The Buddha’s Methods of Psychotherapy

Abstract

In its recent announcement, the World Health Organization has ranked mental disorders as the fourth most urgent health
problems globally. At the present time, modern psychiatry and sychotherapy
can provide effective  methods of treatment for mental disorders, although mostly to improve the patients’ conditions. Radical
cures are rare, as the psychopathological roots of the disorders are usually unknown, thus making complete cures diffi cult to
achieve. Most patients continue to take daily doses of psychiatric medications for life, and occasional recurrences are expected.
This paper analyzes the Buddha’s method of treating, and completely curing, three different cases of mental disorders 2,600 years ago. They include Paṭ ācārā, Kisāgotami, and Āngulimāla. The analysis refers to the Abhidhamma, in particular to a
psychopathology used by the Buddha in his treatments of mental
disorders. The Buddha’s methods were entirely different from the
psychotherapy of today’s world. His approach was to transform the akusala citta, a state of mind buried deep in suffering, into kusala citta, a meritorious state of mind that brings satisfaction and
happiness. If the patient can maintain kusala citta like a normal person, she/he is radically cured.