Reflecting on a particular session with a client, I explore the impact of zenmeditation or zazen on my psychotherapeutic work. I discover four mental processes that are enhanced by my practice: paying attention, the splitting of the ego in an observing and experiencing part, and a greater possibility of distancing myself of well-known personal patterns. My receptivity for what my client conveys at an implicit level, also improved. All these processes are illustrated by events that I experienced during this session with my client. In the final sections, I offer some thoughts about psychotherapeutic presence, and I call attention for wonder in the psychotherapeutic encounter, and for the silent, implicit processes between client and psychotherapist.
zenmeditation, silence, attention, egosplitting, implict processes, receptivity, presence, mental processing work
The tPeP (Journal Person-centered experiential Psychotherapy) is the scientific journal for Dutch and Flemish psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, that work from, or are interested in a client-centered perspective.
