On Meditation and the Development of the Internal Analytic Setting

Abstract

This paper proposes meditation as an adjunct to psychoanalytic training by adapting meditation techniques to support the development of specific internal analytic settings to fulfil established training requirements (Hinze, 2015). Previous research has suggested how established meditation techniques engender some similar states of mind to those in various psychoanalytic theories (Cooper, 1999, 2014; Epstein, 1984; Hoffer, 2020; Pelled, 2007; Rubin, 2009). Building on this work, the author develops a novel framework to describe meditation using early Buddhist principles as a foundation (Thanissaro, 2012). This framework defines how different types of concentration and discernment can be developed by using mindfulness, alertness and ardency through meditation. As far as the author is aware, this is the first time these links have been explicitly made. This is followed by the analysis of the mental qualities required for evenly suspended attention, and the development and use of a greater awareness of countertransference, chosen as they point towards the analyst's functions of external listening and internal listening respectively (Parsons, 2007). Two meditation techniques are then described within the framework, to support development of these two internal analytic settings. A clinical example shows how these techniques can be utilized in the consultation room.