The Mindful Therapist: A Clinician's Guide to Mindsight and Neural Integration

by Daniel J. Siegel

An integrated state of mindful awareness is crucial to achieving mental health. Daniel J. Siegel, an internationally recognized expert on mindfulness and therapy, reveals practical techniques that enable readers to harness their energies to promote healthy minds within themselves and their clients. He charts the nine integrative functions that emerge from the profoundly interconnecting circuits of the brain, including bodily regulation, attunement, emotional balance, response flexibility, fear extinction, insight, empathy, morality, and intuition.A practical, direct-immersion, high-emotion, low-techno-speak book, The Mindful Therapist engages readers in a personal and professional journey into the ideas and process of mindful integration that lie at the heart of health and nurturing relationships.

Genres: Psychology, Counselling, Nonfiction, Neuroscience, Social Work, Mental Health, Science

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 3, 2010

About the author

Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., is an internationally acclaimed author, award-winning educator, and child psychiatrist. Dr. Siegel received his medical degree from Harvard University and completed his postgraduate medical education at UCLA with training in pediatrics and child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. He is currently a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he also serves as a co-investigator at the Center for Culture, Brain, and Development, and is a founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center. In addition, Dr. Siegel is the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute.

Dr. Siegel has the unique ability to convey complicated scientific concepts in a concise and comprehensible way that all readers can enjoy. He has become known for his research in Interpersonal Neurobiology – an interdisciplinary view that creates a framework for the understanding of our subjective and interpersonal lives. In his most recent works, Dr. Siegel explores how mindfulness practices can aid the process of interpersonal and intrapersonal attunement, leading to personal growth and well-being.

Published author of several highly acclaimed works, Dr. Siegel’s books include the New York Times’ bestseller “Brainstorm”, along with "Mindsight," "The Developing Mind," "The Mindful Brain," "The Mindful Therapist," in addition to co-authoring "Parenting From the Inside Out," with Mary Hartzell and "The Whole-Brain Child," with Tina Bryson. He is also the Founding Editor of the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, which includes "Healing Trauma," "The Power of Emotion," and "Trauma and the Body." Dr. Siegel currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife.

For more information on Dr. Siegel's work, please visit DrDanSiegel.com.

Reviews

[Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this is a disappointing follow-up to The Mindful Brain. It lacks the excellent therapeutic applications that such a title promise. It wonders into the neuroscience in such detail, even Ph.D. therapists will get lost. There were some useful ideas - but they are far and few between. Could have been so much better.

[Julene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is laid out brilliantly. It gives a way to understand the brain that is spacial with pictures, mnemonics, and lots of repetition. It is basically the science of mindfulness broken down in a new language. I've not read a lot of the mindfulness books, so this may not be true. I will be reading more, much more, and studying this in depth come this fall. Just trying to get a head start.

[Rachel Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my least favorite of Siegel's books. I thought it would offer me some deep insights into my clinical practice, but his writing style was needlessly complicated and not enjoyable to read. Very disappointing since I LOVE his other books.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was required reading in one of my graduate classes in family therapy, and I am SO thankful it was! Of all the therapy books I have read, this is still the most helpful and inspiring. I think it makes a point that training programs often forget to emphasize- that is,to be the best therapist you can be, you have to apply the principles of presence and self-care to your own life.

So often my training focused on "helping the client" which ignores the truth that you cannot take a client where you will not go yourself. To truly help your clients, you have to start with yourself. This book opens up that conversation and showed me as a newbie therapist how to begin working on awareness and presence in the therapy room, and then take those skills and work on continuing them outside the therapy room in my own day-to-day life. It also encouraged me to work on accepting the process of therapy and my ongoing development as a therapist... and that we should always be growing and learning as therapists, there is no "end goal" where you suddenly have "arrived" as a perfect therapist. This book was beautiful and inspiring for me, I highly recommend it to all therapists.

[Ghenadie Virtos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Except the first few chapters, the book was very difficultu to get through. The author mistook reiteration for clarification and kept returning to the same concepts and metaphors which wasn't helpful in furthering the understanding of what he was trying to say nor was it bettering my grasp of the therapeutic field. I wouldn't recommend this book.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super awesome book, can be difficult to understand the neurobiology without having a basis for it. Really explains how integration and healing can happen. I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to improve their private practice or work with clients.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! A different take on mindfulness and probably not one to begin learning about mindfulness. However, if you’re interested in mindfulness and have read some books about it already, I highly recommend this one!

[paperlove · Rating 2 out of 5]

In "Der achtsame Therapeut" verspricht der Autor und Psychiater Daniel J. Siegel einen Praxisleitfaden für (Psycho-)Therapeuten, der sich mit dem Thema Achtsamkeit beschäftigt. Für mich als Psychologin klang dieses Versprechen nicht nur interessant, sondern auch äusserst hilfreich für meine praktische Tätigkeit in der Therapie.

