Mindfulness Literature Review Takeaways

This assignment and this course in general have completely overhauled the way in which I view information. To know something to be true and valid is actually an exhaustive journey, and if I were inclined to or asked to do so in the future I would certainly take the route of scholarly research, as we’ve learned in this course. I believe I’ve gained the tools necessary to do this again in the future. I understand now that this course was laid out in a certain way to introduce us to different types of resources at a pace that is conducive to learning, but in the future I think I would gather resources of all types in one sitting and begin to digest the state of the issue at hand.

Probably the most difficult task of gathering these resources is understanding what the authors are trying to say through technical terms and professional jargon. The language can be cryptic and dense, but I think the process of “translating” information would become easier over time and during further exposure to the field that is my major.

After having completed the literature review, I can safely say I have a working knowledge of journal articles and other resource and how they interact with each other in a review. The authors of the resources don’t know they’re being compared against one and other, but they tend to share a foundation of knowledge of the material they’re researching. For this reason it’s easier to see what most researchers agree on and the areas in which there isn’t much in the way of completely understanding. The authors have the same issues in regard to the lack of knowledge, but they are each attempting to answer different questions. One can gain a sense of what is on the horizon for future research by taking a survey of sorts across multiple studies.

As I outlined in my literature review, the most obvious issue with my topic is in regard to structured reporting and evaluation of variables. I’m not a student of hard sciences, but I know that scientists in those fields deal in concrete numbers that are quantitative, not qualitative. Mindfulness and psychology in general struggle to do the same, as the nature of research is usually qualitative. Perhaps in my education I will learn to reconcile and maybe even put to rest any complaint I have of this disparity. 

What sparked my interest originally about this article was the aggressive approach toward finding a link between formal and informal Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). I found good evidence that supports what I expect to learn more about in regard to MBCT, but I wouldn’t describe the information contained therein as groundbreaking. I may check it out again later if I need to show evidence supporting my claims in the research article, but it’s not likely. I have a handful of other sources I’d probably look to first. There didn’t appear to be any link in the network of authors/researchers compared to previous studies I’ve found. I don’t think this means they aren’t authorities, however. Probably the most valuable thing I could have gleaned from this assignment was further practice in researching. For that reason I still believe this was good time spent. 

For this week’s blog post, we take a look at a research article published in the Wiley Online Library called MINDFULNESS AND EMOTION REGULATION IN DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY: COMMON AND DISTINCT MECHANISMS OF ACTION. I’m not certain why it needed to be in all caps, but aside from that and a very technical (not-so-user-friendly) appearance, this article appears to be very current, relevant, authoritative, and accurate. Probably the most difficult piece of handling this information is the technical “jargon” that reads more like legislature than it does an article. That being said, there is some real merit to having this article in my toolbox for the upcoming research assignment. The article actually explains the mechanisms of Mindfulness and what exactly makes it so powerful. For background, Mindfulness is becoming widely accepted and almost buzzword-like in the sphere of psychology, but no one (until now) has really tried to grapple with what makes it tick. I’m glad these authors took on the challenge – there is some really interesting information here!

For Week 3 of this class I was fortunate enough to find the eBook titled Therapist's Guide to Evidence-based Relapse Prevention. I was only able to find this book after reading the text and understanding the instructions of the assignment to efficiently find books using the Library search terms and limiting my search results only to what I need. I knew there would be evidence (clinical trials in particular) that speak to my research question, but this is the first publication I’ve found that contains a wealth of said information. I’m relieved in a way to have found it, and what’s more is the entire eBook is available through Chapman’s library. I was able to read part of the text by having this access and it is there I found clinical trials that speak positively about the usefulness of MBCT (Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy) in a modern therapy setting. If time were to allow, I could even go so far as to read enough of the book to understand the impact of MBCT on topics not pertaining to Depression, which, I’d imagine would give me a better understanding of the mechanics (neuroplasticity, cognitive therapeutic retraining, etc.) thereof. I was also pleased to have found that this eBook “scored well” against the CRAAP criteria used to research topics. I saved this title and plan to refer to it in the future as this section of the trimester comes to a close.

I could not have found this title without the Badke readings and instruction set forth by the professor, Mr. Clutter. Fortunately, and for that reason, I had little trouble finding the title and examining its contents for pertinence to my research question. I’m quite certain that this title will come in to good use later on.  

This week, after acquiring the research skills necessary through the readings, I located a source using portal http://psywww.com/. To be up front, this is not my first introduction to the field or specific research topic I’m pursuing, but at the time of this writing I do not hold nearly enough information to prepare a research writing with any sort of meaning on my own, so this week’s exercise was very helpful in getting started on the right foot. I was introduced to Mindfulness as a form of therapy and have found, when dedicated enough to practice it, great benefits from the labors that it entails. I sought to understand its origin both in culture and in clinical psychology. This article gives a historical background that filled my gap in knowledge as outlined above, and, more importantly, demonstrates why it’s at the forefront of clinical treatment for a variety of mental illnesses. In short, Eastern religions have inadvertently (at first) given new direction in the budding field of the treatment of mental illnesses. The research being conducted now is, of course, very deliberate as individuals in the West have begun to reap its benefits. In reading Chapter 6 of the Badke text, I noted that this particular portal was designated as a source of information in the field of psychology, and I knew I would return once I began this assignment. I first used the Leatherby Library eReferences but was not satisfied with the broad or inadmissible results I found there, as many of them did not pertain to Mindfulness. I think it is safe to say I will be returning to this portal in the future to complete our research assignment this semester. I hope that, with this article and other sources, I can hone in on the impact Mindfulness teachings have had in clinical therapy and the way it has shaped Western Psychology. 

This article may be found here - http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/virtbauer.htm

Hi! My name is Brian and I’m new to Brandman University. I’m returning to school to complete my Bachelor’s in Psychology that I began a few years ago. I’ve been fascinated by psychology and the inner-workings of the mind for my entire adult life. I may pursue a Master’s degree as well in order to gain the qualifications necessary to help others live their life to the fullest potential. I’m looking forward to working with all of you to in order to get one step closer to our dreams!

With regard to the field of psychology, I’m not yet certain what path I’d like to take if I had to choose only one. I’m gravitating towards psychotherapy and understanding the psychological influences of an individual’s behavior. In other words, finding explanation for the behavior based on past experiences and their current environment in order to “re-gear” their perception of their reality for the better. I’ve always been a skeptic about anything I see online, and particularly anything dominating the news at any moment in time. I’m confident in my skepticism in searching for the truth or validity of a declaration said to be fact, but to be certain I am weak in determining the best avenues for finding truth. Discovering the optimal methods for doing so will be my objective this trimester.