Incorporating Tibetan Buddhism into Modern Psychotherapy
As the world moves into the twenty first century, Western civilizations are witnessing a surge of new technology, ideas and economic success. Urbanization is spreading rapidly and Western society’s push for progression is becoming more apparent. However, this obsession with advancement has begun to take its toll on the happiness of the citizens. Studies have shown that in 2002, up to 13 percent of U.S. citizens suffered from mental disorders and that this number has only increased since then (Rinpche 60). As a result of our push for new technology, more techniques and medication are evolving and being used in psychotherapy. We must, however, wonder if it is time to try something else? Despite new advancements in medication and psychology research, we are still witnessing an increase in psychology patients and it may be time to acknowledge the idea that we may not be able to solve these problems with the same mentality that created them. Fortunately, during this progressive push there have been a growing number of Western pioneers with the open mind of trying something new, specifically in the area of psychotherapy, and have been researching and experimenting with different forms of Eastern philosophy and its use in psychotherapy (Spretnak 2).
One such philosophy that has been growing in popularity throughout the West is Tibetan Buddhism. I believe that Western society has reached a point where we must try something new in order to help increase the happiness of its citizens and that Tibetan Buddhism may hold the answer. After studying and examining the similarities and differences between Buddhist and Western psychotherapy philosophies and goals, there is st...
... middle of paper ...
... Evans-Wentz and Various Other Gurus.” Journal of Analytical Psychology 48 (2003): 433-445.
Meadows, Graham. “Buddhism and Psychiatry: Confluence and Conflict.” Australasion Psychiatry 11.1 (2003): 16-20.
Michalon, Max. “’Selflessness’ in the Service of the Ego: Contributions, Limitations and Dangers of Buddhist Psychology for Western Psychotherapy.” American Journal of Psychotherapy 55.2 (2001): 202-218.
Pickering, John, ed. The Authority of Experience. Richmond: Curzon Press, 1997.
Rinpoche, Sogyal. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2002.
Rubin, Jeffrey R. Psychotherapy and Buddhism: Toward an Integration. New York: Plenum Press, 1996.
Spretnak, Charlene. The Resurgence of the Real. New York: Routledge, 1999.
Watson, Gay. The Resonance of Emptiness. Richmond: Curzon Press, 1998.
Culture is a collection of religion, traditions, and beliefs that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture is created and maintained through the repetition of stories and behavior. It is never definite because it is continuously being modified to match current trends, however, historical principles are still relevant. With respect to mental illness, culture is crucial to how people choose to deal with society and the methods used to diagnose and cope with mental illnesses. In Watters’ The Mega-Marketing Depression of Japan, he focuses on how Japan and other cultures define depression, but also displays how the influence of American treatments in eastern countries eventually becomes the international standards. Even though the
The disorder which is being treated is actually strengthened to the point of a serious mental illness. Similarly, in today’s society, medical and psychological advice may have the same effect. Medical technology and practice have progressed considerably since the time of the “Yellow Wallpaper.” This is not to say that today’s physicians are infallible. Perhaps some of today’s treatments are the “Yellow Wallpaper” of the future.
Leaving them with feelings of “gratitude”, “indebtness”, “responsibility”, and a whole “new view of reality”. Western healing “validates the individual’s experiences”, while “tackling general” and “specific problems” in one’s “life” (Reynolds, 2016). Last but not least is the difference in settings for the healing process. Western psychotherapy is done through counseling (talking) usually once or twice a week depending on type and reason for therapy Rose, 2015). It’s done through “therapeutic relationships”, “dialogs”, and “communication” to help individual’s “overcome problematic thoughts, and/or behaviors”
As science has evolved, so have treatments for mental illnesses have over time. The medical model is described as the view that psychological disorders are medical diseases with a biological origin (King, 2010, pg. 413). Abnormal behavior that categorizes some disorders can be impacted by biological factors such as genes, psychological factors such as childhood experiences, and even sociocultural factors such as gender and race (King, 2010). Treatments such as psychosurgery (lobotomy) , drug therapy (pharmaceuticals), electroconclusive therapy, and psychoanalysis are used to treat a wide range of psychological disorders. Back then, the public’s negative views on mental illnesses also went as far to associate with the people who treated it; psychiatrists. “Nunnally (1961) found that the public evaluated professionals who treated mental disorders significantly more negatively than those who treat physical disorders,” (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000, pg. 189). People back then didn’t see the point in “paying to be told that they were crazy”. However, in today’s society, it is now acceptable to seek help from psychiatric professionals; we are seeing more and more people seek mental health treatment. “In terms of facility-based records of utilization (Manderscheid and Henderson 1998), the data suggest that the rate of utilization of professional mental health services has at least doubled and maybe tripled, between the 1950’s and today,” (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000, pg. 189). In the 1950’s, neuroleptic drugs like Thorazine were introduced to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. These drugs block a neurotransmitter called dopamine from getting to the brain, which in turn reduce schizophrenic symptoms, however there are some side effects such as substantial twitching of the neck, arms, and legs, and even dysphoria or lack of pleasure. (King, 2010, pg.
