The implications of mindfulness-based therapy

Hello Fellow bloggers!

It turns out my previous thesis was not so good. So here's my working thesis as of now: the addition of mindfulness training to therapeutic interventions is an improvement to therapies because it prolongs the effects of the therapy.

Mindfulness is a skill. It lasts for as long as you continue to practice it.  If you go to therapy to treat anxiety or depression, for example, and you learn the mindfulness technique, then you can keep using this technique after therapy to make sure that the depression or anxiety doesn't come back later, which it usually does when you only do therapy alone.

So what are the implications?

If mindfulness-based therapies really are effective in the long term (which research to date suggests is true, but a lot more will need to be done to confirm this), then the therapies should be more brief and patients should not have to return to therapy after the first intervention because of recurring symptoms.  Therefore, it is much more cost efficient than long-term psychotherapies or therapies that only treat the immediate symptoms but do not protect against relapse.  This might mean that more people will be willing to seek therapy, especially people suffering from depression.  Depression is the most common mental disorder and the most untreated.  Depressed people do not seek professional help for various reasons.  One important reason is that they do not have the energy to go to a therapist and stick to a treatment plan.  They also may feel pessimistic about the effectiveness of therapy, especially considering the fact that most people who are treated for depression experience at least one more episode after therapy.  But if they can undergo a therapy that lasts only around 8 weeks and whose benefits can be maintained for a long time, possibly even for life, then depressed individuals may feel more motivated to try it.  This therapy would also appeal to those who are hesitant to seek professional help for financial reasons, since it is a short therapy with lasting effects.

This may also replace antidepressants and other medications for some people.  Pharmacotherapy only suppresses the symptoms, and it only works while you are taking the pills.  Mindfulness teaches lifelong skills to deal with emotional problems and external stressors. It is also much more cost-efficient and far less dangerous.  Not everyone can take medications because of side effects or conditions that the person may have.  But mindfulness is safe and equally effective.

I don't know about you guys, but I feel like this intervention has a lot of potential.  The research on the topic is growing rapidly, but there is still much to be explored.  As an aspiring psychologist and meditation-enthusiast, I am excited about where this is going.  But I think the psychological community needs to raise awareness in the general public about this new intervention, especially now, when we have all these advertisements omvincing us that all our problems are due to chemical imbalances in the brain and becoming a pill popper will make us all balanced, like it worked for the sad little zoloft bubble.  People need to be informed on their options before they go running to their physicians for a prescription for something they saw on TV.  No matter how convincing the super-simplified animation of neurochemicals floating around the brain was.