A Phenomenological Inquiry of Six Psychotherapists Who Practice Buddhist Meditation
Dissertation, California Institute of Integral Studies (
1990)
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of Buddhist meditation practice on the attitude, work and lived experience of therapists and their self-reported experiences of work with clients. The research describes particular dynamics and effects of meditation on six psychotherapists who practiced Buddhist meditation for over five years in the Theravadin , Zen and Vajrayana traditions. Interviews and follow-up interviews were conducted by the researcher combining both structured and open-ended formats. A phenomenological analysis of the interviews with the privileged subjects is the method utilized to make sense of the data. Summaries of each subject's interviews were prepared. A co-reader expert in phenomenological analysis participated with the researcher in a dialogal process to challenge and clarify the themes that emerged from the interviews. ;The findings revealed five primary themes that emerged in the interviews: conviction/grounding, mindfulness of the present, impermanence, suffering, and skepticism of melodramas. These are discussed from the viewpoint of each of the subjects as they addressed them in the interviews. There were three essential meaning structures that emerged from the phenomenological analysis. These are described as a trinity with each bearing a crucial relationship to the other in how meditation impacts the work of these therapists. The essential meaning structures consist of conviction/grounding, skepticism of melodramas, and mindfulness in the present. These themes are also discussed from the viewpoint of three-fold logic of ground, path, and fruition. ;A critique of the phenomenological research is presented. Acknowledgment is made regarding the limitations and benefits of conducting this method of research. Implications of the findings for the training of therapists is discussed. Further related research is suggested