John Cogswell is an American clinical

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

who practices

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He started his career as chief psychologist at the

Brattleboro Retreat The Brattleboro Retreat is a private not-for-profit mental health and addictions hospital that provides comprehensive inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient treatment services for children, adolescents, and adults. Located just north ...

in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was trained by William Snyder who, under Carl Rogers, conducted the first research investigation in psychotherapy. In 1959, at System Development Corporation Cogswell pioneered the first study in computer-assisted counseling. In 1965, caught between the "objective" psychologist and the subjective self, he sought therapy with

James Bugental James Frederick Thomas BugentalStefan E. Schulenberg, ''Approaching Terra Incognita with James F. T. Bugental: An Interview and an Overview of Existential-Humanistic Psychotherapy''. ''Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy'' (2003), 33, 4, pp. ...

. This therapy produced a transpersonal experience that markedly altered his view of reality. Since 1968 he has pursued

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

Vajrayana Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

Jungian theory Analytical psychology ( de , Analytische Psychologie, sometimes translated as analytic psychology and referred to as Jungian analysis) is a term coined by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, to describe research into his new "empirical science" ...

and Bioenergetic therapy. Through 1982-2002 he trained with Tibetan

lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...

s and took his

Bodhisattva vows The Bodhisattva vow is a vow (Sanskrit: ''praṇidhāna,'' lit. aspiration or resolution) taken by some Mahāyāna Buddhists to achieve full buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. One who has taken the vow is nominally known as a bodhis ...

with the Venerable

Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche (Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche) is the head of the Trungram lineage and one of the highest tulkus of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He has received extensive transmissions of the Nyingma lineages, and teaches in the sp ...

. He is the co-founder with Joseph Culp of the body/mind approach Walking-In-Your-Shoes and the L.A.-based Walking Theatre Group.Walking Theatre Group official website
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References

External links

Living people 21st-century American psychologists Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American psychotherapists People from Los Angeles {{US-psychologist-stub