Spiritual-Based Practices

Spirituality has long offered different lenses for interpreting human experience and assigning meaning to life's struggles. When applied correctly, spiritual-based practices can complement and deepen therapeutic work, helping clients cultivate compassion and connect to something larger than themselves. From Buddhist perspectives on healing to insights on psychotherapy as a spiritual practice itself, these pieces explore the expansive arena of integrating spiritual perspectives into our daily practices. Learn from Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Jon Kabat-Zinn and others about spiritually integrated care.

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More Articles on Spiritual-Based Practices

How do we change our habit of defensive listening and make emotional presence our practice? Read more

A Sufi therapist invites all clients to find their unique spiritual path through their current struggles. Read more

Are therapists equipped to support clients who want to reconnect with their spiritual faith? Read more

A grandmother’s indelible spirit inspires a therapy practice. Read more

In The Zen of Therapy, psychiatrist Mark Epstein explores what a Buddhist therapy has offered his clients. Read more

What would therapy look like if the focus was on liberating a client from their setbacks, rather than simply diluting their symptoms? Read more

Clinical psychologist and author Jack Kornfield has been instrumental in bringing mindfulness to Western audiences. With candor and humor, he shares a moving... Read more

In this clip from his Networker Symposium keynote address, Jack Kornfield shares how to embody a fuller spiritual wisdom in your work with clients to heal... Read more

“Jeremy, we’ve never talked about it, but I cover my head for many reasons,” I told him. “One of them is to keep the energy contained—the heat... Read more

Weaving together Buddhist philosophy and storytelling, clinical psychologist and spiritual teacher Jack Kornfield explored the nature of therapeutic... Read more

Anthropologist and author Tanya Luhrmann explains how many evangelicals experience the kind of support in their connection with God that others find in their... Read more

A Buddhist approach to enhancing self-esteem. Read more

Modern therapy has given scant attention to morally elevated emotions like awe, gratitude, and admiration, resulting in a skewed picture of how people actually... Read more

Drawing on spiritual resources can ease the pain and sorrow of death for client and therapist alike. Read more

In Washington, D.C., this fall, the Dalai Lama brought together a distinguished group of contemplatives and world-class scientists to explore the links between... Read more

Walter Truett Anderson

Until recently, our understanding of "enlightenment" has been shrouded in spiritual hero worship. But we're beginning to see it as a thoroughly natural... Read more

Mark I. Sirkin

From the July/August 1994 issue THE PHRASE, “THE MELTING POT” ORIGINALLY CAME FROM THE title of a popular turn-of-the-century play that ended... Read more

Jay Haley

Family therapist Jay Haley explores the influences of Zen on Western therapy, particularly in relation to the strategic, or directive, approach best... Read more

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