. -- Book Cover
