Jan 21, 2022
In this episode, Belinda Siew Luan Khong shares her thoughts about the connections between secular mindfulness and its Buddhist roots. She describes the training that teachers and therapists need to skillfully introduce the Dharma to a Western audience, offering anecdotes from her own clinical work in teaching meditation and mindfulness to diverse individuals and groups. Listen in to learn about Dr. Khong’s work integrating existential and Buddhist psychology and find out what’s missing from our Western understanding of mindfulness.
Dr Belinda Siew Luan Khong practiced as an attorney before moving into psychology. She holds a doctorate in psychology from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia where her research focused on the role of responsibility in Buddhist Psychology, Heidegger’s philosophy and Daseinsanalysis (Existential psychotherapy). Currently, she practices as a psychologist. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), the College of Counselling Psychologists. Australian Psychological Society. She also lectures at the Department of psychology, Macquarie University and is an adjunct fellow of the University. She counsels individuals and families on a range of mental health issues including personal growth, meditation and mindfulness.
Dr Khong serves on the editorial boards of The Humanistic Psychologist and Mindfulness journals. Her practice and research interests include integrating Western and Eastern approaches to psychology, health and well-being, and she has published extensively in these areas. She was the guest editor of several special issues on mindfulness, Buddhist psychology and Heidegger’s philosophy. In 2021, she guest edited a Special Double Issue on Revisiting and Re-Envisioning Mindfulness: Buddhist and Contemporary Perspectives for The Humanistic Psychologist (APA). Dr Khong conducts talks and training workshops on psychotherapy, meditation, and mindfulness in Australia and overseas.