Die Einleitung des Buches klang, genauso wie die offizielle Inhaltsangabe, sehr vielversprechend. Man erfährt, dass sich der Autor dem Thema Achtsamkeit auch von einer wissenschaftlichen Seite annähern will und er Ergebnisse aus der Neurowissenschaft miteinfliessen lässt, das noch einmal einen anderen Blickwinkel auf die Wirksamkeit von achtsamkeitsbasierten Übungen darstellen soll.

Soweit so gut. Voller Tatendrang und mit grosser Neugierde nach so vielen tollen, einleitenden Worten, habe ich mit dem Buch begonnen. Bereits nach wenigen Seiten musste ich mir allerdings eingestehen, dass sich das Buch gar nicht so leicht und flüssig lesen lässt, wie ich es nach der Einleitung vermutet hätte. Die neurobiologische Forschung und Erklärungsmodelle nehmen im Buch sehr schnell Überhand und ich habe mich zurück in mein Psychologiestudium versetzt gefühlt. Das wäre an und für sich noch okay gewesen, denn es schadet vermutlich nicht, mein eingerostetes Wissen aus der biologischen Psychologie aufzufrischen, aber leider sind Siegels Erläuterung nicht nur sehr komplex, sondern auch sehr ausufernd formuliert, so dass sie schwer verständlich sind. Das Thema Achtsamkeit gerät dabei sehr stark in den Hintergrund.
Nachdem ich die ersten Kapitel geschafft hatte, musste ich leider feststellen, dass das Buch sehr theoretisch ist und der Praxisbezug nur einen winzigen Teil einnimmt. Nachdem das neurowissenschaftliche Gebrabbel zu den einzelnen Unterthemen wie etwa "Resonanz", "Vertrauen", "Wahrheit" oder "Dreibeinstativ" beendet war, versucht der Autor doch immer wieder einen Bogen zum Thema Achtsamkeit zu schlagen. Der Versuch endet meistens in ein paar Skizzen, die einem Siegels Erklärungsmodelle bildlich näher bringen sollen. Was in meiner Berufspraxis als hilfreiches Mittel für Patienten funktioniert, hat mich hier aber noch viel mehr verwirrt. Die Skizzen sind unglaublich (und in meinen Augen unnötig) kompliziert und abstrakt gestaltet und beinhalten Begriffe, die mich eher verwirrt, als beim Verständnis der Konzepte unterstützt haben. Ein paar wenige Anleitungen zu Achtsamkeitsübungen sind dann doch irgendwann enthalten, aber selbst hier nutzt der Autor teilweise sehr abstrakte Metaphern, die die Übungen erschweren.

Es lässt sich nicht bestreiten, dass Siegel ein unglaubliches Fachwissen über neurobiologische Prozesse und das Gehirn im Allgemeinen hat, aber leider gelingt es ihm überhaupt nicht, dies dem Leser auf eine verständliche Art und Weise zu vermitteln. Seine Schreibweise ist sehr ausschweifend und mit vielen abstrakten Begrifflichkeiten übersät, dass das Lesen der ohnehin schon anspruchsvollen Thematik noch komplizierter macht.

Fazit:
"Der achtsame Therapeut" ist meiner Meinung nach leider überhaupt kein praxisorientiertes Werk, sondern sammelt viel mehr theoretisches Wissen über das menschliche Gehirn. Wer ein Lehrbuch über neurobiologische Prozesse und Befunde sucht, der ist hier richtig - allerdings sind Siegels Formulierungen selbst dafür sehr umständlich und abstrakt gewählt, so dass es sicher verständlichere Bücher aus dem Genre gibt. Trotz Siegels Fachwissen in Neurobiologie, wird hier leider im Untertitel etwas versprochen, dass das Buch nicht halten kann, denn für die psychotherapeutische Praxis ist das Buch in meinen Augen ungeeignet. Aus diesem Grund kann ich leider auch nur zwei Sterne vergeben.

[SilverCenturion · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author effectively incorporates recent research and plenty of science behind physiological/somatic/and psychological functions experienced by many such as the biological underpinnings of attachment or anxiety. In contrast, the recurring tendency for the author to repeat concepts, use a plethora of abbreviations for self-coined terms, and focus moreso on elongated elaborations into physiology and other physical science related topics made for a very dry and disconnected read in my experience. Clear interventions felt lacking, more practical applications for therapy felt missing, and the more useful statements felt as though they were hidden in short bursts throughout each chapter. Perhaps others will find the book more useful as a therapist, but as a provider myself, I couldn’t helo but feel disappointed.

