Healing from Anxiety: A Buddhist and Psychotherapeutic Response

Instructor(s): Pilar Jennings

Program Description:

As we continue to navigate a world impacted by Covid, political strife, climate change, and global conflict, stirring fear and anxiety in all forms, the healing arts of the Buddha-Dharma and Western psychology offer healing perspectives and practices. In this program, we’ll explore a Buddhist and psychodynamic understanding of anxiety, its causes, and personal symptoms. Together we’ll examine a contemplative response to this powerful form of suffering as a way to find meaning and offer support to those who experience anxiety and its many ripple effects. With a focus on interpersonal dynamics and collective triggers, we will learn about key relational and developmental experiences that generate feelings and behaviors associated with anxiety. We will also explore how these early dynamics can inform and intensify anxiety during these stressful times. This program will be helpful to meditators of all experience levels and clinicians interested in the clinical applications of Buddhist meditation.

Noble Silence:

Noble silence will be observed following each evening session through breakfast the following morning.

Experience Level:

Suitable for beginning and experienced practitioners.

Continuing Education:

Applications for 10 continuing education units for psychologists and social workers will be submitted for this program. Accrediting agencies are the National Association for Social Workers (NASW) and the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy (IMP). You can find more information about social work licensure board endorsements here. Please confirm with your licensing board whether the CEUs offered are applicable for your licensure before registration. For more information about CEUs through BCBS, please click here.

Cancellation Policy:

This policy applies to all residential programs, including Paths. If you need to cancel your registration, please contact us as soon as possible. Please note cancellation fees are at most $50 for those receiving financial assistance. As of 2023, 100% of your deposit is forfeited if you cancel less than two weeks before the program start date and there is a $50 cancellation fee if you cancel two weeks or more in advance. Beginning in 2024, prior to six weeks before the program start date, cancellation fees are $50 for all programs more than two nights and $25 for programs two nights or less. 50% of your deposit is forfeited if you cancel between two and six weeks of the program start date. 100% of your deposit is forfeited if you cancel less than two weeks before the program start date.

Covid-19 Safety Protocol:

Please review our Covid-19 Safety Protocols here: https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/covid-19/.

DEI:

As we work to become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community, we invite feedback/suggestions you may have regarding ways that we can make participation in the program more accessible and welcoming. Please email us at contact@buddhistinquiry.org.

About the Instructor(s):
• 

  Pilar Jennings

  Dr. Pilar Jennings is a psychoanalyst based in New York City with a focus on the clinical applications of Buddhist meditation practice. She has been a Buddhist practitioner for 40 years; a teacher of Tibetan Buddhism in the Sakya lineage; a Visiting Lecturer at Union Theological Seminary; Columbia University; and a faculty member of the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science. Her publications have included "East of Ego: The Intersection of Narcissism and Buddhist Meditation Practice," "I've Been Waiting for you: Reflections on Analytic Pain," “Imagery and Trauma: The Psyche’s Push for Healing,” and Mixing Minds: The Power of Relationship in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism released through Wisdom Publications. Her most recent book: To Heal a Wounded Heart: On the Transformative Power of Buddhism & Psychotherapy in Action, is a psychoanalytic memoir exploring her entry into clinical work as a practicing Buddhist.