Mindfulness, Christian meditation, and mental health

For almost 40 years I have struggled with mental health issues, off and on. About twenty years ago, following one particular low, a psychologist introduced me to the practice of mindfulness. In particular, I followed a set of exercises developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, such as the body scan meditation. These exercises were incredibly helpful as they helped me to learn to control my racing thoughts. A few years ago, I was asked to speak to a counseling class in a Christian theological college in South Asia about my experiences with mindfulness. Here are some of the questions I tried to address. When I give talks about mental health (such as this) I usually mention how mindfulness has helped me.

One question that I have continued to wonder about was how these practices, which have their origin in Buddhism and secular psychology, are related to a Christian perspective, and Christian practices of meditation and prayer. Hence, I was delighted when I came across the book, Christ Centred Mindfulness: Connection to Self and God by Katherine Thompson. Hence, I recommended it to my theology reading group. We discussed it with animation. I will give my perspective, both before and after the discussion.

The response of any reader to a book can be shaped by their experiences, prejudices, and hopes. I was naturally predisposed to like this book since I saw it as meeting an important need. It is short, clear, easy to read, comprehensive, and balanced. It covers a lot of ground in less than 200 pages. Overviews are given of the historical background to mindfulness, scientific evidence (or lack thereof) for its effectiveness, different forms of psychotherapy, some Biblical and theological basis for meditation, Christian mystics, modern Christian contemplatives, and many practical mindfulness exercises. This wide range of topics is important because mental health is multi-faceted. There are medical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions.

The greatest strengths of the book may be the following. It fills an important gap in the literature. The comprehensive survey (with many references) provides a good introduction to the relevant topics and issues. Hopefully, it will stimulate discussions and more books on this important topic. In the end, it is very practical. Readers can do the exercises. They are diverse, ranging from mindful connection to nature to Lectio Divina. On this basis, I would happily recommend the book to others.

Now to the weaknesses of the book. There were some things that I struggled to understand on my first reading. The author gives a review of several different forms of psychotherapy, including Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, Dialectical behaviour therapy, and Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Thompson advocates the latter and goes on to discuss how mindfulness fits well within it, particularly from a Christian perspective. However, I really do not get all the nuances concerning the differences between these therapies and could not really explain to you what ACT is. 

There are several diagrams and tables, designed to illuminate and contrast different concepts and approaches. They have the potential to be quite helpful, but they needed more explanation.

Stimulated by our discussion about the book, a number of other possible weaknesses became more apparent.

Like any book, this one reflects the author's own personal and professional journey. She is trying to bring together her own personal journey of faith, her struggle with chronic physical pain, her Ph.D. in Psychological Medicine, and her professional practice. I wonder if she has worked a bit too hard to put the pieces together in this book. Are mindfulness and Christian faith being "shoehorned" into ACT? Is she trying to give mindfulness and ACT a Christian baptism? How does repentance fit into this synthesis? Is there too much dissonance between mindfulness, ACT, and Christian faith and practice, to try to bring them all together?

How do people change? How do people experience healing from mental illness? How can a Christian live by faith and persevere in the midst of suffering? What is the role of human agency? There is significant scientific and theological uncertainty about possible answers to these questions. Any healing is a miracle, whether by modern medicine or by the working of the Holy Spirit. Given this, to what extent are "methodologies" useful? I don't know. Methodologies, whether clinical practices or spiritual disciplines, can have great value. But they do have limitations. They are all constructed by finite fallible humans, embedded in a sinful broken world. How does one find a humble and balanced perspective on and implementation of these methodologies? Again, I don't know.

In spite of my many questions, I think the book is a wonderful contribution and will benefit many.

Another member of the reading group, Chris Brown, has some reflections on the book on the "holy" scribblers blog.