In this wise and humane book, psychoanalyst and meditation teacher Jeffrey Rubin shows how the complementary insights of psychoanalysis and Buddhism can be creatively combined in both therapy and daily life. This is a book that will benefit not only therapistsbut also everyone seeking to transform legacies of pain and trauma, emerge from self-defeating relational patterns, and live rich, satisfying, and fulfilling lives.
Seth Zuih Segall, PhD, clinical psychologist and Zen Buddhist priest. Contributing editor for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, science writer for the Mindfulness Research Monthly, and author of Buddhism and Human Flourishing: A Modern Western Perspective (2020).
Jeff Rubin has been at the forefront of the conversation between Psychoanalysis and Buddhism for many years. He reviews that conversation with his usual fluent style, thorough scholarship and open hearted personal and clinical candor that will benefit both experienced practitioners and interested newcomers. The book is particularly helpful because Rubin offers actual practice suggestions that bring together Buddhist mindfulness and the best of contemporary psychoanalytic invitations to greater emotional depth and intimacy.
Mark Finn, PhD, clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. Co-editor of Object Relations Theory and Religion (1992) and a contributor to numerous edited collections on Buddhism and psychotherapy, New York, and Manhattan.
This thoughtful, provocative, insightful work illuminates the enormous potential of a genuine marriage between psychoanalytic and Buddhist traditions. Based on decades of experience as a gifted psychoanalyst and diligent meditation student, Dr. Rubin lucidly brings both traditions alive with a clear-eyed understanding of what each offers and lacks. Scholarly yet accessible, and full of relatable personal and clinical examples, this book will enrich the lives and practices of psychotherapists, meditation students, and psychotherapy patients alike.
Ronald D. Siegel, Psy.D. Author of The Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary: Finding Happiness Right Where You Are, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Part Time, Harvard Medical School
'Jeffrey Rubin has the courage to look deeply at the intersection of Zen and psychoanalysis not settling for a simple Venn diagram but asking hard questions about how each wisdom tradition can complement, penetrate, and complete the other. Meditative Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis will expand your thinking and breathe new life into your work with yourself and others.'
Robert Waldinger, MD, professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Roshi, Living Vow Zen.
