A Comparative Study Between Psychological Therapies and Buddhist Philosophy

Abstract

In Monopoly (TM) there are set rules to play the game, but there are no set rules for the way a player ought to behave during the game. Modern psychotherapies aim to use this paradigm to help the players feel comfortable in understanding and utilizing the rules as well as accepting the inter and intra personal aspects involved with playing the game. Freud first encouraged psychologists to discover the reason why some players behave in an irrational manner. From the seminal work of Freud multiple therapists developed their own style of theories... Glasser was one such dissatisfied member of the new generation of therapist to have emerged. This paper begins by evaluating the philosophical underpinning of Glasser's theory, which he called Reality Theory and was operationalised by a process called Reality Therapy. Glasser's work is then compared with some of these other new theories developed by other pioneers. This paper analyses the similarities and differences that exist between their goals of therapy and their therapeutic processes. This argument will present the case that a model of therapy that facilitates the emergence of self is preferable to those models of therapy that aim to condition the individual to become society focused. ... Consequently this paper compares the above findings with a Buddhist perception of psychotherapy to suggest that a linkage between theories - whether it is fusion or eclectism - is not the solution. Further research is needed to offer a better understanding of the reality of what each therapy hopes to offer to its patients. From the amassed evidences, this paper concludes that each therapy needs to continue research not so much on the structure of the human mind, but more so on the social foundation upon which the concept of the mind and the theories of the mind have evolved. The understanding of this situation will allow the development of therapies that can best help the patient become an authentic self; the evolution of the psyche.