Who is the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy?

We are a non-profit organization dedicated to the education, training and support of mental health professionals in integrating mindfulness, meditation and psychotherapy.

The vision of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy (IMP) is practice-based, and all teaching faculty have extensive personal and professional experience in the practice of mindfulness meditation or other mindfulness practices. Most educational programs offer CE credit for healthcare professionals. We also offer psychological consultation for meditation centers, clinical supervision, psychotherapy referrals, and networking opportunities for interested clinicians.

IMP BENEFIT: Peaceable, Friendly, and Fearless: Using Positive Neuroplasticity to Develop Calm, Compassionate Strength

Peaceable, Friendly & Fearless:

Using Postive Neuroplasticity to Develop Calm, Compassionate Strength

Saturday October 19, 2019 - 9:30 - 5:00PM

Harvard Memorial Church, 1 Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA

 

We need psychological resources like grit and gratitude for resilient well-being in a challenging world. How can we grow these inner strengths?
Positive neuroplasticity shows us how to turn passing experiences into lasting changes in the brain - hardwiring an unshakable calm, compassion, and courage into the marrow of our being.

In this experiential workshop, we’ll explore:
•  Why personal

Marjorie Schuman's picture

Mindfulness vs. Psychotherapy: Discerning The Difference

Submitted by Marjorie Schuman
on Tue, 04/02/2019 - 15:31

Mindfulness vs. Psychotherapy: Discerning The Difference

Mindfulness is the meditative heart of Buddhism, and it seems to have found a secular home in western psychotherapy. This makes sense because Buddhist practice, like psychotherapy, is fundamentally a method for addressing psychological pain.

An implicitly psychotherapeutic view of Buddhist practice is also invited by the work of contemporary dharma teachers who have been educated in western psychotherapy and who have been the authors of our current Buddhist psychological narratives.

IMP BENEFIT: Shame Through New Eyes: The Transformative Power of Self-Compassion

Christopher Germer will be leading a day-long workshop to benefit IMP:
 
Shame Through New Eyes:
The Transformative Power of Self-Compassion
Saturday May 18, 2019
9:30am - 4:30pm
Student Organization Center at Hilles, Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
 

 

Shame is probably the trickiest human emotion. It's everywhere so we barely see it. It's also the glue that makes other emotions stick around longer than they should - fear, anger, guilt-and it hollows out the observer in a way that there's no one home to work with the emotions. The mere mention of the s-word usually sends people packing.

Marjorie Schuman's picture

Inquiring Deeply About Self-Reflection

Submitted by Marjorie Schuman
on Fri, 03/01/2019 - 20:22

“Mirrors should think longer before they reflect.” 
― Jean Cocteau

Self-reflection may be broadly defined as the process of examining our own experience in order to become aware of our thoughts and feelings. The word “reflection” itself evokes the idea of the mind as a mirror.   We may become aware of many different kinds of images in the mirror of the mind: what we see and hear, what we feel, what we think.   And, we also have the capacity to turn our attention back to the surface of the mirror itself.  This is the self-reflexive capacity of awareness. 

Self-reflexivity is built into the

Marjorie Schuman's picture

MEDITATIVE LISTENING

Submitted by Marjorie Schuman
on Fri, 02/01/2019 - 11:23

 

There is a kind of magic in the experience of feeling deeply heard. A special set of relational moments, “moments of meeting,” are those in which there is a profound sense of mutual connection.  Such “moments of meeting” occur in conversation when something is said and received in such a way that the speaker feels deeply seen, felt, accepted, and understood.    The prototype of this experience is the moment that occurs immediately after birth, when the new baby looks into the eyes of a mother who is looking back.

Marjorie Schuman's picture

Inquiring Deeply About Subjectivity and Truth

Submitted by Marjorie Schuman
on Wed, 01/23/2019 - 22:25

Subjectivity is a central philosophical concept, related to consciousness, personhood, and truth.   Though defined in different ways, the central idea is that information, ideas, and situations are true only from the perspective of a subject or subjects.

Do we regard truth as objective, a matter of fact?  Or do we understand that truth always bears the stamp of what is subjective?  

This concept is illustrated in this well-known staircase drawing of the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher.

Marjorie Schuman's picture

Inquiring Deeply About Praise

Submitted by Marjorie Schuman
on Wed, 12/12/2018 - 13:50

INQUIRING DEEPLY ABOUT PRAISE

The famed German novelist Thomas Mann apparently experienced quite a bit of anxiety about how his work would be received.  He quipped that he suffered from a  “P vitamin deficiency”:  chronic hunger for praise. 

I personally resonate with the idea of P vitamin and the implied meaning that approval fills deep needs and is an essential psychological nutrient.  It is quite evident that the need for approval is a driving force in human behavior, as well a basic regulator of self-esteem.  We are motivated to be seen in a myriad of different forms.

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RX: MEDITATION 1 SIT BID CONTRAINDICATIONS: OVER-MEDITATED

Submitted by bdwtherapy
on Fri, 11/30/2018 - 15:09

RX: MEDITATION 1 SIT BID
CONTRAINDICATIONS: OVER-MEDITATED

Meditation and mindfulness has become extremely popular of late. I have heard people saying that they meditate every day, or twice a day, or that they have been meditating for blah blah amount of time, there is certain pride being demonstrated about being part of the crowd. Like anything that truly does have such an impact on people’s lives we want to share it and want to feel as if we belong with the hip crowd.

Tags: 
meditation
guide
contraindications
beth weinstein

Cushion & Couch

Cushion and Couch is IMP's quarterly e-journal, featuring articles, interviews, and book reviews written by and for members of the community. If you are interested in contributing, or just want to give feedback, please send us an e-mail.

 

Current issue:

In this issue:
  • 'Inquiring Deeply About Emptiness' by Marjorie Schuman
  • 'Befriending the Breath' by Timothy Little
  • 'Freedom Through Meditation and Psychotherapy' by Edward Ryan
  • 'We are All Just, Only Trees: The Second Noble Truth on a Winter's Day' by Lauri Klein

 

 

Past issues:

2017:

Spring 2017    Summer 2017  

 

 

2015:

Recent Blog Posts

Mindfulness vs. Psychotherapy: Discerning The Difference
Marjorie Schuman | Apr. 02, 2019
Mindfulness vs. Psychotherapy: Discerning The Difference Mindfulness is the meditative heart of Buddhism, and it seems to... More >
Inquiring Deeply About Self-Reflection
Marjorie Schuman | Mar. 01, 2019
“Mirrors should think longer before they reflect.” ― Jean Cocteau Self-reflection may be broadly defined as the process of... More >
MEDITATIVE LISTENING
Marjorie Schuman | Feb. 01, 2019
 There is a kind of magic in the experience of feeling deeply heard. A special set of relational moments, “moments of... More >