The Double Bypass: Cohering Psychotherapy and the Buddhist Path

Abstract

This paper aimed to present a conceptual framework that facilitates integrating early Buddhist psychology with contemporary psychotherapy. It was conceptual in scope, rooted in the framework of the early Buddhist teachings. While grounded in contemplative and clinical experience, it selectively integrated contemporary scholarship from psychotherapy, contemplative neuroscience, and Buddhist psychology. The article addresses critical limitations in the current literature by engaging with contemporary scientific theories providing empirical support for proposed mechanisms, and outlining practical implications for clinicians. Central to this integration is the recognition of a double bypass consisting in two complementary risks: spiritual bypass, wherein transcendent practices are used to avoid necessary psychological work; and psychological bypass, wherein excessive focus on self-consolidation precludes existential and transcendent inquiry. A Buddhist-informed psychotherapy, grounded in the personal practice of the therapist, in “right view” and “right effort” particularly, can address both forms of bypass through empirically tractable processes, including nonattachment, decentering, and compassion.