Meditation as a Form of Psychotherapy Essay Example Essay Example

Meditation as a Form of Psychotherapy   Essay Example Paper Meditation as a Form of Psychotherapy   Essay Introduction Although meditation practices have been in use for over 3000 years they have only been introduced into Western society in the last half a century (Walsh 1995). Before the 1960’s meditation was rarely practiced and was widely misunderstood, labelled as â€Å"an attempt at psychological and physical regression. . . a sort of artificial schizophrenia† (Alexander et al 1946, cited in Walsh 1995: 388) by a well known psychiatrist. Recently, however, psychologists have become aware of the psychotherapeutic aspects of meditation. These aspects have proven to be so beneficial that meditation has even been controversially labelled by some as a form of psychotherapy (Walsh 1995). HOW MEDITATION FITS INTO THE DEFINITION OF ‘PSYCHOTHERAPY’ Contraversy over the labelling of meditation as a form of psychotherapy both arises and is resolved in the ambiguous nature of psychotherapy itself. The general definition of psychotherapy could be classed as: A formal process involv ing a professional and legally trained ‘therapist’ helping a person who has distress or disfunction in the areas of emotion, cognition, or behaviour. The therapist has a logical theory about how the problem developed and treats the patient in relation to this theory. (Based on Corsini 1995). Meditation as a Form of Psychotherapy   Essay Body Paragraphs Based on this definition some argue that meditation is not a psychotherapy because no professional therapist is needed, it can be be practiced purely on an individual basis (Walsh 1995). However, the above definition, although seemingly comprehensive, does not completely fit many Western psychotherapies that are formally acknowledged (Corsini 1995). One such therapy is Freud’s ‘self-therapy’ which involves looking into ones own inner psychological processes(Corsini 1995; Walsh 1995). A similar concept was developed by the founder of academic psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, it was called ‘introspection’ and involved the study of one’s own consciousness (Matlin 1995). Both ‘self-therapy’ and ‘introspection’ do not require a therapist and can be done individually yet they are still considered as valid forms of psychotherapy. Whilst meditation can be done alone, beginners usually learn the practice through a trained and skilled meditation master or guru. This meditation master can be seen to fit into the general definition of ‘psychotherapy’ mentioned above in that he often fulfils the same roles as the ‘therapist’ of western psychotherapy by dealing with his ‘student’s’ problems based on a logical theory. Like western psychotherapies different meditations are based on different theories and have different spiritual purposes. These different spiritual purposes do not seem to have different effects upon their psychotherapeutic benefits. All meditation techniques seem to have the same therapeutic benefit to the same specified disorders. THE THERAPUTIC ASPECTS OF MEDITATION Therapeutic aspects of meditation include relaxation, stress management, and management of some psychological and psychophysical (physical symptoms are affected by psychological processes) disorders (Bernstein, Roy, Srull, and Wickens 1991; Walsh 1995). Research has shown that meditation decre ases generalised and phobic anxiety disorders, it can also decrease drug and alcohol use and be beneficial to patients in psychiatric hospitals (Walsh 1995). Uses of meditation for psychophysilogical problems can be seen in its use in rehabilitation after heart attacks, treatment of bronchial asthma and irregular heartbeat, management of chronic pain, and reduction of high blood pressure (Walsh 1995). Psychologically ‘healthy’ individuals also benefit from meditation. They score better than non meditators on tests of general psychological well-being (Walsh 1995). Research has shown that they are generally more confident and have higher self esteem, marital satisfaction, academic achievement, creativity, and cognitive development than non meditators (Walsh 1995). Meditators also report higher self-actualisation (Walsh 1995), which is the strive to reach their highest potential (Matlin 1995). MEDITATION VS RELAXATION Taking the above into consideration meditation is no le ss a form of psychotherapy than any Western therapy. It should be noted, however, that many of the positive effects that meditation has on psychological and psychophysical problems, such as high blood pressure and anxiety, can also be achieved through various relaxation techniques and sometimes through hypnosis (Berstein, Srull, Roy and Wickens 1991; Matlin 1995). Even still, these techniques usually involve aspects of meditation such as following the breath. However, relaxation techniques can be seen as a psychotherapy of their own, and, just because another form of psychotherapy can produce the same results as meditation can, this does not mean that meditation is any less valid a form of psychotherapy itself. There are almost as many psychotherapies as there are disorders (Zimbardo 1991) many of these therapies also produce the same results and have similar success rates as each other but are not considered any less valid. PARALLELS BETWEEN WESTERN AND EASTERN PSYCHOTHERAPIES Look ing at the theory and techniques behind Western