Exploring the Applications of Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Interventions For
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Exploring the Applications of Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Improving Health and Human Functioning: A Mixed-Methods Investigation William Van Gordon, BSc, MSc Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottinghamshire, UK, NG1 4BU A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctorate of Psychology December 2017 1 © William Van Gordon, 2017 This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level, and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights. Recommended citation: Van Gordon, W. (2017). Exploring the Applications of Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Improving Health and Human Functioning: A Mixed-Methods Investigation [PhD Thesis]. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University. Keywords: Mindfulness, Second-Generation Mindfulness-based Interventions, Meditation, Meditation Awareness Training, Buddhist-Derived Interventions, Mindfulness-Based Interventions, Emptiness, Ontological Addiction, Buddhism, Workaholism, Work Addiction, Sex Addiction, Fibromyalgia, Psychopathology, Job Performance, Civic Engagement, Stress, Anxiety, Randomised Controlled Trial Aspects of this doctoral project received support from: Nottingham Trent University Awake to Wisdom Centre for Meditation and Mindfulness Research 2 Table of Contents Declarations 5 List of Publications 7 List of Tables and Figures 15 List of Abbreviations 16 General Abstract 17 Chapter 1: General Introduction 19 SECTION A. CONTRIBUTION TO THEORY Chapter 2: Mindfulness in mental health: A critical reflection 27 Chapter 3: There is only one mindfulness: Why science and Buddhism 37 need to work together Chapter 4: Towards a second-generation of mindfulness-based interventions 57 Chapter 5: Buddhist emptiness theory: Implications for psychology 63 Chapter 6: Ontological addiction: Classification, etiology, and treatment 87 Chapter 7: Corporate use of mindfulness and authentic spiritual transmission: 115 Competing or compatible ideals? SECTION B. CONTRIBUTION TO RESEARCH Chapter 8 (Studies 1 and 2): Meditation Awareness Training for the treatment of 135 fibromyalgia syndrome: A randomised controlled trial Chapter 9 (Study 3): Meditation Awareness Training for individuals with fibromyalgia 170 syndrome: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of participant’s experiences Chapter 10 (Study 4): Meditation Awareness Training for the treatment of sex addiction: 199 A case study Chapter 11 (Study 5): Meditation Awareness Training for the treatment of workaholism: 225 A controlled trial SECTION C: CONTRIBUTION TO PRACTICE Chapter 12: Mindfulness and the Four Noble Truths 251 Chapter 13: General Conclusion 282 References 289 3 To Professor Mark Griffiths for his inspirational example and ongoing mentorship To my teacher and dearest friend, Dr Edo Shonin To the path of direct awareness, that carries the pure in heart across the ocean of suffering 4 Declaration of Originality I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institute of higher learning. Signed: (William Van Gordon) Date: 18th December 2017 Statement of Ethical Compliance All of the studies conducted as part of this doctoral thesis were subject to an in-depth assessment of their ethical implications. Ethical approval for all studies was provided by the Nottingham Trent University College of Business, Law, and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee. I declare that I have not deviated from the terms of the ethical approval issued by this Committee. Signed: (William Van Gordon) Date: 18th December 2017 5 Author Contribution Statement I confirm that I am responsible for the conception, design, and writing of all chapters included in this thesis. I conducted the literature reviews, designed the research, collected and analysed the data, and prepared the first-draft of each chapter. Some of the empirical and theoretical findings from this thesis have been published in peer-reviewed journals. In such instances, I confirm that I was the primary and corresponding author, and was responsible for responding to reviewers and making any revisions to the paper. Professor Mark Griffiths was the Director of Studies for this doctoral project and his role as co-author on papers submitted for publication involved: (i) making suggestions on the presentation and refinement of the material included in the paper, (ii) providing suggestions for some additional content of the paper (which may or may not be included in the chapters that comprise this doctoral thesis), (iii) providing advice on responding to comments from the journal reviewers and editor, and (iv) providing advice on the selection of a suitable journal to target for publication. The role of any other co-author of a paper based on findings from this doctoral thesis was limited to providing editorial input and commenting on drafts. Two exceptions to this are Thomas Dunn who provided statistical support for the controlled trials and Edo Shonin who conducted an independent audit of findings from specific analytical components. Signed: Signed: William Van Gordon Mark Griffiths (Director of Studies) Date: 18th December 2017 Date: 18th December 2017 6 List of Publications As referred to in the Author Contribution Statement, this PhD thesis resulted in a number of peer-reviewed journal outputs. In the following list of publications, a ‘*’ denotes published works that are largely based on the content (whether in full or in part) of specific chapters included in this PhD thesis. In the case of all published papers designated with a ‘*’, I am the first author. The final published versions of these papers may not exactly replicate the contents of the chapter in this thesis upon which they were originally based. I acknowledge that the copyright of the final version of any published works arising from this doctoral thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of those works. All other papers shown below (i.e., those not marked with a ‘*’) have been published in connection with this doctoral project, but are more loosely based on the theoretical and/or empirical findings of the thesis. Consequently, in the list of publications that follows, I may or may not be the first author of papers that are not designated with a ‘*’. 7 List of Publications *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Dunn, T., Garcia-Campayo, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Meditation Awareness Training for the treatment of fibromyalgia: A randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Health Psychology, 22, 186-206. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Lomas, T., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Corporate use of mindfulness and authentic spiritual transmission: Competing or compatible ideals? Mindfulness and Compassion, 1, 75-83. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Buddhist emptiness theory: Implications for psychology. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. Advance Online Publication, DOI: 10.1037/rel0000079. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Meditation Awareness Training for the treatment of sex addiction: A case study. Journal of Behavioral Addiction, 5, 363-372. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Meditation Awareness Training for individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of participant’s experiences. Mindfulness, 7, 409-419. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Ontological addiction: Classification, etiology, and treatment. Mindfulness, 7, 660-671. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Dunn, T., Garcia-Campayo, J., Demarzo, M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Meditation Awareness Training for the treatment of workaholism: A non- randomised controlled trial. Journal of Behavioral Addiction, 6, 212-220. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & Griffiths, M. (2015). Towards a second-generation of mindfulness-based interventions. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49, 591-591. 8 *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & Griffiths, M.D. (2015). Mindfulness in mental health: A critical reflection. Journal of Psychology, Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Brain Stimulation, 1(1), 102. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Griffiths, M. D., & Singh, N. N. (2015). There is only one mindfulness: Why science and Buddhism need to work together. Mindfulness, 6, 49-56. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Zangeneh, M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2014). Work-related mental health and job performance: Can mindfulness help? International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 12, 129-137. *Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Griffiths, M. D., & Singh, N. N. (2015). Mindfulness and the Four Noble Truths. In: E. Shonin, W. Van Gordon, & N. N. Singh (Eds). Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness (pp. 9-27). New York: Springer. Lomas, T., Etcoff, N., Van Gordon, W., & Shonin, E. (2017). The art of living mindfully: The health-enhancing potential of Zen aesthetic principles. Journal of Religion and Health, Advanced Online Edition, DOI: 10.1007/s10943-017-0446-5. Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & García-Campayo, J. (2017). The mandala of the present moment. Mindfulness, Advanced Online