Contemplative View: Honoring the Wisdom of the Client

A premise of contem­pla­tive psychotherapy is that we are all intrin­si­cally awake and that we, as humans, are good and that we naturally possess qualities of compas­sion, intel­li­gence and courage. This differs from the view of original sin that sees humans as funda­men­tally flawed.

We hold a view that our negative qualities, behavior and action are based on confusion and misun­der­standing- a temporary state, if you will. This is likened to the clouds covering the sun and sky. Our clarity, spacious­ness and warmth is revealed as the clouds part ways. Our sanity can then shine through.

So it is of utmost impor­tance that we, as contem­pla­tive psychother­a­pists hold a space for the wisdom and goodness of the client and reflect that back to them. Their intel­li­gence can be accessed and revealed if we trust that it is always there. We go beyond the limited lens of pathol­o­gizing. This encour­age­ment, that we all have what it takes to open to our most painful predica­ments, is the working rela­tion­ship between the contem­pla­tive psychother­a­pist and the client. This view is the good news. It is the foun­da­tion for the way that we work!