psychotherapies and Eastern meditation practices it is possible to find parallels between disciplines. The theories and concepts surrounding Buddhism and Buddhist meditation, for instance, can be likened to concepts of cognitive psychology (a psychological field which believes that mental process and behaviour can be explained through cognitive process’ [Matlin 1995]). Like cognitive psychologists Buddhists see ignorance (avijja ), or false beliefs, as the source of all suffering (dukkha ) and believe the remedy for this suffering is understanding (pana ). (Johansson 1979; Guenther 1974; Bucknell and Kang 1997; Lecture 1998). Cognitive psychologists differ in their methods of correcting incorrect thought, some are more likely to instruct and lecture ‘clients’ in relation to the problem, others are more likely to encourage ‘clients’ to discover and test irrational belief on their own, many combine these approaches (Bernstein, Roy, Srull and Wickens 1991; Beck and Weishaar 1995; Matlin 1995). In Buddhist psychotherapy ‘students’ are also ‘taught’ the aspects suffering and incorrect thought as well as encouraged to look at personal experiences to gain an understanding of incorrect thought through meditation(Kiyota 1978;Walsh 1995). DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN PSYCHOTHERAPIES Although there are several likeness’ between certain Western psychotherapies and Asian psychotherapies such as meditation there are also some important differences. Firstly, in Asian psychotherapies the difference between psychological and spiritual healing is ill defined. Students partake in meditation to gain spiritual enlightenment, the psychological benefits are merely steps in reaching a higher goal. Western psychologies usually separate spirituality from psychology. Psychologists deal with processes that concern the physical world, they do not attempt to ‘h eal’ clients using spiritual methods. Secondly, Asian psychotherapies are belief based. Theories about psychological problems and there causes are not based on measurable evidence. Although the effects and stages of meditation are methodologically and consistently documented in religions such as Buddhism the theories and practices and the reasons for the effects have not been empirically tested. In most Western psychotherapies, excluding Freud’s psychoanalyctic method, theories can be empirically tested. For example, a social cognitive psychologist may believe that depression is caused by negative and pessimistic thought (Matlin 1995). The psychologist would test this theory, probably using a survey which determined pessimism. Comparing the results of depressive and psychologically ‘healthy’ individuals, the psychologist would be able to discover whether his/her theory was consistent. Perhaps the most greatest difference, however, is that all but a few the rapists in Western Psychotherapies see the ‘normal’, or average, psychological health as optimum and usually only ‘treat’ people who are below this level (Walsh 1995). Asian psychotherapies, such as meditation, on the other hand, believe that our current state of consciousness is far from optimum and aim to reach higher levels. They note that ‘our minds are usually filled with a flux of unrecognisable thoughts, images, internal dialogues, and fantasies that distort and reduce awareness'(Walsh 1995: 391). An example of this is the ‘day dream’ in which we lose track of the conscious world for a brief moment and slip into fantasy (Walsh 1995). In relation to this, Asian psychotherapies see the average psychological state as a psychological disorder which involves aversion, addiction, and ignorance (Walsh 1995). They believe that full psychological health is only reached when these three phenomena are abolished (Kiyota 1978) and enlightenment is reached (Walsh 1995). CONCLUSION Meditation has been interpreted and misunderstood in Western society until the last half of this century. Psychologists and the general public are only now beginning to realise the benefits of meditation, not only for spiritual, but also for psychophysical and psychological health. Controversy over meditation’s validity as a psychotherapy arises due to a lack of understanding about what a psychotherapy is as well as the fact that relaxation causes similar therapeutic effects. Although meditation does not completely fit the general definition of ‘psychotherapy’, other psychotherapies have also been seen not to . Relaxation can be considered merely another psychotherapy achieving the same means as meditation. Therefore, meditation is a form of psychotherapy. It even has close links with many aspects of Western approaches such as cognitive psychology. Meditation has some differences such as a spiritual techniques, a spiritual bel ief base of theory, and a different definition of psychologically health. These differences, however, do not make it any less a form of psychotherapy. The positive results meditation has upon certain psychological and psychophysical disorders are proof enough that meditation is a valid, consistent and effective means of psychotherapy. We will write a custom essay sample on Meditation as a Form of Psychotherapy   Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Meditation as a Form of Psychotherapy   Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Meditation as a Form of Psychotherapy   Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer