1,721,019 research outputs found
Mindfulness as a treatment for gambling disorder: current directions and issues
Full text linkMindfulness is a form of meditation that derives from Buddhist practice and is one of the fastest growing areas of psychological research. Studies investigating the role of mindfulness in the treatment of behavioural addictions have, to date, primarily focused on gambling disorder. Recent pilot studies and clinical case studies have demonstrated that weekly mindfulness therapy sessions can lead to clinically significant change among individuals with gambling problems. This purpose of this paper is to appraise current directions in gambling disorder research as it relates to mindfulness approaches, and discuss issues that are likely to hinder the wider acceptance of mindfulness as a treatment for gambling disorder. It is concluded that although preliminary findings indicate that there are applications for mindfulness approaches in the treatment of gambling disorder, further empirical and clinical research utilizing larger-sample controlled study designs is clearly needed
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Mindfulness in mental health: a critical reflection
No full textMindfulness derives from Buddhist practice and is fundamentally concerned with the development of present moment awareness. It is arguably one of the fastest growing areas of mental health research with the last decade witnessing a tenfold increase in the number of published scientific papers concerning the applications of mindfulness in mental health contexts. Given the demonstrable growth of interest into the clinical utility of mindfulness, this paper provides a: (i) timely and evidence-based appraisal of current trends and issues in psychopathology-related mindfulness research, and (ii) discussion of whether the empirical evidence for mindfulness-based interventions actually merits their growing popularity and utilization amongst mental health stakeholders. It is concluded that mindfulness-based interventions have the potential to play an important role in psychiatric treatment settings as well as in applied psychological settings more generally. However, due to the rapidity at which mindfulness has been taken out of its traditional Buddhist setting, and what is possibly evidence of media and/or scientific hype concerning the effectiveness of mindfulness, it is recommended that future research seeks to: (i) consolidate and replicate research findings, (ii) assess the maintenance of outcomes over longer time periods, (iii) investigate potential adverse effects, and (iv) fully control for potential performance bias in mindfulness-based intervention studies. It is further recommended that future research seeks to investigate the Buddhist position that sustainable improvements to mental and spiritual health typically require consistent daily mindfulness practice over a period of many years (i.e., they do not arise after attending eight two-hour classes with some self-practice in between)
Work-related mental health and job performance: can mindfulness help?
Full text linkWork-related mental health issues such as work-related stress and addiction to work impose a significant health and economic burden to the employee, the employing organization, and the country of work more generally. Interventions that can be empirically shown to improve levels of work-related mental health – especially those with the potential to concurrently improve employee levels of work performance – are of particular interest to occupational stakeholders. One such broad-application interventional approach currently of interest to occupational stakeholders in this respect is mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Following a brief explication of the mindfulness construct, this paper critically discusses current research directions in the utilization of mindfulness in workplace settings and assesses its suitability for operationalization as an organization-level work-related mental health intervention. By effecting a perceptual-shift in the mode of responding and relating to sensory and cognitive-affective stimuli, employees that undergo mindfulness training may be able to transfer the locus of control for stress from external work conditions to internal metacognitive and attentional resources. Therefore, MBIs may constitute cost-effective organization-level interventions due to not actually requiring any modifications to human resource management systems and practises. Based on preliminary empirical findings and on the outcomes of MBI studies with clinical populations, it is concluded that MBIs appear to be viable interventional options for organizations wishing to improve the mental health of their employees
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The psychotherapeutic applications of loving-kindness and compassion meditation
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Mindfulness and the social media
No full textThe number of people engaging in and using social media has increased substantially over the past decade. Recent research has also suggested that a minority of individuals appear to be addicted to social media (e.g., so-called ‘Facebook addiction’). Another area that has seen substantial growth during the same time period is the use of mindfulness. Following a brief overview of both excessive social media use and the basic concepts relating to what mindfulness is, this paper briefly reviews some of the main issues in these two areas and suggests that mindfulness might be a useful therapeutic intervention that alleviates problems associated with social media use (given that mindfulness has been used successfully in the treatment of other behavioral addictions such as addictions to gambling and work). In light of the few studies carried out on excessive social media usage, it is concluded there is a need for more methodologically robust research exploring the prevalence, aetiology, and correlates of maladaptive social media behaviour
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