The potential of mindfulness—despite the risks and side effects

Abstract

Mindfulness has emerged as a significant concept in psychotherapy, promising substantial benefits to both practitioners and clients. This article provides a summary of the advantages and empirical support for the efficacy of mindfulness within psychotherapeutic contexts, while also discussing its potential drawbacks and criticisms it has garnered. Since the inception of Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) four decades ago, a profusion of research, particularly in the past two decades, has underlined the salutary impact of mindfulness practices on psychological and physiological well-being. Concurrently, there has been an upsurge in research scrutinizing the adverse effects with, e.g., findings indicating a possible inclination towards increased egocentrism attributable to mindfulness practices. Additionally, this paper explores the ongoing discourse on the limitations of mindfulness applications in therapy, cautioning against its misinterpretation as a static mindset adverse to change. The article posits that for mindfulness to be effectively integrated into psychotherapy, it is imperative that therapists who offer mindfulness-based interventions are themselves well-versed in mindfulness techniques.