Person-Centered Mindfulness: A Culturally and Spiritually Sensitive Approach to Clinical Practice

AbstractMindfulness meditation is rapidly being integrated into many different forms of counseling and psychotherapy, and there is a growing evidence base for its effectiveness. It is important to understand the spiritual roots of mindfulness, and to apply it in a patient-centered manner, sensitive to the patient ’s own faith tradition rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, assuming that mindfulness-based practice is a purely secular approach. The philosophical underpinning of mindfulness lies squarely in the Buddhist faith tradition. Indeed, mindfulness is the 7th step on the Eightfold Path, whi ch is the heart of Buddhist teachings. Many practitioners, however, may not realize that there are Western meditative techniques that are very similar to mindfulness and that have deep roots within Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith traditions. Patient-centered mindfulness involves the use of mindf ulness and other meditation methods that are based on the patient’s own faith tradition, rather than applying Eastern forms of mindfulness claiming these are a secular approach appropriate for everyone regardless of religious beliefs, even if those beliefs are not consistent with the Buddhist reli gious or philosophical approach. In this article, I briefly examine the evidence for the clinical effectiveness of mindfulness meditation, and then go into greater depth on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim forms of mindfulness or similar meditative practices, providin...
Source: Journal of Religion and Health - Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research