William Van Gordon

University of Derby · Department of Psychology

The purpose of this study was to conduct the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness of a second-generation mindfulness-based intervention (SG-MBI) for treating fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Compared to first generation mindfulness-based interventions, SG-MBIs are more acknowledging of the spiritual aspect of mindfulnes...

Background and aims Workaholism is a form of behavioral addiction that can lead to reduced life and job satisfaction, anxiety, depression, burnout, work–family conflict, and impaired productivity. Given the number of people affected, there is a need for more targeted workaholism treatments. Findings from previous case studies successfully utilizing...

In recent decades, there has been growing assimilation of ancient Buddhist practices and principles into Western research and applied psychological settings. One Buddhist principle currently receiving an increasing amount of scientific interest is emptiness. Emptiness asserts that all phenomena-including the "self"-are empty of intrinsic existence....

Background Sex addiction is a disorder that can have serious adverse functional consequences. Treatment effectiveness research for sex addiction is currently underdeveloped, and interventions are generally based on the guidelines for treating other behavioral (as well as chemical) addictions. Consequently, there is a need to clinically evaluate tai...

Questions regarding the nature of consciousness, self and objectivereality have fascinated thinkers since the dawn of human history. While scientistsseek to understand reality through examination of the external world, mystics seekthis understanding through examination of their inner world. In Buddhism, deepermeditative enquiry into such questions...

During the last four decades there has been a significant growth of interest in mindfulness-based practices and their potential to foster improvements in health, wellbeing and human functioning in a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations. With this growth has come a renewed interest in understanding the psychological processes involved as...

Self-transcendence and the associated decrease in ego-centeredness are understood to foster altruistic and positive behaviors that promote prosociality and pro-environmental actions. However, the lack of an agreed valid and reliable measure of self-transcendence has posed difficulties in examining this subject. The main aim of this study was to use...

Nonattachment is a key positive element of several psychotherapeutic approaches, including mindfulness-based interventions. However, it has been defined in the academic literature largely as a construct of negation, whereby one should not become attached to objects, people, or experiences. This approach may foster resistance to nonattachment in gen...

The objective of this evaluative systematic review was to analyse the impact of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) that incorporate Buddhist wisdom practices on prosocial behaviour, and provide insights into their underlying mechanism, potential benefits, and applications. A systematic literature search was conducted using three electronic data...

This is the dataset (n-286) for a study examining ontological addiction in relation to a number of variables, including prosociality, pro-nature behaviour, competitiveness and scores on mental health measures. This was an exploratory study using the OAS-24 as a proxy measure for self-transcendence.

Buddhist non-attachment has been shown to be effective for improving mental health and wellbeing. Non-attachment refers to the ability to engage with phenomena without psychologically clinging to experiences or rejecting them. The present qualitative investigation sought to compare secular and Buddhist-informed counselors’ and psychotherapists’ per...

Ontological addiction theory (OAT) is a metaphysical model of human suffering which asserts that human beings are 1. inclined to construct and become addicted to flawed beliefs concerning the manner in which they exist, and that 2. these beliefs can become maladaptive, leading to range of functional impairments. The theoretical underpinnings of OAT...

Mindfulness is said to be a connecting thread between an ancient philosophy on the one hand and a contemporary psychological practice on the other. However, some contemporary mindfulness practices have arguably become so disconnected from their roots in Buddhist ethics and wisdom principles that the fundamental essence of the practice is no longer...

Introduction: Nonattachment is a flexible and balanced way of relating to experiences that involves accepting or allowing, instead of clinging to, expectations or outcomes. Advancing the understanding of how people relate to nonattachment is important because of the associated mental health benefits. Aims: To qualitatively explore awareness of, and...

The editors to this volume posed a series of fascinating questions relating to how seeing compassion as a skill can help us understand its nature, cultivation and effects within secular contexts. This paper addresses these questions by comparing evolutionary with contemplative approaches to compassion. Recent scientific approaches have explored the...

Death awareness, which is an integral part of Stoic philosophy, has received little attention in either therapeutic training or empirical psychological research. This study seeks to address this gap by investigating participants’ experiences of completing a Stoic death writing intervention. To understand newcomers’ experiences being in-daily-death-...

There are concerns that participants of some modern mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are receiving a superficial form of mindfulness training. However, empirical investigation of this issue according to participants’ first-hand experiences has been limited. Thus, this qualitative study aimed to capture the first-hand perspectives relating to...

