
Chuck Knapp, Gabrielle Bershen, Jack Gipple
This is part one of a series.
The following podcast is the first of a four-part series on the core principles of the Windhorse therapeutic approach. These principles were articulated by Chuck Knapp in a chapter from the book “Brilliant Sanity: Buddhist Approaches to Psychotherapy.” Here, Chuck is joined by fellow psychotherapists and Team Supervisors Gabrielle Bershen and Jack Gipple in a discussion about the first principle: Fundamental Sanity. They begin with a description of a Windhorse team, with its locus in the home of an individual client and tailored to that person’s needs. Team composition and structure of contact are aimed at synchronizing mind and body in predictable patterns of ordinary household activity…
Contemplative practice provides a foundation for the way team members cultivate relationship with the client via “Basic Attendance” in a healthy environment. Relatedly—and the primary focus of this discussion—the radical notion that sanity is fundamental (and mental confusion secondary) informs this relationship…Such a view allows for acceptance of what is and openness to how recovery may unfold—uniquely—for each client.
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This was a nice summarization of the basic workings of a team. Having done the work there was still a lot of wisdom to gain from listening again and reminding myself of what it really means to put together a support team and the importance of basic attendance in every role. I think the work is really unique in the focus on creating a system that supports the client in exploring their needs for themselves and taking on more of a leadership role in their own recovery process.