Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Doctoral Research Paper

Degree Name

Psy.D.

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Michael Karson

Second Advisor

Peter Buirski

Third Advisor

Sarah Lukens

Keywords

Dissociation, Buddhism

Abstract

On the surface, the Buddhist idea of emptiness and experiences of depersonalization and derealization seem to have significant overlap. Meditations on emptiness in the Buddhist tradition seek to lead meditators to observe the ego as illusory and empty of inherent content as one step in the journey to liberate oneself from suffering. Conversely, dissociation is generally an involuntary, automatic response to severe trauma that can become more common or chronic in an individual over time. Topographically, these experiences may look similar; both include a sense of unreality of the self and often of the broader world. However, differences in stimulus value and function make these experiences quite distinct. This paper aims to compare and contrast these experiences, explore the treatment of dissociative disorders, and describe how principles of Buddhist practice may be incorporated into psychotherapy to help individuals work through dissociation and trauma.

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Extent

28 pgs

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