A Buddhist approach to psychotherapy
Story
by Kathy Vozella Photo by Michelle Wilson, Macqurie University (Australia),
Email the researcher: bkhong@psy.mq.edu.au, Oct 26, 2004
Sydney, Australia
-- Incorporating Buddhist ideas and philosophy into psychotherapy is not new -
meditation has been used for some time as a form of relaxation and a way of helping
an individual understand the workings of the mind.
However, according
to one Macquarie University researcher, meditation can be used for personal growth
beyond therapy if it is understood against the backdrop of the Buddha's teachings
and integrated holistically with psychotherapy.
Dr Belinda Siew Luan Khong,
lecturer in the Department of Psychology, is quick to point out that she is not
a Buddhist, but she is informed by the Buddha's teachings. Her PhD thesis titled
A Comparative Analysis of the Concept of Responsibility in Daseinsanalysis and
Buddhist Psychology received a Vice-Chancellor's Commendation and won her the
Sidney M Jourard Memorial Student Award for outstanding research from the American
Psychological Association (APA) in 1999.
Since graduating with her PhD in 1999,
Khong has been teaching part-time at Macquarie University, operating her own counselling
practice and travelling the world presenting papers and conducting workshops on
the integration of Buddhist psychology and philosophy in psychotherapy. She recently
returned from the APA Annual Convention in Hawaii where she presented a paper
on Personal growth in and beyond therapy.
"I believe that the Buddha teaches
an attitude rather than an affiliation," Khong writes in a chapter of Encountering
Buddhism: Western psychology and Buddhist teachings. "This state of mind
can be acquired by any individual irrespective of his or her race, culture or
religious orientation."Khong remains one of the few psychotherapists worldwide
to integrate Buddhist teachings whenever appropriate into the counselling process
and beyond. The 'beyond therapy' aspect is something she emphasises, as many of
her clients say that when they finish their counselling with her they take away
a general philosophy for life, a way of responding appropriately which they can
apply to various situations as they arise."Buddhist ideas and practices have
been integrated in therapy for some time," she says. "However the main
focus has been on the use of meditation and mindfulness as an adjunct to therapy.
In my clinical work I have found these practices to be more helpful and effective
when they are understood holistically in the context of the Buddha's teachings."Khong
explains that the Buddha promotes an attitude of acceptance and letting go developed
through personal effort and taking personal responsibility rather than through
relying on an external source or orientation.
"The human qualities and
emotions that the Buddha encourages such as love, charity, compassion, tolerance
and patience are not sectarian as they are neither Christian, Buddhist, Hindu
nor Muslim. They come from developing the right attitude, not the right affiliation,"
she says.The Buddha encourages insight and understanding based on direct experience,
and this is emphasised in his teaching of the eightfold path:
Morality Mental
culture Wisdom Right speech Right effort Right understanding Right action Right
mindfulness Right thought Right livelihood Right concentration
Khong explains
that in this teaching, the Buddha is describing a set of practices rather than
a set of beliefs that the individual can use to overcome his or her own emotional
suffering.
"For example the Buddha recommends that each of us take the
responsibility to cultivate an attitude (right understanding, right thought) of
seeing what is an appropriate response (right action, right speech, right livelihood)
in each situation," she says. "Most of us are familiar with the power
of speech to hurt or soothe.
There will be times when friendly and meaningful
advice are helpful and other times when keeping 'noble silence' is appropriate."Two
types of meditation are commonly practised today. The first type, known as concentration
or tranquillity meditation, encourages the individual to let go of negative thoughts
that impinge by concentrating on one neutral object to the exclusion of all others.
This is a popular tool used in psychotherapy to help the individual to quieten
down the mind and to relax. The second type, known as insight meditation or mindfulness
practice, is unique to Buddhism and is often used to complement concentration
meditation.
Dr Belinda Khong Khong explains that once you calm down the mind
you still need to deal with the feelings and emotions that come up. Mindfulness
practice encourages the person to be mindful of whatever enters the mind.
"Mindfulness
helps us to look at all the feelings and emotions as they arise, to name them,
to see anger as anger and sadness as sadness without judging them or repressing
them or carrying on an internal dialogue ('Why do I feel like this', or 'I shouldn't
feel so angry'). The practice of mindfulness teaches the art of acceptance and
letting go, the key elements in the attitude that the Buddha encourages,"
Khong says. "Through mindfulness you can see what is really triggering off
your own feelings and emotions without allowing them to spiral."When you
are not mindful you react. When you are mindful, you respond.
This kind of
attitude is the most powerful tool my clients take away from counselling because
it gives them choice - when you are mindful you can choose when you want to be
angry or depressed because it gives you the emotional distance from the problem
before you become reactive," she says.The distinction between responsibility
and what Khong refers to as 'respond-ability' is an important one.
Responsibility
is usually associated with roles and positions, and is commonly perceived in terms
of duties, obligations and accountability. Respond-ability, she explains, refers
to our internal ability to respond appropriately and skilfully to what is required
in each unique situation. It involves the capacity to be mindful and to see and
understand things as they really are."The idea of learning to respond appropriately
lies at the heart of the Buddhist approach to responsibility," she says.Having
experienced the powerful transformation of many clients by using a combination
of counselling and mindfulness practice to various psychological concerns including
the prevention of the relapse of depression, managing stress, interpersonal relationships
and personal growth,
Khong is keen to integrate eastern philosophies into
more areas of western psychology.
In June next year, she will present a paper
on Complementing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Buddhist Psychology at the
IX World Congress on Constructivism in Sweden, where his Holiness, the Dalai Lama
and Professor Aaron T Beck, the originator of cognitive behavioural therapy, will
be keynote speakers.
One of her current research interests involves extending
the work of colleagues and researchers in the US, the UK and The Netherlands who
are studying the emotional and brain functioning (via functional MRI imaging)
of people using mindfulness practice. Khong is looking at possible counselling
applications and at ways of helping individuals improve their general sense of
well-being.
"When mindfulness is practiced alongside other complementary
therapeutic approaches, the result is an incisive and powerful tool for empowering
clients to understand and deal with their problems with less reliance on the therapist,"
Khong says.
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