Abstract
To the Editor
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. It sits within the growing understanding from neurocognitive and developmental science that metacognition, reflective functioning and the conscious integration of experience are fundamental to the foundation of a healthy human psyche.
The capacity of our mind to observe itself (metacognition) is a property of the ‘duplex’ self and fosters the understanding of internal and external states. It grows in relationship and is fostered by a particular kind of relatedness. In other words, the cognitive approaches to mindfulness discussed in the commentary cited have also their partners in other contemporary psychotherapeutic approaches such as the Conversational Model, which address the emergence of self and it’s mindfulness through a relational approach (Meares, 2005).
It is exciting to live in times where we may be developing functional models that are underpinned by common constructs but that allow us many therapeutic strategies to flexibly achieve the desired end of helping our patients on the road to health.