Mindfulness, Acceptance, and the Psychodynamic Evolution: Bringing Values into Treatment Planning and Enhancing Psychodynamic Work with Buddhist Psychology

If you are a psychodynamic therapist interested in the growing mindfulness movement, you may be looking for resources to help you enhance your practice. More and more, professionals in the psychodynamic tradition are finding that mindfulness exercises help their patients connect with the moment and discover the underlying causes of their fears and anxieties. This groundbreaking book spotlights the similarities between these two therapeutic approaches, and shows how mindfulness in the present moment, acceptance of internal experiences, and commitment to one’s values are implicit elements of psychodynamic psychotherapy. In this much-needed volume, psychologist and editor Jason M. Stewart offers a unique perspective on client treatment that fuses psychodynamic psychotherapy, mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches, and Buddhist psychology. Using the insights in this powerful resource, you will help your clients gain greater psychological flexibility, connect with their values and goals, and create a life that is purposeful, meaningful, and vital. Recent research supports the effectiveness of both psychodynamic and mindfulness-based processes in contributing to success in psychotherapy. This book does not suggest that mindfulness practice can take the place of psychodynamic therapy. Rather, it offers powerful, evidence-based strategies to help you enhance your practice. If you are ready to take your practice to the next level, this book will be your guide. The Mindfulness and Acceptance Practica Series As mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies gain momentum in the field of mental health, it is increasingly important for professionals to understand the full range of their applications. To keep up with the growing demand for authoritative resources on these treatments, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Practica Series was created. These edited books cover a range of evidence-based treatments, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), compassion-focused therapy (CFT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) therapy. Incorporating new research in the field of psychology, these books are powerful tools for mental health clinicians, researchers, advanced students, and anyone interested in the growth of mindfulness and acceptance strategies.

About the Author

Now deceased, Jason M. Stewart, PsyD, was a clinical and sport psychologist in private practice. His areas of focus included men’s issues, sport performance enhancement, and addictions and compulsions. He earned a doctorate at Yeshiva University and received postdoctoral training in psychoanalytic, acceptance- and mindfulness-based, and integrative harm reduction psychotherapies. Foreword writer Steven C. Hayes, PhD, is Nevada Foundation Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of thirty-four books and more than 470 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought lead to human suffering, and has developed acceptance and commitment therapy, a powerful therapy method that is useful in a wide variety of areas. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. Afterword writer George Stricker, PhD, is professor of psychology at the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University Washington, DC. He is the recipient of a number of awards for his contributions to psychology, including the Karl Heiser Award for Advocacy in 1996 from the American Psychological Association. He has served as the president of the Division of Clinical Psychology at the American Psychological Association, the Society for Personality Assessment, the New York State Psychological Association, and the National Council of Schools of Professional Psychology. Stricker is the author or editor of over twenty books and more than one hundred journal articles. His most recent books include Psychotherapy Integration, A Case Book of Psychotherapy Integration with Jerry Gold, and The Scientific Practice of Professional Psychology with Steven Trierweiler. His principal interests are psychotherapy integration, clinical training, and ethics. Now deceased, Jason M. Stewart, PsyD , was a clinical and sport psychologist in private practice. His areas of focus included men’s issues, sport performance enhancement, and addictions and compulsions. He earned a doctorate at Yeshiva University and received postdoctoral training in psychoanalytic, acceptance- and mindfulness-based, and integrative harm reduction psychotherapies. Steven C. Hayes, PhD, is Foundation Professor Emeritus at the University of Nevada, Reno; and president of the Institute for Better Health. Author of forty-eight books and more than 700 scientific articles, he has been president of numerous professional organizations and is among the most cited living psychologists. He has shown in his research on relational frame theory (RFT) how and why language and symbolic thought leads both to human achievement and to human suffering, and has guided the extension of RFT to ACT.