Last Updated on March 15, 2025 by pg@petergamma.org
Peter Gamma from www.petergamma.org knows of psychotherapists from Switzerland who basically give up the treatment of their patients after 12 years.
A Swiss psychiatrist who, after 12 years, is at a loss as to how to continue treating his patient
said to him:
„Lifetime warranty that we are not able to heal you“.
No, no we are only joking, but this example is not far from the reality of some psychiatrists in Switzerland which names are only known to Peter Gamma from www.petergamma.org. But statements as the one mentioned above are for instance rejected by Pro Infirmis Switzerland:
How Dilgo Kihenze Rinpoche became enlightened which is according to the Buddhist teachings completely mentally healthy
On the other hand Peter Gamma from www.petergamma.org knows of one example of a teacher and that is Dilgo Kihenze Rinpoche who was looking for spiritual awakening as a young man. And he has spent 13 years in solitary retreat from the age of 15 to 28 years. And he then wanted to stay the rest of his life in solitary retreat. And is this not the same as a spiritual awakening?
And as we mentioned many times, according to the Buddhist teachings someone is only then completely mentally healthy, when he is enlightened. Which is the same as spiritually awoken.
Interesting in this context is, that when certain psychiatrists in Switzerland give basically up their patients, and that is after 12 years, spiritual seekers from Asia have reached complete enlightenment after a full-time training of 13 years.
Is this not something which is also very interesting for scientists & medical doctors who are interested in mental health?
This picture shows the Buddhist teacher Lama Pema Wangyal who teaches in Switzerland.
Does he not look happy, mentally healthy, and is he not holy? But what is a bit ironic about this story: Pema reminds Peter a bit of his younger Swiss psychotherapist who cannot heal him.
And has this eventually something to do with some empirical data from Switzerland? For instance, if someone has no job for more than 12 years because of mental issues, and he was treated by a psychotherapist without success, this person is finally happy at home without a job? And does this fact not make the situation difficult? And wealth in Switzerland is high, so the Swiss can afford such a situation?
And also a major issue of Peter Gamma from www.petergamma.org is, that 20 years after the meditation research projects of the people around Richard R. Davidson started, we have basically no new data from long-therm practitioners which would have any practical implications.
And does that not mean that the latest neuro-scientific tools such as brain scanners are not very suitable to investigate this topic? And brain scanners are also not a major tool for psychotherapists as well.
So do we not need more long-term studies, with other methods than brain scanners, and other persons than Richard Davidson and Daniel Goleman who investigate these questions? Two scientists from the United States where social insurance systems are very poorly developed as for instance compared to Switzerland? And is this the explanation that Peter Gamma from www.petergamma.org has been floated with devices and demos, and best-selling books about meditation in recent years. But the hard scientific data about the major questions regarding this topic are still missing?
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