A team led by a researcher at the School of Public Health at Georgia State University has offered recommendations to help practitioners improve mindfulness-based interventions for low-income adults seeking help for mental health issues.
The proposals are the result of focus group sessions with 32 adults, most of them African American, who sought services at a community mental health center. The researchers led the participants through two short, guided mindfulness exercises (mindful breathing and a mindful “body scan” that led them to focus attention on their body, moving gradually from their toes upward).
Dr. Claire Adams Spears
The researchers described mindfulness to the participants as: “a way of paying attention right here, right now, to whatever is happening, with an attitude of acceptance and non-judgment. Mindfulness is paying attention to our experience and accepting it for what it is without judging it or trying to change it.”
The study found that most participants were open to mindfulness practices and felt it could help them improve their physical and mental wellbeing (e.g., helping them to manage stress, anger, and chronic pain, as well as engage in healthier behaviors like quitting smoking and eating more healthfully). But some were uncomfortable with some aspects of the experience. The researchers recommend that practitioners working with such groups:
- Discuss the terms “mindfulness” and “meditation” and talk through any preconceptions that participants may have about what they mean;
- Clarify that mindfulness does not always lead to a relaxed state, and inform participants that some people experience mental or physical discomfort. Facilitators should be especially attuned to making accommodations such as allowing participants to keep their eyes open if certain practices make individual participants uncomfortable, especially for people with symptoms of mental illness;
- Acknowledge that some populations have additional barriers to mindfulness practice, such as difficulty in finding a safe, private place or free time, and consider modifications to address those challenges;
- When appropriate, consider discussion of how mindfulness can complement the religious or spiritual practice of participants; and
- Seek ways to discuss how mindfulness can promote empowerment and agency for low-income and otherwise marginalized people by providing them with self-care skills.
The research and resulting suggestions are published in the journal Mindfulness in the article “Perceptions of Mindfulness In a Low-Income, Primarily African American Treatment-Seeking Sample.” The study’s lead author is Dr. Claire Adams Spears, assistant professor of health promotion and behavior at Georgia State’s School of Public Health.