Gang involvement has been quite higher than past years. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey estimates that about 32.4 percent of all cities, suburban areas, towns, and rural counties had a gang problem (Egley et al., 2010). This represented a 15 percent increase from the year 2002. The total number of gangs has also increased by 28 percent and total gang members have increased by 6 percent (Egley et al., 2010). This shows how relevant gang related activity is in today’s society. More locations are beginning to experience gang activity for the first time. Gang crime has also been on the rise in the past...
Tallis, F . (1998). Changing minds: The history of psychotherapy as an answer to human suffering. London: Cassell
Tobin, Kimberly. Gangs: An Individual and Group Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
This article explores Neanderthal cognition through speech. The author gives definition about what language is and how is it formed in the first half of the article. Then Johansson discusses Neanderthal speech ability. He concluded that Neanderthal did have the ability to voluntarily speak, but he could not definitively conclude on how much and whether or not they actually spoke a language or just made grammatical sounds. His conclusion is based on archaeological evidence such as one Neanderthal hyoid bone being and genetic evidence that is like to the capability of producing speech.
In the movie “Boyz in the Hood” director John Singleton, paints a clear image of the problems that happen very often in the African American communities. The movie deals with issues such as: the importance of a father in a young man’s life, the ongoing violence of black on black crime, and how black people are put in situations where they are put to fail and not succeed in life.
The presence of gang violence has been a long lasting problem in Philadelphia. Since the American Revolution, gangs have been overpopulating the streets of Philadelphia (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). Most gangs in history have been of lower class members of society, and they often are immigrants into the U.S (Teen Gangs, 1996). Gangs provided lower class teens to have an opportunity to bond with other lower class teens. However over time, the original motive of being in a gang has changed. In the past, gangs used to provide an escape for teens to express themselves, let out aggression, and to socialize with their peers. It was also an opportunity for teens to control their territory and fit in (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). In the past, authorities would only focus on symptoms of gang violence and not the root. They would focus on arresting crime members instead of preventing gang violence. Gangs are beginning to expand from inner-city blo...
Pg.2124). The discovery of the FOXP2 gene was found in an English family named KE, who were identified with a speech defect, that was inherited in three generations; “the defect followed a pattern consistent with an autosomal dominant mutation,” and was portrayed in both, male and female, family members (Preuss, 2012. Pg. 10711). The affected family members exhibited dysfluent, often simplified, speech, with difficulty constructing grammatical sentences (Preuss, 2012. Pg. 10711). The communal mutation in the marked members of the KE family was able to be recognized, “by screening the coding regions of FOXP2 with restriction-fragment mapping and direct sequencing and resulted to be an argenine-to- histidine substitution at position 533”(Preuss, 2012. Pg.10711). FOXP2 was the first gene casually related to a fairly specific speech and language phenotype, called developmental verbal dyspraxia (Scharff & Petri, 2011. Pg.2128). “Different mutations of FOXP2 give rise to slightly different development processes in the cerebral areas in which the genes expressed… this could be due to their effects on language- related endophenotypes” (Benitez- Burraco, 2012. Pg. 226). The main pathology linked with the FOXP2 mutation appears to be located in the basal ganglia;
Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.
that create words. It is first important to note that language displays a critical period in which the ability to acquire a second language declines after age seven. Furthermore, a study that tested American infants and Japanese infants on their ability to discriminate between the English /ra-la/ phonetic contrast showed that before the critical period both groups of infants performed similarly, but after the critical period American infants performed much better than Japanese infants. This provides evidence that infants are able to detect which phonemes, which can alter the meaning of words, are meaningful for their own language. Infants also execute phonetic learning using statistical learning; they become sensitive to the distribution of frequencies of the sounds in their everyday language between the ages of six to twelve months. Social interaction is another mechanism that aids in language acquisitio...
The Western Culture focuses on two methods of healing: chemically engineered compounds and surgical procedures. For instance, in the United States, individuals have the option of antidepressants with or without the aid of cognitive therapy(Selhub 2007) Most individuals choose the quick approach due to its alluring quick fix scheme. These contrasts different from the Eastern Culture’s main focus: the power of the mind and the energy from within: mind, body, and soul. The effects of Eastern Culture’s approach have been proven to be enduring and beneficial to the individuals involved. The Western Culture would greatly
“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude” by Oprah Winfrey which shows the power that people have over their minds and their actions. Recently there have been numerous developments in the field of positive psychology. Positive psychology depends on how we decide to frame the world around us as well as, can be controlled by how we choose to see our lives and everything around us in a positive light or a negative light. Additionally, this process of reframing things to reflect everything in a positive manner is important for people to thrive and be motivated to achieve their goals. However, when it comes to mental disorders there is only so much a person can do as abnormal mental states are definite in their diagnosis and understanding of the mental disorder whereas, in positive psychology whether or not a person is ill does not play a factor rather positive psychologists try and better society as a whole. As a result, a person can be diagnosed with a mental disorder through observed symptoms whereas, in positive psychology it is more difficult as diagnosing true happiness is a challenge.