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Richard W. Bush, PhD Sex: Male; Psych # PSY10243 (Since 1976) 1806 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley 94709 (510) 845- 1845 RBushPhD@aol.com Fee scale: Sliding scale from $100-$140 per 60 minute session DESCRIPTION OF CLINICAL PRACTICE In private practice since 1976, I work with adults, couples, families, children and adolescents. Over the course of the past 25 years, I've developed a special interest in couples therapy and in helping individuals with relationship problems. I'm also interested in integrating Buddhist wisdom and Western psychology. I'm currently influenced by a therapeutic approach called "narrative". The narrative approach resonates with much of Buddhist thinking, for example, cautioning us to not hold our stories about ourselves or others as "truth". This is especially important since we live in a culture which thinks that everyday life problems are caused by our "inadequacies" or "deficiencies." Since there isn't a recommended frequency of sessions in narrative therapy, people are encouraged to schedule appointments in whatever way works for them. VIPASSANA/MEDITATION BACKGROUND I first became interested in Buddhism in 1990, listening to tapes by Jack Kornfield. I knew he was a psychologist and was listening to the tapes in this spirit. I found what he said to be so exceptionally wise and wondered why I'd never heard his school of psychological thought before. Finally it dawned on me: Jack was not espousing a new psychological theory, but talking of Buddhism. Since then, I've developed a daily sitting practice including vipassana, metta and tonglen. I began to sit retreats, on a regular basis, in 1998. My primary teacher is Tara Brach. I'm also deeply influenced by Pema Chodron and Ken McLeod and inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, by Suzuki Roshi and by Tenzin Palmo. Another important teacher has been Debra Chamberlin-Taylor. Recently, I've been drawn to the style of vipassana practice taught by Sayadaw U Tejaniya. RELEVANT CLINICAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE I received my PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan in 1974, where I was trained in psychodynamically oriented, child and adult therapy. Since then, I've studied many different schools of therapy, including: Gestalt, psychodrama, strategic and systemic family therapy, Ericksonian hypnotherapy and EMDR. My years of professional practice, and just as importantly, my years of meditation practice have taught me to privilege peoples' experience of what's helpful over what psychological theory says should be helpful. Exemplifying this is a favorite quote by Suzuki Roshi: "The purpose of Buddhism is not to promote Buddha's teachings or establish Buddhist groups, but to help people find their own way ... when they cannot find their own way." |