The American journal of orthopsychiatry
July 28, 2025
Sehrish Malik
2 citations
Muslim mothers in Western nations face unique stressors such as Islamophobia, cultural stigma, and social isolation. A spiritually integrated mindfulness support group, based on Imam al-Ghazali's framework and incorporating Islamic practices like muraqaba, dhikr, and tawakkul, can alleviate stress, foster spiritual growth, and strengthen community bonds. The Mindfulness Meditation Fundamentals pilot program taught participants mindfulness concepts and Islamic coping strategies, creating a 'homeplace' for resistance and cultural preservation. The article suggests that such mindfulness practice is uniquely conducive to spiritual empowerment and collective healing for Muslim mothers.
The American journal of orthopsychiatry
March 24, 2025
Matthew J Lyons, Deanna M Kaplan, Sarah H Cross et al.
1 citation
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise for improving health outcomes, but their effectiveness varies significantly across populations. In low-resource settings, focusing solely on individual change overlooks critical structural issues affecting health. With a call to action for community ownership and engagement, it’s essential to address inequities in power and incorporate cross-sector collaboration. By centering community-defined needs and integrating complementary interventions, MBIs can better serve vulnerable populations, potentially leading to significant positive social change and improved health outcomes for those most in need.
The American journal of orthopsychiatry
February 17, 2025
Daniel W Grupe, Sophia Diamantis, Carmen Alonso
1 citation
Contemplative practices like mindfulness can support justice in the criminal legal system, but their impact depends on the ethical framework and context. Over eight years of research with police officers and incarcerated individuals—both groups traumatized by an unjust system—qualitative interviews with officers suggest that focusing too much on individual resilience may limit interpersonal benefits and critical awareness of systemic injustice. Community advisors recommend that police training be more responsive to community concerns. An advisory board of formerly incarcerated individuals advises that mindfulness can best support community reentry by foregrounding shared humanity. To advance justice, practitioners must be explicit about ethics, target individuals and organizations capable of systems change, and emphasize shared humanity over perceived differences.
The American journal of orthopsychiatry
January 1, 2026
Shelly P. Harrell, Dominique A Malebranche
Mindfulness programs that ignore cultural context and fail to address liberation may not fully support communities affected by social injustices. Two Black women psychologists describe how their own experiences led them to create mindfulness-based, emancipatory contemplative programs for Black and other racially minoritized groups who have faced colonial-cultural trauma and ongoing oppression. Using collaborative autoethnography and guided by the African wisdom of Sankofa, they identified four pathways: returning home; sacredness of culture, spirituality, and nature; movement and flow; and release, resistance, and reimagining. One program uses soulfulness as an entry to mindful awareness; the other uses water-based contemplative healing. The authors suggest that centering cultural resonance and these pathways can enhance well-being and advance a justice-oriented approach.
The American journal of orthopsychiatry
December 15, 2025
Raghda Alnabilsy, Shiran Israel, Inbal Soroker et al.
This qualitative study explored coping and resilience among Arab-Bedouin mental health professionals in Israel, a minority facing systemic exclusion. Eight professionals completed an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program in Arabic. Pre-program interviews revealed emotional burdens from racism and stereotypes, with coping through family, religion, and nature. Post-program, participants reported improved emotional regulation, reduced reactivity, and better relationships. Mindfulness empowered them personally but did not address systemic inequalities. The authors suggest culturally sensitive mindfulness interventions may support resilience in marginalized communities.
The American journal of orthopsychiatry
January 1, 2019
Wei-Chin Hwang, Courtney P Chan
A peer-led compassionate meditation program for Asian American college students reduced general distress, depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms, and fewer participants were clinically depressed after the program. The 8-session culturally responsive intervention was developed and pilot-tested to address race-related stress. Despite a small sample, results suggest that brief compassionate meditation may be a promising and cost-effective method for mitigating the mental health impact of racism.