The Primacy of Experience
Foundations of Contemplative-Existential Psychotherapy
Arthur Giacalone, Ph.D.
7 hrs/CE
CPA Provider: INS053
Course Description
Over the last four decades, throughout North America and Europe, a diverse number of metaskills such as mindfulness and therapeutic presence have gradually become an integral part of the zeitgeist in contemplative-existential psychology, making important contributions to psychotherapeutic theory, and applied clinical methodologies. Contemplative-Existential Psychotherapy––an integration of modern existential-phenomenological philosophy, Buddhism and Depth Psychology––fosters psychotherapeutic change by emphasizing the primacy of experience and the clarity of unconditioned awareness.
At the center of the contemplative-existential psychotherapeutic model is the experiential process of embodied therapeutic presence: the therapist’s unwavering openness and empathic attunement to how people construct reality and their way of being-in-the-world. Therapist and client place their trust in the vulnerability of uncontrived direct experience, awareness and compassionate inquiry.
A synthesis of Buddhism, Existential-Phenomenological Philosophy and Psychodynamic Depth Psychology reveals how diverse and deeply textured bandwidths of human subjectivity live below the threshold of awareness as unconscious narratives, schema and impulses which can be experienced as mental afflictions and emotional imbalances––leading to a life of confusion, defensive posturing and inauthenticity.
Contemplative Existential Psychotherapy’s fundamental reliance on the cultivation of awareness and direct experience allows for conditioned fixations of the self to be more effectively held open to investigation and metabolized, thereby holding greater promise for the realization of human freedom and wellbeing.
At the center of the contemplative-existential psychotherapeutic model is the experiential process of embodied therapeutic presence: the therapist’s unwavering openness and empathic attunement to how people construct reality and their way of being-in-the-world. Therapist and client place their trust in the vulnerability of uncontrived direct experience, awareness and compassionate inquiry.
A synthesis of Buddhism, Existential-Phenomenological Philosophy and Psychodynamic Depth Psychology reveals how diverse and deeply textured bandwidths of human subjectivity live below the threshold of awareness as unconscious narratives, schema and impulses which can be experienced as mental afflictions and emotional imbalances––leading to a life of confusion, defensive posturing and inauthenticity.
Contemplative Existential Psychotherapy’s fundamental reliance on the cultivation of awareness and direct experience allows for conditioned fixations of the self to be more effectively held open to investigation and metabolized, thereby holding greater promise for the realization of human freedom and wellbeing.
Course Objectives
- Preparing the Ground of Experience:
• Describe and Discuss Rationale for Calm-Abiding Meditation in the Cultivation of Therapeutic Presence
• Introduce Participants to Instruction in Calm-Abiding Mediation - Describe Foundational Conceptual Framework in Contemplative Psychotherapy:
• Primacy of Experience (experience near)
• Non-dual, Non-Deterministic Conceptual Framework
• Distinction Between Meditative and Calculative Thinking
• Contemplative Attunement and Embodiment of Therapeutic Presence - Describe & Explain Buddhist Psychological Tenets of Identification & Development of the Self-Construct
• Identity as Self-constructed
• Identifying, Investigating, Metabolizing Conditioned Fixations of Self-Construct - Introduce and Practice Experiential Exercises that Promote and Stabilize Full Attention, Therapeutic Presence, Mindfulness, and Empathic Openness
- Discuss and Critique Ways in Which Participants Can Integrate the Foundational Experiences of Contemplative Psychotherapy into their Current Clinical Practice and Supervision
Learning Outcomes
- Participants will be able to:
- Independently experience & practice Calm-Abiding Meditation
- Explain and discuss the core principles and competencies that scaffold into the foundations of contemplative psychotherapy
- Discuss and experience rudimentary metaskills of calm abiding, mindfulness, therapeutic presence, compassion, and surrender and their application to clinical practice
- Apply phenomenological deconstruction toward processes of disidentification
- Identify and discuss ways to integrate foundational contemplative psychotherapeutic principles, metaskills and experience into their current clinical practice
Workshop Dates/Location
December 15, 2018
Location: Berkeley, CA
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Registration
Completion of Primacy of Experience CE Workshop = 7 Hrs/CE (Certificate included)
Date: Saturday, December 15, 2018
Location: Berkeley, CA (Address provided at the completion of registration)
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Cost: $145 - Early individual/on-line registration (on or before 11/29/18)
$160 - Late individual/on-line or on-site registration (on or after 11/30/18)
$135 - Per person for groups of three, early on-line registration (on or before 11/29/18)
$150 - Per person for groups of three, late on-line or on-site late registration (on or after 11/30/18)
NOTE: Whether you intend to pay through Paypal or by check, the registration process is the same.
To pre-register, you will need to click on the “Buy Ticket” button for the workshop of your choice. (You will NOT be buying the ticket immediately… just registering!) You will be directed to another page where you need to fill out the required fields. If you are registering a group of three, please place the names of the other two registrants in the “Note” field of the registration page. Click on “Submit” and you will be directed to a summary page. Review the information and click again on “Submit” and your registration will have been accepted.
You will immediately receive an email confirming your registration. This email will also include instructions for payment either by Paypal or by check.
Date: Saturday, December 15, 2018
Location: Berkeley, CA (Address provided at the completion of registration)
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Cost: $145 - Early individual/on-line registration (on or before 11/29/18)
$160 - Late individual/on-line or on-site registration (on or after 11/30/18)
$135 - Per person for groups of three, early on-line registration (on or before 11/29/18)
$150 - Per person for groups of three, late on-line or on-site late registration (on or after 11/30/18)
NOTE: Whether you intend to pay through Paypal or by check, the registration process is the same.
To pre-register, you will need to click on the “Buy Ticket” button for the workshop of your choice. (You will NOT be buying the ticket immediately… just registering!) You will be directed to another page where you need to fill out the required fields. If you are registering a group of three, please place the names of the other two registrants in the “Note” field of the registration page. Click on “Submit” and you will be directed to a summary page. Review the information and click again on “Submit” and your registration will have been accepted.
You will immediately receive an email confirming your registration. This email will also include instructions for payment either by Paypal or by check.
Note: This course has especially been designed for psychotherapists who are seeking an alternative intersubjective perspective that can engage clients in more openly conscious and experiential ways. The content and experiences contained in this course are meant to enhance, not replace, a participant’s current mode of practicing psychotherapy. Psychotherapists of all clinical identifications and experience are welcome.