Practise What you Preach: Counsellors’ Experience of Practising Buddhist Counselling in Thailand

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with an exploration of counsellors' and clients' lived experiences of Buddhist Counselling, an indigenous Buddhist-based counselling approach in Thailand. Over the past decade, Buddhist Counselling has received a growing interest from Thai counselling trainees and practitioners, and it has also expanded to serve Thai people in various settings.Research on Buddhist Counselling is very limited and most of the existing studies in the field have focused on measuring the effectiveness of the approach. While these studies have consistently indicated the positive effects of Buddhist Counselling on psychological improvement across several population groups, the significant questions of how Buddhist Counselling brings about such outcome and how it is experienced are still largely unanswered. Moreover, existing research is concentrated much more on clients' views than counsellors' views, although counsellors' views of their counselling practice can also serve as a knowledge base of the field. This thesis thus sets out to contribute to rectifying this omission by exploring Buddhist Counselling from the perspectives of both counsellors and clients.The thesis is based on two qualitative studies. The first study addressed Buddhist Counselling from the perspective of five counsellors through a focus group and semistructured interviews. The second study explored Buddhist Counselling from the perspective of three clients, using two semi-structured interviews with each of them. All data received were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).The study reveals counsellors' and clients' overall positive experience of engaging in Buddhist Counselling. Central to the accounts of the counsellors are the following perceptions: that their practice of Buddhist Counselling is culturally congruent with the existing values and beliefs of both themselves and their clients; that their personal and professional congruence is key to their therapeutic efficacy; and that they enhance such congruence through their application of Buddhist ideas and practices in their daily lives. Key to the clients' accounts is their emphasis on the significant roles of the counsellors' Buddhist ideas and personal qualities, and of their religious practices in facilitating healing and change. Key shared findings from both studies reveal that the participants' accounts of their cultural background and their experiences of Buddhist Counselling are intertwined. Adopting hermeneutics to address this intertwinement, I reveal the cultural and moral dimensions underlying the practice of Buddhist Counselling. Based on such revelation, I suggest that Buddhist Counselling in particular, as well as psychotherapy in general, should be better understood as a historically situated, culturally bound, and morally constituted activity of people who are concerned with improving the quality of their lives and their community, rather than the transcultural and merely relational work of morally-neutral practitioners.

Counsellors' experiences of the use of mindfulness in the treatment of depression and anxiety: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…The finding on the benefit of a collaborative partnership between counsellor and client for the success of mindfulness highlights the important role that counsellors hold in the successful integration of mindfulness into the treatment of depression and anxiety. A similar pattern of results was obtained in Schrinalli and Prior (2013), which found that counsellors maintaining a state of acceptance and awareness while guiding their clients through mindfulness techniques allowed them to be more aware of their clients’ experiences throughout the session, and this facilitated clients’ insight into their own experience. Further research could determine what clients perceive are the personal benefits of having a counsellor collaboratively involved in their mindfulness practice.…”

“…Counsellors who maintain a personal practice of mindfulness are more likely to integrate the use of the technique into their clinical work. A qualitative research study conducted by Scrichannili and Prior (2013) examining counsellors’ experiences of practising Thai Buddhist counselling indicated that personal interest in mindfulness heavily influences the frequency and type of mindfulness techniques the counsellor uses in their clinical work. Five participants took part in a focus group, and in‐depth semi‐structured interviews were designed to explore their experiences.…”

“…Participants who used a personal mindfulness practice had an increased awareness of their own phenomenology, which subsequently gave them greater insight into their clients' distress and enabled them to better assist their clients. Meditation was one particular mindfulness technique that was seen to be helpful in assisting participants to maintain a state of full awareness with their clients and to pick up on any bodily reactions occurring for them while in session (Schrinalli & Prior, 2013). Overall, the personal use of mindfulness techniques was recommended by all participants.…”

Couple relationship standards in Thailand.

“…Analogous adaptations could include Buddhist teachings as the rationale for couple therapy procedures and involve joint religious activities when appropriate. Buddhist influenced individual therapy already is influential in Thailand (Srichannnil & Prioir, 2014), and Buddhist influenced couple therapy should be evaluated in future research with Buddhist couples.…”

How is Buddhism Relevant to Career Counseling in an International High School in Hong Kong? A Counsellor’s Reflection

“…In terms of helping others, for example, Buddhist monks are considered able to take a detached and objective view of issues and problems, and (like school counsellors) are often turned to for advice and support. It has been noted already that there is a tradition of providing informal counselling and support in Buddhist communities (Srichannil & Prior, 2013).…”