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Shoulder to Shoulder, Eye to Eye: Relationships in Buddhism & Psychotherapy

Residential Program
Dates: Sep 02, 2022 - Sep 05, 2022
Days: Friday - Monday
Number of Nights: 3 nights

Instructor(s): Polly Young-Eisendrath and Mark Unno

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Program Description:
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Buddhist practices can be understood as inquiries into individual experience within a community, whereas analytic psychotherapy is an inquiry into mutual discovery through a dyadic relationship. While Buddhism invites us to investigate the subjective and objective worlds, psychotherapy especially invites us to investigate the intersubjective. In this program, we will explore both the resonances and divergences between psychotherapy and Buddhist practice in these regards, focusing on selected strands in depth psychology and psychoanalysis, on the one hand, and Zen, Pure Land Buddhism, and Vipassana Mindfulness, on the other. Themes of subjectivity, objectivity, and intersubjectivity will be especially helpful in thinking through Buddhism in a Western context, where the majority of practitioners are living in couple and family relationships. The program emphasizes both embodied practice and reflective inquiry.


Noble Silence:
Noble silence will begin with the opening talk on the first evening and continue through the closing session.

Experience Level:
Suitable for beginning and experienced practitioners.

Continuing Education:

Applications for 10 continuing education units for psychologists and social workers have been 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.

    About the Instructor(s):
  • Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst, psychologist, and psychotherapist in private practice. She is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont and the founder and director of the Institute for Dialogue Therapy. She is past president of the Vermont Association for Psychoanalytic Studies and a founding member of the Vermont Institute for the Psychotherapies. Polly is also the chairperson of Enlightening Conversations, a series of conversational conferences which bring together participants from the front lines of Buddhism and psychoanalysis. You can visit Polly's website here.

  • Mark Unno, PhD, is Professor of Buddhism and Dept Head of Religious Studies at the University of Oregon. The recipient of the Thomas F. Herman Distinguished Teaching Award, he is the author of Shingon Refractions (2004) as well as many articles on Shin and Zen Buddhism and comparative religion. He is also an ordained Shin Buddhist priest. Please visit Mark's website here.