Combining the Wisdom of Buddhism with Contemporary Psychotherapies

IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF ADDICTIONS: INTEGRATING CORE BUDDHIST PRINCIPLES AND A BUDDHIST MODEL OF ADDICTION WITH A STANDARD TREATMENT PROTOCOL One of the fundamental teachings of the Buddha upon awakening under the Bodhi tree was Pañiccasamuppàda or Dependent Co-arising, that suffering arises or ceases dependent on twelve linked conditions usually represented as a circle, called the ‘Twelve-Link Chain of Dependent Co-Origination’. At one level this can be understood as a detailed phenomenological schema representing the process governing the arising of experience in pre-reflective and reflective consciousness together with its contingent behavioural expression. This core Buddhist teaching demonstrating how suffering arises as a result of grasping and attachment, and which can be viewed as an expanded model of the addictive process, will be analysed and explained. In addition the Brahmavihara’s, four virtues which when cultivated in meditation and Buddhist practice can greatly enhance the therapists capacity to work with the patient, will be discussed. Following a brief overview of the current conventional management of addiction participants will learn how these principles and practices can be used to expand mindful awareness and empathic understanding of the development of the clients addictive process and be integrated into a management protocol.