Contemplative Psychology

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. 

– Pema Chödrön

The contemplative approach to psychology is rooted in notions of insight and acceptance. These are cultivated through various mindfulness-based practices and explored in dialogue. What can be described as a reorientation toward authenticity or a turning toward oneself with honesty and care, was described by the American psychotherapist John Welwood when he  proposed that “real healing can only begin when we finally learn to be present in the places where we have been absent.” Because contemplative psychology relies upon a deep listening and reconnection to personal authenticity, it is coherently aligned with the practices which develop mindfulness.  


Michal in his own words . . .

If trauma is about broken connection — broken connection to the body, to our vitality, to our psyche, and to others — then healing is about reconnection to our natural state of wholeness. This present and acceptance-centred approach is a way of cultivating unconditional friendliness towards ourselves through awareness and self-compassion. The unfolding of this process flows from inquiry into a felt sense of being, toward clarity, and beyond judgement — toward authentic acknowledgement of real life experience. In this way we unfold into presence, lean into patience, and grow.

Such themes of personal development will be explored during the mindfulness courses I offer, as well as during the retreats I lead. Individual Mindfulness-Focused Counselling Sessions and Present-Centered Group Counselling Practice are other formats I recommend to reinforce individual development, with the objective of deepening connection and intimacy with self and other.