Drug use is a major challenge for public services, healthcare professionals and policy-makers all over the world. This book offers a complete overview of the issues associated with substance misuse from an interdisciplinary perspective. It begins by providing a reference guide to the different psychoactive substances, looking at the biological and psychological impact of their use. Key issues in the effect drugs have on society are then addressed, before outlining methods of recovery and therapy. Chapters include: • Reflective questions to challenge readers’ assumptions • Case studies to help students understand the impact of substances on individuals • Links to further resources to expand readers’ knowledge It will be valuable reading for those studying on degrees in criminology, health, nursing, social work and counselling.
Chapter 22: Buddhism and Addiction
Buddhism and Addiction
In 1897, the eminent philosopher and psychologist William James may have been premature in suggesting that Buddhist psychology would be what ‘everybody will be studying in 25 years from now’ (Fields, 1986: 135). However, since then many subsequent psychologists, psychoanalysts and psychotherapists have attempted to integrate Buddhist principles into western theory and practice (Ponce, 1982) and as the west takes on these new/old ideas and embraces a more compatible constructivist perspective, the influence of Buddhism is now felt strongly in what has been termed the ‘third wave’ of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) (Hayes, 2004), our most widely recommended type of psychosocial intervention. Versions of CBT and other therapies may have embraced core practices and ideas from the Buddhist ...