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<p>Foreword Edward R.Canada, PhD ix<br /><br />Foreword Joan Halifax Roshi, PhD xiii<br /><br />Preface xv<br /><br />Acknowledgments xxi</p> <p>1 A Spiritual Helping Framework for Our Clients and Ourselves Beyond Spiritual Neutrality 1</p> <p>2 Sitting with Clients on Uncertain Ground: Strong Back, Soft Front Beyond Evidence-Based Practice 9</p> <p>3 Radical Acceptance of Clients, Context, and Self Beyond Carl Rogers’ Positive Regard 27</p> <p>4 Mindfulness: Steadying the Mind and Being Present Beyond Empathy Skills and Counter-Transference 47</p> <p>5 Curiosity, Compassionate Caring, and Inspiration Beyond Professional Warmth 71</p> <p>6 Bearing Witness to Trauma and Pain Beyond Clinical Distance 97</p> <p>7 The Middle Way: Embracing Contradiction and Paradox Beyond Dualistic Thinking 135</p> <p>8 Having the Conversation: Making Space for Client Spirituality Beyond the Great Taboo 153</p> <p>9 Dealing with Failure Beyond Cognitive Solutions and the Paradigm of Blame 163</p> <p>10 Swimming Upstream with a Warrior’s Heart Beyond Working a Human Services Job 175</p> <p>Appendix Brief Introduction to Buddhism and Zen 185</p> <p>References 191</p> <p>Index 195</p>

"….aims to guide workers dealing with difficult clients with wrenching problems." (<i>The Sacramento Bee</i>, 9/14/08)

<b>Andrew Bein, PhD, LCSW,</b> has twenty-three years of experience as a clinician, consultant trainer, and researcher. His professional experience includes work in child welfare, public schools/special education, youth programs, multiservice centers, substance abuse, and private practice. Dr. Bein has been a Zen student for ten years and is a Full Professor with the Division of Social Work at California State University, Sacramento.

<p>"The Zen of Helping is a must-read, must-have book for anyone who is serious about helping those in need of care, understanding, and comfort. It is relevant across the spectrum from the novice student to the experienced therapist. Detailed case examples and personal narratives breathe life into this nuanced and revealing, well-crafted, multidimensional book."<br /> —Shauna L. Smith, MSW, MFT, cofounder, Therapists for Social Responsibility</p> <p>"Andrew Bein's The Zen of Helping provides a wonderfully insightful, compassionate, and practical resource. Few publications provide the helping professional with guidance on how to develop the presence, nonjudgmental acceptance, compassion, and connection that are at the heart of helping relationships. Dr. Bein fills this gap in a compelling volume that reflects his extensive experience as a teacher and helping professional, combined with his deep grounding in Zen practice, and his compassionate caring in response to human suffering. I highly recommend this book."<br /> —Alfred W. Kaszniak, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neurology,Head, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona</p> <p>A thoughtful and pragmatic guide rooted in Zen thought, designed to help mental health professionals develop an inclusive, spiritually oriented approach and specific skills for greater effectiveness with clients</p> <p>Written by a therapist and dedicated Zen Buddhist practitioner, The Zen of Helping is a pragmatic and self-caring guide that deals with the realities of practice, taking professionals beyond familiar and formulaic responses, to a practice defined by courage and a sense of calling.</p> <p>Steeped in Zen thought and filled with vivid yet practical metaphors, case examples, personal anecdotes, and poems, this inspiring book serves as a vehicle for practitioners to understand and embrace uncertainty, and move beyond their doubts, to further develop and share their compassion as a helping professional.</p> <p>The Zen of Helping enables practitioners to enter the uncertain world of the helping professions and creates an environment where clients thrive, with discussion of how to:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Develop one of the book's main principles, "strong back, soft front," to embody the experience of helping</p> </li> <li> <p>Practice radical acceptance: a nonjudgmental, kind atmosphere of acceptance that prepares the practitioner to take constructive action</p> </li> <li> <p>Embrace practical mindfulness and its potential for helping practitioners</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand the importance of caring, manifested through a genuine curiosity for clients' lives</p> </li> <li> <p>Make use of the power of the wounded healer—the helping professional's experience of personal pain and suffering</p> </li> </ul> <p>Informed by over twenty years of professional experience, author Andrew Bein's The Zen of Helping is a call to the heart that addresses questions common in the real world of practice and directs readers to the heart of helping relationships, involving compassion, self-awareness, radical acceptance, practitioner presence, and caring.</p>

"Andrew Bein’s <i>The Zen of Helping</i> provides a wonderfully insightful, compassionate, and practical resource. Few publications provide the helping professional with guidance on how to develop the presence, nonjudgmental acceptance, compassion, and connection that are at the heart of helping relationships. Dr. Bein fills this gap in a compelling volume that reflects his extensive experience as a teacher and helping professional, combined with his deep grounding in Zen practice, and his compassionate caring in response to human suffering. I highly recommend this book."<br /> —Alfred W. Kaszniak, Ph.D., University of Arizona, Head, Department of Psychology, Professor of Psychology, Neurology, & Psychiatry <p>"Through the gathering of wisdom of his teachers, the insights of his own clinical experience, and the deep spiritual exploration of his own personal journey, Dr. Bein has created a remarkable roadmap of "pointing instructions" and guidance through the complexities of our hearts and minds for all of us in the healing professions. His book is valuable tool for anyone engaged in the work of healing the suffering of others, and the work of healing the suffering of one's self."<br /> —Larry Yang, LCSW, Guiding Dharma Teacher, East Bay Meditation Center, Oakland, CA</p> <p>"<i>The Zen of Helping</i> offers spiritual principles and practice wisdom in a profound yet delightfully readable manner. While grounded in Zen thought, concepts are presented in a framework accessible and acceptable to helping professionals from diverse spiritual traditions. Readers will find guidance for self-care as well as for effective practice in this deep and thoughtful book. This book makes a significant contribution to the literature on spirituality and counseling practice."<br /> —Ann W. Nichols, PhD, Arizona State University, School of Social Work and Director, Society for Spirituality and Social Work</p> <p>"<i>The Zen of Helping</i> is a must-read, must-have book for anyone who is serious about helping those in need of care, understanding, and comfort. It is relevant across the spectrum from the novice student to the experienced therapist. Detailed case examples and personal narratives breathe life into this nuanced and revealing, well-crafted, multi-dimensional book."<br /> —Shauna L. Smith, MSW, MFT, co-founder, Therapists for Social Responsibility</p> <p>"I have read the book with great heart and joy. It is so well-written, original, clear, helpful, and wise. I think this book will be an invaluable contribution, not only to social work, but many other disciplines."<br /> —Joan Halifax Roshi, Ph.D., Upaya Zen Center</p>

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