Prescribing the Dharma : Psychotherapists, Buddhist Traditions, and Defining Religion

Interest in the psychotherapeutic capacity of Buddhist teachings and practices is widely evident in the popular imagination. News media routinely report on the neuropsychological study of Buddhist meditation and applications of mindfulness practices in settings including corporate offices, the U.S. military, and university health centers. However, as Ira Helderman shows, curious investigators have studied the psychological dimensions of Buddhist doctrine for well over a century, stretching back to William James and Carl Jung. These activities have shaped both the mental health field and Buddhist practice throughout the United States. This is the first comprehensive study of the surprisingly diverse ways that psychotherapists have related to Buddhist traditions. Through extensive fieldwork and in-depth interviews with clinicians, many of whom have been formative to the therapeutic use of Buddhist practices, Helderman gives voice to the psychotherapists themselves. He focuses on how they understand key categories such as religion and science. Some are invested in maintaining a hard border between religion and psychotherapy as a biomedical discipline. Others speak of a religious-secular binary that they mean to disrupt. Helderman finds that psychotherapists' approaches to Buddhist traditions are molded by how they define what is and is not religious, demonstrating how central these concepts are in contemporary American culture. "Interest in the psychotherapeutic capacity of Buddhist teachings and practices has captured the popular imagination. News media regularly post stories about the neuropsychological study of Buddhist meditative states and applications of "mindfulness" practices in diverse settings including corporate business headquarters, the U.S. military, and university health services. However, Ira Helderman shows, for well over a century investigators, stretching back to James, Jung, and others fascinated by the psychology of religion, have studied the psychological dimensions of Buddhist doctrine. They have influenced the mental health field and shaped common understandings of "Buddhism" for many Americans. Prescribing the Dharma is the first book to focus on psychotherapists themselves. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and in-depth interviews with many clinicians who have been formative in the use of Buddhist ideas and concepts, Helderman looks at how the key categories of 'religion' and 'secularism' operate for such caregivers"-- Provided by publisher Interest in the psychotherapeutic capacity of Buddhist teachings and practices is widely evident in the popular imagination. News media routinely report on the neuropsychological study of Buddhist meditation and applications of mindfulness practices in settings including corporate offices, the U.S. military, and university health centres. However, as Ira Helderman shows, curious investigators have studied the psychological dimensions of Buddhist doctrine for well over a century, stretching back to William James and Carl Jung. These activities have shaped both the mental health field and Buddhist practice throughout the United States. This is a comprehensive study of the surprisingly diverse ways that psychotherapists have related to Buddhist traditions Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: Coming to Terms with Our Terms Chapter Two: Look but Don’t Touch: Therapizing Religion Approaches Chapter Three: Research Tested, Science Approved: Filtering Religion Approaches Chapter Four: Black Boxes and Trojan Horses: Translating Religion Approaches Chapter Five: Keeping Meditation Religious Psychotherapy Secular: Personalizing Religion Approaches Chapter Six: With Rigor: Adopting Religion Approaches Chapter Seven: Over the Borderline: Integrating Religion Approaches Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z