So how relevant is Buddhism to therapy?

By Murray Hunter  January 1, 2014


Since the beginning of the Twentieth Century, especially after World War II, there has been a growing interest in Eastern philosophy in the West. The teachings of the Abhidhamma Pitaka have inspired and influenced many psychoanalysts and psychologists, including Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Albert Ellis, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Marsha M. Linehan. There has been a great leap forward in humanitarian and transpersonal philosophical influence in therapy. Dialogue between philosophy theorists and practitioners of East and West has led to mutually influential relationships between them. This has led to new insights into therapies and new schools of thought on both sides. Aspects of Buddhist Dharma are also incorporated in the works of Western philosophers including Caroline A. F. Rhys David and Alan Watts.

There is some evidence that chanting and meditation is beneficial to the brain and can assist in coping with stress. Meditation can assist in lowering blood pressure, meditators have longer attention spans, and even reduce the progress of age related cognitive disorders.

Mindfulness practice and meditation can be seen as a practical, preventative, and empowering method to self manage mental health. This is in stark contrast to the primarily reactive way in taking medications as a corrective approach to suppress psychotic conditions. The Buddhist approach doesn’t rely on the use of medical specialists and drugs that strain the costs of national health.

The message from the recent documentary Kumare about Vikram Gandhi who impersonated an Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona, showed that a person’s personal enlightenment and personal wellbeing, is capable of coming from within. People with guidance are capable of managing their own emotions.
The potential exists to lower the number of people on prescribed drugs in society. Mindfulness practice could go some way to lessening the stress that society is generating. For some this will work. However general society will tend to remain skeptical burying this potential within the fringes of mental health policy.

Most probably, society will still remain intent in taking drugs an attempt to relieve stress and dumping the aged with mental deterioration in aged care homes as a solution. Any change would run up against vested interests within these industries. As a result people will continue to suffer through the side effects of prescribed antipsychotic medicines and languish in aged care homes.

As Albert Einstein once said Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.