The Promotion of Mindfulness-based Interventions as a Panacea for Mental Health Issues: Social, Political and Ethical Implications
Keywords:
Mindfulness-Based Intervention, Complementary Medicine, Alternative Medicine, Mental Health, EthicsAbstract
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are being increasingly used as a form of complementary and alternative medicine to improve mental wellbeing. Being relatively safe and cost-effective, they have gained popularity in various settings including healthcare, workplace and schools where they are used to treat anxiety, stress, depression, psychosis, insomnia, addiction, hypertension and pain. Additionally, they are fast becoming a favoured regimen in the treatment of substance abuse, binge eating, problem gambling and anti-social behaviours. However, mental health is complex and dependent on many factors. Consequently, the promotion of MBIs as the panacea for mental wellbeing is contentious for three main reasons: firstly, it pins down the individual as solely responsible for their mental woes; secondly, it underplays the organisational and social determinants of mental health issues and the collective measures needed to address them; and thirdly, far from being value-free, it promotes a particular worldview and way of life in the public sphere.
References
Anderson, J. K., Ford, T., Soneson, E., Thompson Coon, J., Humphrey, A., Rogers, M., Moore, D., Jones, P. B., Clarke, E., & Howarth, E. (2019). A systematic review of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of school-based identification of children and young people at risk of, or currently experiencing mental health difficulties. Psychological Medicine, 49(1), 9–19.
CDC (Centres for Disease Control). (n.d.). Mental Health. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm
Chatfield K, Salehi B, Sharifi-Rad J, Afshar L. (2018). Applying an Ethical Framework to Herbal Medicine. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018, Article ID 1903629. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1903629
Creswell JD, Khoury B. (2019). Mindfulness Meditation: A research-proven way to reduce stress. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/mindfulness/meditation
Kabat-Zinn J. (2003). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MDSR). Constructivism in the Human Sciences, 8, 73.
Kabat-Zinn J. (2013). Full Catastrophe Living (revised edition): Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. Random House Publishing Group.
Keng SL, Smoski MJ, Robbins CJ. (2011). Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health: A Review of Empirical Studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041-1056. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006
Monteiro LM, Musten RF, Compson J. (2014). Traditional and contemporary mindfulness: finding the middle path in the tangle of concerns. Mindfulness, 6, 1–13.
Schmidt AT. (2016). The ethics and politics of mindfulness-based interventions. Journal of Medical Ethics, 42, 450-454.
Segal ZV, Williams JMG, Teasdale JD. (2002). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: a new approach to preventing relapse. Guilford Press.
Whippman R. (2016, November 26). Actually, Let’s Not Be in the Moment. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/opinion/sunday/actually-lets-not-be-in-the-moment.html
WHO (World Health Organisation). (n.d.). Mental Health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/health-topics/mental-health#tab=tab_1
Zhang D, Lee EKP, Mak ECW, Ho CY, Wong SYS. (2021). Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review. British Medical Bulletin, 138(1), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldab005
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Anggita Dini Wulandari, Saima Ali
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.