Is it possible for a Buddhist to develop spiritual bypassing? What are the main traps? How to avoid falling into spiritual bypassing while practicing Buddhism?


  Spiritual bypassing, a term first coined by psychologist John Welwood in 1984,
  is the use of spiritual practices and beliefs to avoid dealing
  with our painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs. It is
  much more common than we might think.
  
  http://realitysandwich.com/74388/spiritual_bypassing/
The guy in the article appears to have this favorite style of psychology and solutions for everyday problems drawn from the world of psychology.

I'm guessing that "spiritual bypassing" is sort of like using religion to solve problems instead of using this guys favorite methodology.

I think the most legitimate trap is to not distinguish between problems that Buddhism is good as solving and which problems are better solved with pharmacology, or one of the many talking cures from the world of psychology.

Buddhism does a really good job of addressing the problems of existential angst-- the who am I and why am I here questions. It isn't especially suited on its own to deal with marital problems (Dr Gottman is a better expert), or literal delusions (like seeing little green men in the drain of the bath tub), substance abuse, bacterial infections, cancer, stroke, clincial depression and so on.

But if some wants to try to deal with their problems using Buddhism instead of Freudian psychoanalysis or any of the other talk cure systems that have since followed and bypass this the article's author's methodology, I wouldn't hold it again them. The various talk cure systems are probably as difficult to prove right or wrong as it is to prove one religion to be better or worse.