ABSTRACT
Helping professionals who treat addiction will encounter clients from myriad religious and spiritual backgrounds. This chapter addresses the grief and related shame and guilt associated with loss due to addiction from a Buddhist perspective. Buddhist principles such as mindfulness have been integrated into many Western psychotherapeutic programs focused on the treatment of substance use disorders. Buddhist teaching offers a relevant way to view loss related to addiction in the context of clinical practice. This chapter contains an introduction to the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, along with key principles such as karma, dependent origination, and impermanence, providing helping professionals the foundation upon which to undertake the practice of engaging clients in their losses associated with addiction. A case study is included to demonstrate how to relate to loss with wisdom using the “middle-way” approach and provides helpful meditation practices, such as loving-kindness and self-compassion, which can be used to process grief. The importance of cultivating equanimity and the potential for spiritual growth are also discussed to aid in the amelioration of suffering.
