Psychoanalysis nowadays reflects a challenging phase of evolution; While the dimension of theory in psychoanalysis has made enormous and creative strides in the last generation, in the sense of profoundly understanding the human condition in health and disease, it has not made the corresponding evolutional progress in terms of providing psychoanalysts with appropriate methods for developing their mental space and their personal skills to absorb and integrate the gigantic theoretical innovations.
In other words, while psychoanalytic theorizing processes have been raised above new horizons of non-duality and compassion, training programs for the new generation of psychoanalysts is lagging far behind, failing to change significantly from what it used to be in the early days of psychoanalysis, in the last years of the 19th century; None of the methodologies used in psychoanalytic training meets directly and specifically the delicate issues and goals of cultivating the non-dual mind of the psychoanalyst and his compassionate presence.
This is where Buddhism may enter the picture in order to close the disturbing gap within psychoanalysis; our proposal suggests that assimilating Buddhist philosophy and methodologies within a unique program of psychoanalytic training will transform the whole domain of psychoanalytic treatment. Consequently, by finding an organic Western humanistic-scientific discipline which is a natural collaborator of Buddhism, the two-fold vision of this proposal, is likely to materialize successfully: the preservation and dissemination of Buddhism on the one hand, and the transforming evolution of psychoanalysis, on the other hand.
Contemporary Collaborations of Buddhism and
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
The last decades have seen many sincere attempts to strengthen the links between psychoanalytic psychology and Buddhist insights, and many programs of combining psychologies of the East and the West were promoted all over the Western world. Nonetheless, all these pioneering and valuable efforts have never culminated in a full, formal Psychoanalytic-Buddhist Training Program. Although the proposed implementation of our vision into an unprecedented enterprise of Psychoanalytic-Buddhist Training Program would naturally be modest in its quantitative dimension, we are sure it would rise qualitatively to become a source of inspiration to the whole domain of Psychoanalysis, the crown jewel of Western disciplines helping psychic suffering, as well as provide a mighty impetus to the valuable goal of Western preservation of Buddhism. Such a bold vision is now ripe and mature, and we honestly believe that we also have reached a phase of ripeness and maturity.