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Paul C. Cooper, training analyst, clinical supervisor, faculty member of NPAP and coeditor of Psychotherapy and Religion: Many Paths, One Journey
has given us a most interesting and accessible anthology concerning the developing conversation between Buddhism and psychoanalysis. In twelve fairly short, thoughtful, and provocative chapters we read clear examples of how Buddhist-inspired psychoanalytic practitioners use their sensibilities and emotional responsiveness to enhance their clinical work and their own personal lives. Many Paths is unique: Unlike some other books in this field, it is not top heavy with highfalutin Buddhist or psychoanalytic theory.
Susan Rudnick discusses how the experience of coming into the present moment animates her clinical work and sustains her capacity for affirmation and hopefulness about life. From this perspective, she explores how her relationship with her developmentally disabled sister affected her self-identity as a psychotherapist, a Zen practitioner, and a sister. Jeffrey Eaton describes some of the personal and professional relationships that developed during his Buddhist training and through his work as an analytic candidate. Barry Magid reveals the oscillations between his dual roles as psychoanalyst and Zen master. From the point of view of personal experience, he investigates how we can reconcile the paradox of reducing suffering while leaving everything just as it is and of discovering the “truth” that nothing is concealed. Robert Jonas describes an experience from his own life that he characterizes as a “perfect storm of healing” in which Buddhist meditation, Christian prayer, and object relations psychotherapy each provided resources for a new way of living. Susan Flynn, in one of my favorite essays, provides a detailed account of her shifting relationships with her family as she and they dealt with the death of her sister. Tony Stern elaborates the change that occurred to his sense of self in his very first few encou