Objectives Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a multifaceted psychosomatic pain condition associated with psychiatric comorbidity such as depression, anxiety, emotional stress, and coping problems. Negative cognitions and difficulties in emotional regulation can increase and amplify pain. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of a s...

Boarding schools exist to provide education for children, but this involves the child leaving the family home and residing in an educational institution. Identity Process Theory suggests that such a change in circumstances can threaten the child’s identity, which triggers coping strategies and impacts on the individual’s self-concept during both ch...

Stress is a key contributor to several major life-threatening illnesses including depression and cardiovascular disease. Behavioral strategies that enable individuals to regulate stress responses can lead to improved health and well-being. Such practices may also help reduce required clinical interventions, ease pressure on the National Health Serv...

Ontological Addiction Theory is a metaphysical theory of mental illness which conceptualises psychological suffering in terms of excessive ego-centeredness. This study aimed to develop and validate the Ontological Addiction Scale (OAS) and compare OAS scores with mental health measures. A 31-item prototype scale was developed based on traditional B...

While research has examined factors that account for pro‐environmental behaviours relating to climate warming through carbon and resource use, very few studies have investigated factors that account for behaviour that directly supports conservation of habitats and biodiversity. In particular, there remain questions as to whether nature connectednes...

A common custom when greeting each other in English is to respond with the phrase ‘I’m fine’, even when this is not so. Historically, the English have a reputation for stoicism, and the legacy of this can still be seen in gender norms that promote hegemonic masculinity and the notion of the ‘superwoman’ who can juggle demands of home and work witho...

Paranoia and anxiety are both recognized as experiences that are widespread in the general population. Studies have investigated the use of brief mindfulness-based interventions on both conditions, with encouraging results among nonclinical populations in particular. However, there is also promising evidence for the effectiveness of brief nature co...

Mindful parenting teaches parents to focus awareness on their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, as well as pay attention to their children in an intentional, present-centered and non-judgmental manner. Mindfulness appears to improve the quality of parenting and the parent–child relationship, as well as enhance children’s and parents' levels of res...

While research has examined factors that account for pro‐environmental behaviours relating to climate warming through carbon and resource use, very few studies have investigated factors that account for behaviour that directly supports conservation of habitats and biodiversity. In particular, there remain questions as to whether nature connectednes...

Buddhist-derived interventions have increasingly been employed in the treatment of a range of physical and psychological disorders, and in recent years, there has been significant growth in the use of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for this purpose. Ontological Addiction Theory (OAT) is a novel metaphysical approach to understanding psychop...

Contemplative psychology is concerned with the psychological study of contemplative processes and practices, such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, introspection, reflection, metacognition, self-regulation, self-awareness, and self-consciousness. Although contemplative psychology borders with other psychological and nonpsychological disciplines, so...

Self-compassion, sharing some commonalities with positive psychology 2.0 approaches, is associated with better mental health outcomes in diverse populations, including workers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is heightened awareness of the importance of self-care for fostering mental health at work. However, evidence regarding the applications...

Mindfulness has recently shown promise in mental illness treatment and preventative contexts with school-aged young people. However, there is a shortage of studies investigating the effects of school-based mindfulness interventions on young people of a pre-adolescent and early-adolescent age. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investiga...

Objectives. There is burgeoning interest in studying the effectiveness of mindfulness-based and traditional contemplative practices, and brief yet suitably and comprehensive measures of mindfulness are needed to assess related changes. There is preliminary evidence that pilgrimage may share some aspects with contemplative practices. This study exam...

The Way of the Mindful Warrior provides a fresh, authentic, and structured path to using mindfulness to embrace living in awareness and reconnecting with our innermost nature of peace, wisdom, and compassion. Mindfulness is a 2,500-year-old Buddhist meditation practice that involves focusing awareness on the present moment, the only place where an...

Bypassing a reductionist view of existing diagnostic categories, ontological addiction theory (OAT) is a new psychological model of human functioning. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), defined as “a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and affects, and marked impulsivity”, is not only common (up to 20% of psychiatr...

Assessment of mood is critical in determining rehabilitation outcomes for stroke and other acquired brain injury, yet a common consequence of such injuries is aphasia, where language is impaired. Consequently, the use of language-based measures in this population is often not possible. Following a critical review of the neuropsychological aspects o...

