"There’s a term in my field of clinical psychology, “boundaries of competence,” meaning that you don’t operate outside of your training. You always know the limits of your capability, and if your client needs something that you can’t offer, you refer out. This is required by law, and it provides ethical standard that protects both parties.
I saw my own Tibetan master, the late Gelek Rimpoche, do this very wisely when he was asked a question about depression. He pointed to two senior students in the front row, both of whom were psychologists, and he said openly to everybody: “I cannot speak about that. You should consult my students who are psychologists.” I don’t know if every Tibetan teacher would do that; some might be quick to give an answer based on their own paradigm. But trauma needs to be handled by a trauma specialist. When you start to give spiritual advice for trauma, you are likely to trigger spiritual bypassing [the use of spiritual teachings to avoid difficult experiences], which serves no one."
- Miles Neale
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