Mindfulness Online
Fig. 1: Adele Krusche and J. Mark G. Willaims, Oxford Mindfulness Centre, University of Oxford
Adele Krusche and J. Mark G. Willaims, Oxford Mindfulness Centre, University of Oxford
Computing is not about computers any more. It is about living.
—Nicholas Negroponte, Being Digital
At the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, we teach people the skills to be able to let go of unwanted thoughts, to sit still and to pay attention to what is going on right here and now. Within Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry, we work with partners around the world to prevent depression and enhance human potential through the therapeutic use of mindfulness. The benefits of mindfulness in preventing serious depression and emotional distress have been demonstrated by clinical trials, and work continues to explore the implications of this relationship and to extend the approach to other disorders, using brain-imaging techniques together with experimental cognitive science to learn how mindfulness has its effects and which practices are best for whom.
The society we live in and mindfulness therapy seem to be poles apart. A simple concept such as staying still and noticing seems, to many, very alien now, and perhaps that means we need to remember it. Mindfulness courses delivered in person have been shown to be effective for many people experiencing a variety of problems.
The problem comes when we have classes on mindfulness running a few miles from home, starting perhaps while we are at work or picking the kids up from school; maybe disability or cost gets in the way. This is where online mindfulness comes in. It offers the opportunity for people to learn the skills in their own homes, in their own comfortable chair, without the need to rush or arrange childcare. These skills can then be used in the very surroundings they might need most.
That isn’t to say that this online mindfulness therapy is for everyone. We’re only just starting to explore its effectiveness. Our preliminary research suggests that Internet-based mindfulness training has the potential to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression in people who have chosen to take a course. We don’t yet know much about the people taking the course, but are looking forward to finding out exactly who and who does not benefit from it. If people are getting results from this course equivalent to online CBT or some face-to-face courses, it seems essential to continue the research and to develop online therapies to help the people who choose to take them. The word is starting to spread that these Internet interventions exist, that helpful therapies are available now, and that they might just make you feel better without your having to leave your living room. Being able to steal some time back in the light of your monitor might take some of the frantic out of the day.
For further reading, see Krusche et al. 2012. For mindfulness online, a preliminary evaluation of the feasibility of a web-based mindfulness course and the impact on stress is available at BMJ Open, 2(3).
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온라인 마음챙김
Fig. 1: Adele Krusche and J. Mark G. Willaims, Oxford Mindfulness Centre, University of Oxford
Adele Krusche and J. Mark G. Willaims, Oxford Mindfulness Centre, University of Oxford
컴퓨팅은 더 이상 컴퓨터에 관한 것이 아니다. 컴퓨팅은 이제 삶에 관한 것이다.
Nicholas Negroponte, Being Digital
옥스포드의 마음챙김 센터에서 우리는
원치않는 생각이
At the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, we teach people the skills to be able to let go of unwanted thoughts, to sit still and to pay attention to what is going on right here and now. Within Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry, we work with partners around the world to prevent depression and enhance human potential through the therapeutic use of mindfulness. The benefits of mindfulness in preventing serious depression and emotional distress have been demonstrated by clinical trials, and work continues to explore the implications of this relationship and to extend the approach to other disorders, using brain-imaging techniques together with experimental cognitive science to learn how mindfulness has its effects and which practices are best for whom.
The society we live in and mindfulness therapy seem to be poles apart. A simple concept such as staying still and noticing seems, to many, very alien now, and perhaps that means we need to remember it. Mindfulness courses delivered in person have been shown to be effective for many people experiencing a variety of problems.
The problem comes when we have classes on mindfulness running a few miles from home, starting perhaps while we are at work or picking the kids up from school; maybe disability or cost gets in the way. This is where online mindfulness comes in. It offers the opportunity for people to learn the skills in their own homes, in their own comfortable chair, without the need to rush or arrange childcare. These skills can then be used in the very surroundings they might need most.
That isn’t to say that this online mindfulness therapy is for everyone. We’re only just starting to explore its effectiveness. Our preliminary research suggests that Internet-based mindfulness training has the potential to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression in people who have chosen to take a course. We don’t yet know much about the people taking the course, but are looking forward to finding out exactly who and who does not benefit from it. If people are getting results from this course equivalent to online CBT or some face-to-face courses, it seems essential to continue the research and to develop online therapies to help the people who choose to take them. The word is starting to spread that these Internet interventions exist, that helpful therapies are available now, and that they might just make you feel better without your having to leave your living room. Being able to steal some time back in the light of your monitor might take some of the frantic out of the day.
For further reading, see Krusche et al. 2012. For mindfulness online, a preliminary evaluation of the feasibility of a web-based mindfulness course and the impact on stress is available at BMJ Open, 2(3).
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