| This PDE examines the concept of the self-use of the therapist from a number of theoretical perspectives both philosophical and cultural, and provides the theoretical grounding for the inclusion of Buddhist mindfulness practice as a foundation self-use skill in psychotherapy training. Typically such training is neglectful and/or confusing in the realm of personal self use, emphasizing instead "client-centered" strategies such as active or reflective listening, confrontation, reframing and the like, and warning against the dangers of countertransference. This other-oriented focus can be seen as a particular instance of the more general cultural orientation of our western, positivist, scientistic culture, with its discomfort with subjectivity, and its faith in objectivity as the best guarantor of competence, accuracy and reliability.;The Cartesian split between subject and object knower and known, has left us profoundly ambivalent about the relationship of self and the source of Truth, with the objectivists claiming that truth is external to self, and the phenomenologists claiming that it is internal. This split is being re-examined and transcended from the perspectives of social constructionism, quantum physics, and systems theory, opening a new role for enlightened subjective self-awareness as a key to competent professional self-use.;Continuing this re-examination, this PDE recommends explicit training in mindfulness for psychotherapists for two reasons. First, the therapist is necessarily both participant and observer, a challenge which requires simultaneous skilled awareness of each dimension, and the ability to keep them separate but mutually related. Second, empirical studies consistently conclude that it is the quality of the relationship with the person of the therapist which best predicts positive outcome, irrespective of theoretical orientation. Mindfulness is a fundamental skill of professional therapeutic relatedness, reducing the likelihood of countertransferential enactments, heightening attunement, and enhancing Rogerian empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. |
