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The Kalyanamitra and the Client-Centered Psychotherapist

Center for Pain Management at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri.

The author presents an analysis of the similarities and differences between the role of a kalyanamitra (spiritual friend) in Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism and the role of a psychotherapist in client-centered psychotherapy. The common ground between both traditions is explored by elucidating Buddhist perspectives on the three necessary and sufficient conditions of client-centered psychotherapy (congruence, positive regard, and empathic understanding). The differences are also discussed in terms of the directive nature of the mind/body techniques that are taught within the teacher-student relationship in Vajrayana. The author concludes with an integration of the general points of agreement concerning topics such as empathy, self-actualization, and self-deception.

Key Words: client-centered psychotherapy • Buddhism • kalyanamitra • Vajrayana • actualizing tendency

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 44, No. 4, 485-493 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0022167804269140


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