Consanguineous marriage is associated with increased risk of congenital physical disabilities, as well as behavioural and mental health problems among consanguineous offspring. Furthermore, mental health problems have been highlighted as being prevalent among women involved in consanguineous marriages. Despite this, there has been limited research...

Objectives: Self-compassion is a relatively new psychological construct, associated with better mental health outcomes in diverse populations, including workers. However, evidence relating to the applications of self-compassion interventions in work-related contexts has not been systematically reviewed to date. Therefore, this systematic review aim...

A recent study has supported the efficacy of Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT) compared to relaxation (REL) for the management of fibromyalgia (FM). The main objective of this paper is to examine the cost-utility of ABCT compared to REL in terms of effects on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) as well as healthcare costs. Forty-two Spanis...

Objectives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT) ‒a standardized programme that includes practices to improve compassionate awareness with the aim of addressing maladaptive attachment‒ for improving mindfulness and self-compassion in fibromyalgia (FM) patients, and to determine whether gai...

Attachment-based compassion therapy (ABCT) is a new protocol of compassion based on attachment theory. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of this protocol for improving self-compassion in a healthy population and determine whether improvements in self-compassion mediate changes towards a more secure attachment style. The study consist...

Research into the effects and mechanisms of mindfulness training draws predominantly on quantitative research. There is a lack of understanding about the subjective experiences of experienced mindfulness meditators, which may provide additional insights into the effects, processes and context of mindfulness training. This qualitative study explored...

Objectives While there is a growing understanding of the relationship between mindfulness and compassion, this largely relates to the form of mindfulness employed in first-generation mindfulness-based interventions such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Consequently, there is limited knowledge of the relationship between mindfulness and compas...

Business ethics have come under increasing scrutiny recently due to various corporate scandals. This has prompted a need for research into the characteristics of people drawn to the business world and the education they receive. This study (i) evaluates the levels of ethical judgement, mental health, motivation, and self-compassion in 144 UK busine...

Objectives School-based mindfulness interventions have recently shown promise for treating and preventing mental health issues in young people. However, the literature lacks a high-level perspective of the impact of mindfulness on young people’s mental health according to their own first-hand accounts. Therefore, the objective of this study was to...

Objectives Social validity (SV) is a concept used in intervention research and is concerned with the overall acceptability, relevance, and utility of an intervention to all intervention stakeholders. SV not only takes into account efficacy in respect of the pre-defined study outcomes, but also participants’ perceptions of the intervention as well a...

While scientific understanding concerning the role of biological pathogenic agents in the transmission of communicable diseases has increased markedly in recent decades, the possibility of a psychological pathogenic agent that underlies the transmission of a number of key global public health concerns has largely been overlooked. The present paper...

Mental illness, obesity, and problematic leisure activities such as gambling, video gaming, and social media use arguably reflect some of the most pressing global public health concerns currently affecting children and adolescents. For example, between 10-20% of children and adolescents worldwide experience a mental health problem during any given...

Research suggests that mindfulness can induce changes in the social domain, such as enhancing emotional connection to others, prosocial behavior, and empathy. However, despite growing interest in mindfulness in social psychology, very little is known about the effects of mindfulness on social cognition. Consequently, the aim of this study was to ex...

Purpose Though several work-related mental health training initiatives have been implemented in Japan, the effectiveness of such approaches remains unclear. Consequently, some Japanese corporations prefer using interventions such as neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to improve employee mental health and wellbeing. This language-based development...

Between 10 and 20% of adolescents worldwide experience a mental health problem within a given 12-month period. Mental health problems impact on an adolescent’s potential to live a fulfilling and productive life and lead to challenges such as stigma, isolation and discrimination. To address this need, in recent years, there has been growing interest...

Children and adolescents constitute more than half of the global refugee population, and almost one‑third of first‑time asylum seekers in the European Union (EU) during 2015 were under 18 years of age. Syria, in particular, accounts for a substantial proportion of young refugees and asylum seekers because the ongoing civil war has led to almost 5 m...

There is growing awareness of mental health problems among UK business students, which appears to be exacerbated by students’ attitudes of shame toward mental health. This study recruited 138 UK business students and examined the relationship between mental health and shame, and mental health and potential protective factors such as self-compassion...

