The Scope of Application for Meditation in Psychotherapy
Hyun-Ju Cho
The Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology August 31, 2018 DOI: 10.15842/kjcp.2018.37.3.012 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | The review argues that while meditation can improve mental health, well-being, and brain function, it may also provoke latent psychiatric problems or neurosis in clients with vulnerable ego function. It contends that clinicians applying meditation in psychotherapy should be aware of both its benefits and adverse effects, and it examines Buddhist literature for solutions to these adverse effects. |
Abstract
There has been an increase in the application of meditation to psychotherapy based on research showing that mindfulness meditation helped people improve their mental health and wellbeing as well as change their brain functions. Researchers in Korea have reported that meditation positively influenced clients with diverse psychological problems. However, a few researchers have warned us that meditation could be causing latent psychiatric problems or neurosis in clients with vulnerable ego function. Some of the psychological disorders, called majang, have also been presented in Buddhism literature. If psychotherapists want to apply meditation in psychotherapy, they should be understanding of its positive and negative effects. This study, therefore, examines not only the benefits of meditation, but also its side effects based on psychiatric studies in Western and Buddhism literature. Furthermore, this study examines the adverse effects of meditation and effective solutions to counter these adverse effects through Buddhism studies. Finally, there are different points of view as well as common factors of healing between psychotherapy and meditation. This study suggests that clinical therapists should be aware of some of the different views about the application of mediation in psychotherapy.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |