Since any therapeutic engagement beginswith getting to know the mind of an Other, it is appropriate that a holisticrevisioning of psychology begin by considering the fundamental knowing we referto as clinical diagnosis. This involves both critiquing the top-down empiricistapproach to psychodiagnosis and presenting a viable and rigorous alternative tothe knowing of Other minds. G. Kenneth Bradford is the firstpsychotherapist to apply a Mindfulness-based approach to psychologicalassessment and diagnosis, making this a foundational and entry text tomindfulness and experientially-informed therapy practices. It presents thefirst application of the Phenomenological Research Method to psychodiagnosis.While the phenomenological method has enjoyed high regard in the area ofqualitative research, this book marks its first appearance in being applied toclinical assessment and diagnosis. Furthermore, these two cutting-edgeapproaches, one from the East and one from the West, are intertwined in a waythat contributes to the emerging Integrative trends in Psychology. The finalsection on the Question of Sanity proceeds beyond both the phenomenologicalresearch literature and much of the current "Mindfulness-Based" literature, which are largely technique-focused, opening up the underlying (Buddhist &Existential) wisdom informing contemplatively-robust practices.
About the Author: G. Kenneth Bradford, PhD, is a licensed psychologist in private practice in the San Francisco BayArea. He is an adjunct professor at John F. Kennedy University and theCalifornia Institute of Integral Studies, where he teaches courses onExistential-Contemplative Psychotherapy and psychological assessmentintegrating Mindfulness and Phenomenological perspectives. He offers advancedtraining, workshops and lectures in the United States and Europe, integratingExistential therapeutic sensibilities with the principles and practices ofBuddhadharma. Ken studied Existential Psychotherapy as a protigi of JamesBugental beginning in 1988, joining him as a teaching associate in 1994. Hisclinical background also includes training in European and RelationalPsychoanalysis, Focusing (with Eugene Gendlin) and Nondual Therapy (with PeterFenner). Ken has been a vipassana student since 1975, being most indebted tothe instruction of Joseph Goldstein and Ruth Denison. He met his root dzogchenmaster, Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, in 1980, and has also studied with other mastersof Vajrayana Buddhism, including, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Tarthang Tulku and DudjomRinpoche. He has published many professional articles and coedited Listening from the Heart of Silence withJohn J. Prendergast.