
Western Psychology, Eastern Spirituality with Jeffrey Rubin (#390)
From Religion on the Mind by Dan Koch
March 30, 2026 · 1h 8m
About this episode
Dan Koch interviews Dr. Jeffrey Rubin about the integration of Western psychoanalysis and Eastern contemplative practices in meditative psychotherapy.
I sit down with clinical psychologist and author Dr. Jeffrey Rubin to explore his concept of meditative psychotherapy — a genuinely reciprocal integration of Western psychoanalysis and Eastern contemplative practice that goes far deeper than the usual mindfulness-lite approaches. We get into what meditation actually is (hint: not just stress relief), spiritual bypassing, the scandals that keep plaguing Buddhist communities, and why real healing requires both quieting the mind and doing hard psychological work. Highlights: Meditation isn't just symptom reduction East-West integration done poorly vs. well Spiritual bypassing across traditions AI, dreams, and idiographic meaning Three stages of meditative psychotherapy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Dan Koch
Guest: Dr. Jeffrey Rubin
Topics covered
- meditative psychotherapy
- Western psychology
- Eastern spirituality
- spiritual bypassing
- meditation
- psychological work
Keywords
- meditation
- psychotherapy
- spiritual bypassing
- Eastern spirituality
- Western psychology
- mental health
- Buddhism
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Buddhist communities
More episodes of Religion on the Mind
- Why Tribalism is So Natural (#404) · June 8, 2026 · 1h 25m
- Study Hall: Sex, Aging & Purity Culture (#403) · June 1, 2026 · 40 min
- The Many Faces of Fundamentalism with Trauma Therapist Ryan Kuja (#402) · May 25, 2026 · 1h 20m
- When Theater Kids go to Youth Group (#401) · May 21, 2026 · 47 min
- Purpose & Calling After Religious Change (#400) · May 18, 2026 · 1h 29m
- The Jewish Renewal Movement with Rabbi Simcha Raphael (#399) · May 11, 2026 · 43 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Religion on the Mind podcast page.