Just a few weeks ago I handed in my Master Thesis “The Meditating Therapist: Presence in Psychoanalytic Practice”. I studied the perspectives of highly experienced therapists on meditation, and how their personal meditation practice shaped the way they could show up in their clinical practice. Thanks to the Erasmus program, I was able to conduct my research in New York City, while being supported by therapists of the American Psychoanalytic Association.
Meditation and Self-Analysis
The participants of my study reported that meditation enabled them to hold intense emotions with patience, an inevitable part of therapeutic encounters, rather than feeling the urge to immediately avoid or “fix” difficult emotions. Meditation served as training ground for being able to “sit through the noise”, and for perceiving subtle signals that are not communicated verbally.
Among other findings, one stroke me as specifically important; Meditation supports the ongoing process of self-analysis. Self-analysis is the process of self-inquiry which was first mentioned by Freud in 1912. According to his theory, a psychoanalyst must be watchful of his or her own biases and patterns. If not, the therapist runs the risk of mixing personal issues and patterns with the ones of the patient, being completely unaware of hijacking the session and potentially turning the therapy into dust. Basically, self-analysis deals with deepening self-awareness — yet the absence of such awareness may unconsciously shape, and even limit, therapeutic processes.
The Importance of Therapist Self-Awareness
Psychotherapeutic formation, including university and postgraduate training, does not commonly check for self-awareness nor foster it in ongoing therapists. In light of studies demonstrating that the successful outcome of therapy depends less on the specific techniques employed by the therapist and more on their intra- and interpersonal skills, the neglect of therapist characteristics within the system appears detrimental. Research has shown that a therapist’s ability to regulate emotions and maintain self-awareness plays a crucial role in establishing an effective therapeutic alliance (Ruiz-Aranda et al., 2021). These personal skills and characteristics, such as emotion regulation, self-awareness, and emotional maturity, form the foundation upon which a strong therapeutic relationship and, consequently, successful therapeutic outcomes are built.
Meditation as a Way of Self-Inquiry
Here, self-analysis deals with the “problem” of these overlooked but very important characteristics of a therapist, by describing the importance of ongoing self-exploration. In this context, meditation was reported as supportive for the process of self-inquiry. To sit in silence for a prolonged period of time and allowing whatever needs to come up to show itself, without judging it, is a way to get immediately in touch with our mental-emotional world. To practice non-judgment through meditation, allowing what needs to arise to simply be there, no running, no critizicing, was reported to ripple over into therapeutic sessions. An “emotionally in-touch” therapist thus provides a deeply safe space for the self and in turn for the patient. A therapist who is open to his or her own turmoil is only then capable of meeting the turmoil of the other – and hold it. Meditation is one way of making this ever-ongoing self-inquiry happen, meeting ourselves in the good or bad, without rejecting or running. Moving away from meditation, any other practice that fosters mindful attention to our inner processes provides the ground for fruitful therapeutic practice to even blossom. With that said, this finding of the study underlined that first, we need to meet ourselves with curiosity instead of fear and with compassion instead of judgment, and then, we can meet the other in the very same way.
An Invitation to Reflect and Practice
If you are a therapist, a student of psychology, or simply curious about the inner workings of the therapeutic mind – consider how you meet yourself in silence.
What happens when you sit still long enough to notice what arises?
If you want to try a simple practice right now, just follow these instructions:
1. Breathing in, I know,
I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know
I am breathing out.
2. Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.
Breathing out, I feel fresh.
3. Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain.
Breathing out, I feel solid.
4. Breathing in, I see myself as still water.
Breathing out, I reflect all that is.
5.Breathing in, I see myself as space.
Breathing out, I feel free.
This is a simple exercise from the book The Blooming of a Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh. Repeat one stage until you feel you have done it with enough focused attention. After this exercise, you can stay in the state of open awareness and be curious for whatever bubbles up in your mind and body.
Meditation, journaling, or any form of self-reflection can become a powerful mirror to strengthen your therapeutic presence by fostering the relationship to your own inner world. How are you practicing self-inquiry?