[Michelle Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had higher hopes for this book. I think he got really into the neuroscientific in a way that distracted from the more practical applications. At times I felt like I was reading a textbook, but he didn’t fully commit to that either, adding anecdotes and way too many acronyms and cutesy stuff. It seemed like he was focused on creating “new knowledge” and being ground-breaking in a way that distracted me. I love the ideas of integrating mindfulness into psychotherapy, and the clinical effects of practicing meditation as a therapist. It also reinforced some learning about trauma’s effects on the brain. Maybe I should have started with The Mindful Brain.

[Allison Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was much more difficult to get through than I expected. I am a well-read mental health therapist who has a lot of experience with mindfulness. It didn’t take me long to realize “mindful” for the author is different than the meditative state of openness and awareness. For him, mindfulness is focused on the physiology of the cognitive brain—of the mind. This book was rich in research and much more cognitive than expected. I still need to find the images included in the book for a more visual understanding of the material.

[Lisa Langstraat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every therapist should read this book and gain a greater understanding of how a Mindfulness practice not only helps each of us personally, but also improves our ability to be a good counselor.

[Chava · Rating 5 out of 5]

how to keep sane as a therapist

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a really wonderful synthesis of broad-but-accurate strokes of neuroscience and the humanistic aspects of mindfulness. For me, the tripping point was that even though Siegel has a sense of humor about his acronyms, there were still too many for them to be useful for me, and I often found the graphics often forgettably simple for complex ideas where more detailed graphics (especially neuroanatomical ones) might have actually helped. I'll have to read more Siegel, as I gather some of his books more directly discuss therapeutic technique. Overall, I'm glad I read it, I'm sure I'll return to it, but it was one of those books you can tell was written by a brilliant person whose brilliance didn't always translate successfully onto the page in this particular endeavor.

[William Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I have to do a seminar that focuses heavily on this theory. Though I like a lot of the theory and how it deepens mindfulness, I've had a tough time watching other material related (YouTube videos, material from their website). As such I bought the book, hoping to gain a better understanding. The book certainly helped, but I had a tough time getting through it as I often found it boring and technical. I am a therapist and do my best to be mindful, listening to podcasts and reading material that helps so.
I definitely learned things that help with my personal growth in mindfulness. I just wish I had a better time reading the material.

[Ruth Brunner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mindful Therapist had a significant impact on me, especially in the way it explores neuroplasticity and the brain’s capacity for change. Dr. Siegel’s integration of mindfulness, mindsight, and neural integration is both practical and inspiring, offering a clear framework for understanding how awareness can reshape our inner world.

I attended one of Dr. Siegel’s workshops a few years ago, and this book reflects much of what he shared, grounded, accessible, and deeply human. It strengthened my understanding of the mind and continues to influence how I think about healing and transformation.

[Edna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended reading for Therapists who would like to know more and grown in their own practice of being a healer, as well as go beyond basic therapeutic skills in sessions. Dan Seigal always seems to perfectly balance data/information with practical knowledge that is immediately translated into real-life.

[Mallory Michaelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book I got 10 years ago while I was in college studying psychology and wanting to be a therapist. Although not very relevant to my life today, the book was well written and the author ties each concept to neurobiology and provides exercises to practice to become a mindful therapist.

[Greg Chewning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly a scientific read. You must be into neuroscience. The “application” aspects of the book are not applications that are helpful for therapeutic practice, but more about what is applicable to the brain during therapy sessions when client and counselor are attuned. It is probably a 5 star book in the scientific world, but I give it a 3 because it was not what I was looking for.

[Devin Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book but with a title like "mindful therapist" I expected something more experiential. there are mindful and visualization exercises but I didn't feel they were engrossing. This book was very neurological with it's focus on technical brain structures. That's interesting and educational. I didnt feel the synergy with mindfulness though

[Bridgey Widge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I plan on going through this one again to do the exercises in greater depth. It’s a great addition to every clinicians bookshelf. Adds a bit more to previous works in terms of practical application and being aware of any of your own “stuff” that might be activated when working with others.

[Glen Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hard read for me. But worthwhile. I’m going through it again. Siegel, cozolino and Schold are heavy hitters.

[Brittany Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book of his that I have read, probably not a good start. Really great ideas but over expanded, repeated and drawn out. Took me a long time to read.

[Aliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The core information and the practices in this book are excellent. However, Siegel does often tend to over-explain.

[Sav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repetitive and doesn’t have as many practical tools as expected.

[MacKenzie Tafil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read about mindfulness and incorporating that into practice. If you aren't familiar with the psychology and composition in the brain it can be a dry read. Otherwise would recommend.

[Ami AD · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give up, it's one of the most boring books I've ever read. I have forced myself to continue, but I really can't anymore, it's tremendously boring.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

My second attempt at reading this...its over my head and when I have to struggle to understand concepts presented, its not worth the stress or my time.

[Edel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needs many re-reads. Excellent book