Journal of Meditation based Psychological Counseling (J Medit Psychol Couns)
Indexed in KCI
OPEN ACCESS, PEER REVIEWED
pISSN 2289-0823
eISSN 2671-6119
Research Article

A narrative inquiry on RHS (Recovering the Human Spirit) meditation counseling experiences

1Lecturer, Department of Meditation and Counseling Psychology, Graduate School of Buddhism, Dongguk University, Republic of Korea
2Professor, Department of Meditation and Counseling Psychology, Graduate School of Buddhism, Dongguk University, Republic of Korea

Correspondence to Song, Minseo, E-mail: mysong2026@naver.com

Volume 36, Pages 119-138, April 2026.
Journal of Meditation Based Psychological Counseling 2026, 36, 119-138. https://doi.org/10.12972/mpca.2026.36.9
Received on March 23, 2026, Revised on April 28, 2026, Accepted on April 28, 2026, Published on April 30, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 Meditation based Psychological Counseling Association.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0).

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the experiences of RHS (Recovering the Human Spirit) meditation-based psychological counseling among middle-aged adults through narrative inquiry and to understand the process and meaning of changes in self-awareness. Clandinin and Connelly’s narrative inquiry methodology was employed, and ten sessions of RHS meditation-based psychological counseling were conducted with three middle-aged participants. The data were analyzed within a three-dimensional inquiry space: temporality, sociality, and place. The findings revealed a progression in the temporality dimension from emotional avoidance to emotional awareness, and further toward observing experiences as they are. In the sociality dimension, participants experienced a sense of safety and relaxation within the counseling relationship, along with an expansion of awareness. In the place dimension, the presence of a guide, the formation of a safe space, and the extension of mindfulness into everyday life were identified. Through these processes, participants came to understand their emotions and experiences in new ways and reconstructed their relationship with their authentic selves. This study illuminates how experiences of RHS meditation-based psychological counseling are meaningfully constructed and understood in the lives of middle-aged adults, and interpretively presents the process of changes in self-awareness. Rather than verifying the effectiveness of a specific intervention, this study focuses on understanding the meaning of change as revealed through participants’ experiences. The findings suggest the qualitative applicability of the RHS model in individual counseling settings and provide foundational insights for counseling and educational discussions addressing midlife developmental tasks.
Keywords

RHS model, meditation-based psychological counseling, middle adulthood, Yogācāra psychology, narrative inquiry

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