Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Our Time: A Curriculum that is up to the Task.
Rebecca S. Crane, Robert Callen-Davies, Aesha Francis, Dean Francis, Pauline Gibbs, Beth A Mulligan, Bridgette O'Neill, Nana Korantemah Pierce Williams, Michael Waupoose, Zayda Vallejo
Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health 2023 DOI: 10.1177/27536130231162604 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness-based stress reduction Anti-oppression Diversity Equity Fidelity Intervention integrity |
| Key points | Argues that the MBP field has prioritized individual wellbeing and excluded the full societal demographic, and proposes that MBSR can retain fidelity to the original program while integrating anti-oppression teaching methods and addressing micro, meso, and macro causes of distress and flourishing. |
Abstract
There is current heightened public consciousness of the intersecting challenges of social and racial injustice, other forms of inequity, and the climate and biodiversity crisis. We examine how these current realities influence how we engage as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Program (MBP) teachers and researchers. Although Kabat-Zinn developed MBSR as a vehicle to enable engagement with both the individual and the collective drivers of distress and flourishing, predominant research and practice trends within the MBP field have prioritised individual wellbeing, and have not been accessible to the full societal demographic. Furthermore, there is increasing recognition that the systemic social inequities that influence access to public services have not been addressed in the MBP field. In response, there is now an increasing trend exploring how MBP participation can influence 'bigger than self' concerns, with research, practice and theory suggesting that the inner personal transformation that mindfulness practice enables, supports individuals to compassionately reconnect to self, other and the natural world in ways that foster prosocial behaviour change, and enables awareness building of personal bias and conditioning. In this paper we present perspectives on ways of both retaining fidelity to the existing MBSR program, and simultaneously embracing anti-oppression teaching methods and content, and an inclusive recognition of the micro, meso and macro causes and conditions that drive distress and flourishing. We are a group of racially diverse MBP teachers and trainers from both sides of the Atlantic, who are engaged in training initiatives with people from Black, Latinex, Indigenous, Asian, and People of Color communities.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- A Systematic Review on the State of the Art of Culturally Adapted Mindfulness-Based Interventions for First Nations Peoples: Cultural Adaptation, Effectiveness, and Feasibility Mindfulness September 1, 2024
- Mind the Echo Chamber: Mindfulness as a Contemplative Practice That can Contribute to Public Health Mindfulness March 1, 2025
- A rationale and framework for sharing mindfulness in trauma-dense communities in South Africa. South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care June 9, 2025
- Exploratory study of the effects of multi-site mindfulness interventions on the multifaceted self as a psychosocial indicator of mental health: A pilot study. Acta Psychologica May 1, 2025
- Intervention Fidelity in Mindfulness-Based Research and Practice: Overview of the Special Collection and State of the Field. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health 2025
and 7 more in the library
Cites 17
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- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Contemplating Mindfulness at Work Journal of Management November 19, 2015
- What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft Psychological Medicine December 29, 2016
- Four-Year Follow-Up of a Meditation-Based Program for the Self-Regulation of Chronic Pain Clinical Journal of Pain 1986
and 12 more in the library