While scientific understanding concerning the role of biological pathogenic agents in the transmission of communicable diseases has increased markedly in recent decades, the possibility of a psychological pathogenic agent that underlies the transmission of a number of key global public health concerns has largely been overlooked. The present paper...

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are life transformational events that are increasingly being subjected to empirical research. However, to date, no study has investigated the phenomenon of a meditation-induced near-death experience (MI-NDE) that is referred to in ancient Buddhist texts. Given that some advanced Buddhist meditators can induce NDEs at a...

Wisdom-based Buddhist-derived practices (BDPs) are concerned with transmuting suffering by cultivating insight into the ultimate nature of both the self and reality. Arguably the most important wisdom-based BDP is emptiness (Sanskrit: śūnyatā) that implies that although phenomena are perceptible to the human mind, they do not intrinsically exist. D...

Neuro‐linguistic programming (NLP) is an approach to communication and personal development focusing on how individuals organize their thinking, feelings, and language. While a growing number of academic articles highlight the application of NLP in organizational settings, a systematic review synthesizing and evaluating the quality of this evidence...

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a complex psychosomatic pain condition. In addition to generalized pain and various cognitive difficulties, new FMS diagnostic criteria acknowledge fatigue and sleep problems as core aspects of this condition. Indeed, poor sleep quality has been found to be a significant predictor of pain, fatigue, and maladaptive soc...

Background Ontological addiction theory (OAT) is a novel metaphysical model of psychopathology and posits that human beings are prone to forming implausible beliefs concerning the way they think they exist, and that these beliefs can become addictive leading to functional impairments and mental illness. The theoretical underpinnings of OAT derive f...

The primary purposes of this study were to (i) assess levels of different types of work motivation in a sample of UK hospitality workers and make a cross-cultural comparison with Chinese counterparts and (ii) identify how work motivation and shame-based attitudes towards mental health explain the variance in mental health problems in UK hospitality...

There are an increasing number of people interested in prac-ticing mindfulness. Perhaps this reflects a growing wishamongst people to live a more peaceful life and connect witha deeper part of themselves. Or perhaps it simply reflectspeople’s wish to be fashionable and partake in a recent life-style trend. Either way, if as little as 5% of the popu...

Aims To assess mental well-being in a sample of UK caring profession students and explore the relationship between mental well-being, psychological distress, caregiver role identity, self-compassion, and motivation. Background Students of caring profession subjects in UK universities typically follow a demanding educational and clinical training c...

Kotera, Y., Adhikari, P., & Van Gordon, W. (2017). The relationship between work motivation and worker profile in UK hospitality workers. International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling, 2, 231-243.

Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & Richardson, M. (2018). Mindfulness and nature. Mindfulness, Advance Online Publication, DOI:10.1007/s12671-018-0883-6.

Objective There is a growing interest in evaluating the effectiveness of compassion interventions for treating psychological disorders. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of “attachment-based compassion therapy” (ABCT) in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM), and the role of psychological flexibility as a mediator of improvements. Methods...

Montero-Marín, J., Navarro-Gil, M., Puebla, M., Luciana, J. V., Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & García-Campayo, J. (2017). Efficacy of ‘Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy’ in the treatment of fibromyalgia: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8, 307, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00307.

Kotera, Y., Adhikari, P. & Van Gordon, W. (2017). Relationship between types of work motivation and worker profile in UK hospitality workers. Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Sciences, Humanities and Technology 2017. Kelantan, Malaysia: Global Academic Excellence.

Amidst the burgeoning enthusiasm for mindfulness in the West, there is a concern that the largely secular ‘de-contextualized’ way in which it is being harnessed is denuding it of its potential to improve health and wellbeing. As such, efforts are underway to ‘re-contextualize’ mindfulness, explicitly drawing on the wider framework of Buddhist ideas...

Mindfulness programs are now taught in more than 50 countries worldwide (Kabat-Zinn et al., 2016), including Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries of Europe and the Americas (encompassed by the term “Latin” in this paper). Such Latin countries share obvious cultural influences and similarities—and during the implementation of mindfulness in th...

Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & García-Campayo, J. (2017). The mandala of the present moment.Mindfulness, 8, 1720-1722.

Keynote Speach

Findings supporting the clinical applications of mindfulness have stimulated research into other meditation techniques. In particular, there is growing scientific enquiry into the effectiveness of Buddhist-derived compassion techniques for treating a wide variety of health-related disorders. Compassion-Based Interventions (CBIs) usually employ comp...