Contemplative
Psychotherapy
Integrating ancient wisdom and modern clinical insight, making room for the full complexity of human experience.
Telehealth available for adults across Michigan.
Contemplative psychotherapy emerged from a rich dialogue in Boulder, Colorado between Tibetan Buddhist master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and a group of curious Western psychologists, therapists, and psychiatrists.
These conversations laid the groundwork for what would become a formal program founded in 1978 by psychiatrist Ed Podvoll.
Rooted in both ancient Buddhist wisdom and Western psychological insight—particularly Humanistic psychology—the approach reflects a mindful meeting of East and West.
What We Cultivate
Beginning with the view that you are not broken...
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Awareness refers to the capacity to notice thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations as they arise. In therapy, this means bringing attention to what is happening in the present moment rather than relating to experience only after the fact. Awareness allows patterns to be seen while they are occurring, rather than only in hindsight.
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Being with your direct experience means relating to our full experience exactly as it is felt, rather than remaining at the level of explanation or interpretation. In therapy, this means attending to emotional and somatic experience as it unfolds in real time. Change emerges through contact with experience itself, not analysis alone.
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Maitrī is a Sanskrit word that refers to unconditional loving-kindness toward experience. In therapy, this means learning to meet painful thoughts, emotions, and bodily states with warmth and curiosity rather than self-aggression or avoidance. Maitri is the practice of staying present with what is difficult, without turning against yourself.
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Basic goodness refers to the view that something fundamentally intact, healthy, and sane remains present beneath fear, confusion, and emotional pain. In therapy, this means approaching experience without assuming damage at the core of who you are. This view supports exploration without pathologizing or self-blame.
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Most of us struggle at times with over-identifying with our thoughts and inner experiences. In therapy, we address this tendency by developing a different relationship to thinking—one that allows thoughts to be noticed without being taken as facts. As this relationship softens, experience becomes less constricted.
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What if you could learn to stay with fear and emotional intensity without spinning out or turning away? This capacity refers to the ability to remain present with ambiguity, vulnerability, and emotional intensity. In therapy, this means developing tolerance for not knowing and for feeling without immediate efforts to resolve or escape. Over time, this supports greater steadiness in the face of difficulty.
What sessions may look like:
Sessions are experiential and relational. Rather than working only at the level of explanation or insight, we pay attention to what is happening in your experience as it unfolds—emotionally, physically, and relationally.
This may include:
tracking emotional and bodily experience in real time
noticing patterns of avoidance, self-judgment, or control as they arise
working with difficult experience directly rather than talking around it
attending to the therapeutic relationship as part of the work
Mindfulness practices may be introduced when helpful, but they are used in service of awareness rather than symptom “control”.
Who This Approach Is Often Helpful For
Contemplative psychotherapy may be a good fit if you:
feel stuck despite insight or coping strategies
experience ongoing self-criticism, shame, or inner tension
struggle with anxiety, existential concerns, or emotional overwhelm
want therapy that emphasizes presence and depth over technique
are interested in mindfulness without spiritual bypassing or pressure
You do not need meditation experience or spiritual beliefs to do this work.
