Mindfulness and Mental Health Foundations, Perspectives, and Applications

Part I: Conceptual Foundations  1. Introduction To Mindfulness And Mental Health  2. Foundations Of Mindfulness: Tracing Ancestry And Contextualizing Within Eastern Traditions  3. Foundations Of Mindfulness: Development In The Western Context  4. Understanding The Mind: Perspectives From Neuroscience  5. Foundations In Human Development: Mindfulness Throughout The Lifespan  Part II: Contemporary Applications  6. Mindfulness And Stress  7. Mindfulness And Depression  8. Mindfulness And Trauma And Anxiety  9. Mindfulness And Addictive Behaviors  10. Mindfulness, Empowerment, And Social Justice

Biography

Uma Chandrika Millner has a PhD in counseling psychology. She is a licensed psychologist and assistant professor at Bentley University. She has published widely and worked in many counseling settings.

Oyenike Balogun is an assistant professor at Bentley University and a licensed psychologist. She has a PhD in counseling psychology. Her work has appeared in Body Image and Qualitative Psychology.

“The authors give us the pathway back to the soul of mindfulness practice in the manner that our ancestors prescribed. This book challenges us to stop our fast-food type of spirituality and to engage in the more difficult endeavors that include more sacrifice and difficulty, but in the end will liberate us from Samsara. The book is a decolonizing map that will re-integrate spirit that has been lost by the colonizing efforts of Western psychology.”

Eduardo Duran, PhD, author, Finding the Lost Buddha on Turtle Island and Healing the Soul Wound

“Millner and Balogun's comprehensive overview of the intersection between mindfulness and mental health is a wonderful introduction to this important and growing area of clinical practice. They explore the complexities and challenges of this intersection in an accessible manner, including a chapter on mindfulness and social justice. The book speaks directly to the multifaceted applications of mindfulness to stress, depression, anxiety, trauma, and addiction. It goes beyond the sometimes mechanistic mindfulness scripts associated with specific psychotherapies and programs. I highly recommend this book for those who want a more substantive ground for the incorporation of mindfulness in their mental health practice.”

Shelley Harrell, PhD, professor of psychology, Pepperdine University

“Drs. Millner and Balogun have co-created a mindfulness learning space that is equally sacred and progressive! It takes a rare kind of equanimity to balance the deep wisdom, colonial impact, and the universal call to water our practice in the here and now. Suitable for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike, they provide generous space for traveling back in time, engaging the present, and (re)imagining a tomorrow where the sacred and generative power of mindfulness is accessible to all.”

Kim Thao Nghiem, PsyD, psychologist and director, Hope ROC, Rochester, New York