Mindfulness in Schools

2014-07-02  18:51:32

this might interest you, it's a newspaper blog about mindfulness in British schools, still live as I'm posting

mindfulness in schools

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2014/jun/30/teaching-mindfulness-schools-live-chat

Very interesting I am sure it will help.
I think children maybe adults too  are not getting the right help all the time.
I get the feeling that kids maybe adults being sent to a counsellor at the family centre may help but the kids soon wise up to the questions and self analysis and can see it coming. I think they can tell a professional helper i also think they can tell a helper that has clever ideas.
However  and it is a good however,there are teachers and especially teachers assistants who have a depth of human kindness and understanding, and the kids in my limited view respond best to them,you cant beat a heart to heart.

The Guardian report that is linked to above quotes a mindfuleness researcher who said: 

'Both targeted and universal [mindfulness] interventions have been shown to have a significant impact on mental health problems in the young.

For example, the MiSP.b programme has had a clear impact. The young people who participated in the programme reported fewer depressive symptoms post-treatment and at follow-up, along with lower stress and greater well-being.'

Much as I would like mindfulness to be a magic pill, unfortunately it is not. The research being quoted is reported  in papers on the Mindfulness in Schools Program (MiSP.b) website (http://mindfulnessinschools.org/research/research-evidence-mindfulness-schools-project/ ) and I'm afraid I find it rather underwhelming. In the first (2012) paper, it is reported in the summary that they 'found significant impacts on depression, stress and wellbeing in the intervention group.', but when you look further in the paper itself we find 'In the unadjusted analyses,there was little evidence of a difference between the trial arms and intervention group.' Even when the data was fully adjusted the impact was pretty minimal. The maximum size of any fully adjusted impact was 3%, on the well being measure, and on the stress and depression measures, to my mind the more objective ones,  it was 1.8% and 1.4% respectively. Hardly a ringing endorsement and not what most non-statisticians think of as either a significant or a clear impact, as was being reported in the Guardian. (Technically the results were statistically significant, implying that there was very likely some effect, it's just that it wasn't very big!) The second (2008) paper's results are similar.

Now I am a great believer in mindfulness meditation and practice and would recommend it to almost anyone. But I fear it is becoming over-hyped as a panacea to all the modern worlds ills. Well, I have just had major surgery for mouth cancer and whilst I would say that I thought mindfulness practice has helped me mentally in my recuperation it was the surgeons' skill with knife and saw, not mindfulness, that got rid of the cancer (at least I hope it has!) If we over-hype mindfulness it isn't skillful means it's  just more hype and we will end up just leading people astray and damaging the mindfulness movement.

So well said Mark, and Michael!

And ongoing best wishes to you Mark on a beneficial recovery!!

Mark,  that was quite a shock to hear of your illness and operation !  I do hope you make a good
and speedy recovery, my friend. I know it`s a lonely road we tread when we have a serious illness
and my thoughts are with you.  Best wishes to you.

Cancer, be gone!!!!  Not convinced I have any magic powers here, but all good wishes.  Prognosis sounds hopeful.  Good health is such a precious thing, isn't it?  Hope the healing is rapid.....

Mark, in my all too brief acquaintance with you, you struck me as a volcanic character, here's hoping you go on erupting for many decades to come.

As for the mindfulness, it probably falls into that category of things which as my mother used to say "if it does ye no good, it does ye no harm". Still, the creation of a vast new market for teachers who don't actually know anything is bound to have Buddhists everywhere whooping and throwing their hats in the air!

Thanks everyone for you well wishes; it certainly lifts the spirits and speeds recovery.

back to mindfulness research:

Upcoming major conference from the Mind and Life Institute taking place in Boston, Oct 30 - Nov 2 with the Dalai Lama -

http://www.iscs2014.org/

The Mind and Life Institute calls their work "contemplative studies" - but generally words like contemplation and contemplative are now avoided by researchers and the leaders of the new "mindful revolution" since contemplation sounds overly religious - and "mindful" sounds more neurosciencey.

here is a big review of all the mindfulness studies to date - published early this year:

http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/ehc/products/375/1830/Meditation-report-140110.pdf