[Buddha-l] Buddhism and Psychology research

[S.A. Feite]

On Sep 2, 2010, at 12:40 PM, Richard P. Hayes wrote:

> For at least the past eight thousand years I have been convinced that
> Buddhism has nothing at all to offer modern psychology and that modern
> psychology has a great deal to offer Buddhism. Recently (within the past
> ten minutes or so) I have come to realize that a lot of modern
> psychology is driven by the pharmaceutical industry, and that this focus
> on brain chemistry and which neurotransmitters and hanging around in the
> gaps between neurons, while generally pleasing to my inclination to
> philosophical materialism, has pushed other kinds of effective
> treatments toward the margins. 


Rich I fear you're confusing two different realms, psychiatry, which currently is a profession of Medical Doctor's (MD's) and largely centered around physical, pharmaceutical solutions for mental well being-- and modern psychology which has no prescriptive authority but has a variety of different approaches (e.g. behavioral, cognitive, Reichian, etc.) towards mental coping and mental balance. 

While some at the Psy.D. or Doctor of Psychology level may take courses on psychiatric pharmacology, regulatory-wise these are still two very separate worlds: Psychiatrists prescribe, Psychologists generally cannot prescribe restricted pharmaceuticals not available 'over the counter' and thus are forced to rely on different approaches.

Neither of these should be confused with anything Buddhist IMO, except perhaps the Hinayana.

Steve