Michael R. LaValle, Ph.D.

I am a Licensed Psychologist/Health Service Provider in private practice in Dallas, Texas. I am a member of the faculty for the Certificate Program offered by the Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy. This is a nine-month distance learning intensive in which participants meet in person for an extended retreat at the beginning and end of the program. During the intervening nine months, participants are exposed to video presentations and reading materials exploring the use of mindfulness-based interventions in psychotherapy. In addition, participants are given the Buddhist psychological context for and provided the resources to deepen and strengthen a daily meditation practice. Course presenters include Ron Siegel, Chris Germer, Zindal Segal, Jack Engler and many other prominent contributors to the field of mindfulness; they meet with course participants in live on-line webinars. The course covers many clinical areas including depression, anxiety, addiction, disorder eating, and trauma. Ms. Rawal Raj enrolled in and completed the Certificate Program for 2014-2015.
One dimension of this course is that participants meet in small groups or Sections to discuss the application of mindfulness in various clinical circumstances and settings. I had the privilege of having Ms. Rawal Raj in the Section I facilitated and had the opportunity to deeply assess her capacity as a therapist over nine months. She reliably demonstrated an impressive combination of keen clinical acumen and deep respect and caring for the patients and circumstances discussed throughout the year. She also revealed the capacity to be a strong “team player” both in her willingness to share her own perspective and in her sincere curiosity about how others work with their patients. She impressed me as possessing a strong commitment to alleviating the suffering of those she sees in her professional capacity.