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).

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 사라질 수 있도록 하거나, 자리에 가만히 앉아 지금 현재 무슨일이 일어나고 있는지 집중할 수 있도록 사람들을 교육하고 있다. 옥스포드 대학교의 정신의학과에서는 마음챙김을 치료법으로 이용하여 우울증을 방지하고 사람이 갖고 있는 잠재력을 끌어올리도록 파트너들과 협력하고 있다. 심각한 우울증이나 감정적 고통을 방지하는데 있어서의 마음챙김의 혜택은 임상실험에 의해서 널리 알려져 왔다. 마음챙김-감정간 관계의 함축적인 의미와 다른 종류의 장애에 대해 마음챙김을 적용하는 것에 대한 탐색적인 연구는 지속적으로 이루어지고 있는데, 이에는 어떻게 마음챙김이 그 효과를 갖게 되는지, 어떤 조치가 어떤 사람에게 가장 효과적인지 등을 알아내기 위한 경험적 인지과학에 기반한 뇌영상 테크닠이 이용된다.
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우리가 살고있는 사회와 마음챙김은 서로 상반된 것처럼 보인다. 가만히 있으며 생각하기 (staying still and noticing)는 많은 사람들에게 현재에는 매우 생소하게 보이며, 아마도 ???? … 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. 사람들에게 처방되는 마음챙김 코스는 다양한 문제를 갖고 있는 많은 사람들에게 실제로 효과적이라는 것이 밝혀져 왔다.

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).