Mindfulness of the psyche, mindfulness of the self

摘要

I was interested to read the commentary Are we mindful of psychosis as it keeps on the agenda the issue of the potential utility of mindfulness approaches to psychotic and other symptoms (Whalan et al., 2012). However it also continues the recent trends in psychiatry, psychology and philosophy to revisit and reintegrate notions of the self, dismissed in the middle of the 20th Century as 'unscientific', but now revived in the need to further understand human experience. Several years ago Meares' article in this journal addressed this issue (Meares, 2003) and marks a period where articles and monographs on mindfulness were beginning to appear (Germer et al., 2005; Siegel, 2007). The current paradigm shift allows the potential interconnectedness of these areas of mindfulness and the self to be explored as we move towards a more mindful professional praxis and an understanding that fosters a more dignified and valuing approach to the personal experience of both ourselves and our patients.