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Effects of Dialogical Mindfulness on Psychopathology: A Pilot Study's Results From a Seven-Day Psychosynthesis Course About the Inner Child

Authors:
Kerem Böge at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin / Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg
Kerem Böge
  • Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin / Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg
Joanne Mouthaan at Leiden University
Joanne Mouthaan
Annegret Krause-Utz at (i) Leiden University (ii) Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim
Annegret Krause-Utz
  • (i) Leiden University (ii) Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim
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Abstract

Mindfulness-based interventions have been found to be beneficial in the treatment of various disorders. In the context of psychosynthesis therapy, mindfulness is employed as having an inner dialogue with the mental system and its psychological and psychosomatic components. However, empirical studies on the effect of this transpersonal-based mindfulness approach are still lacking. This study aimed at investigating the effect of mindfulness in the context of psychosynthesis on psychopathological symptoms. Fifty-eight participants (35 females, 23 males) attending a psychosynthesis seminar provided data on psychopathology (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised; SCL-90–R) and mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire; FFMQ) at baseline (T1), postintervention (T2), and 3-week follow up (T3). A significant decrease for all psychopathological symptoms assessed by the SCL-90–R (p < .001) and an increase in mindfulness abilities determined by the FFMQ (p < .001) from T1 to T2 was observed. Postintervention effects remained stable at 3-week follow up. The decrease in psychopathological symptoms from T1 to T2 was significantly correlated to an increase in mindfulness abilities (p < .012). Future studies should investigate the effects of dialogical mindfulness on specific symptomatology including control conditions.
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Effects of Dialogical Mindfulness on
Psychopathology: A Pilot Study’s Results From
a Seven-Day Psychosynthesis Course About the
Inner Child
Kerem Böge
Leiden University and Charité
University Hospital, Berlin,
Germany
Joanne Mouthaan and
Annegret Krause-Utz
Leiden University
Mindfulness-based interventions have been found to be beneficial in the treatment of various
disorders. In the context of psychosynthesis therapy, mindfulness is employed as having an
inner dialogue with the mental system and its psychological and psychosomatic components.
However, empirical studies on the effect of this transpersonal-based mindfulness approach
are still lacking. This study aimed at investigating the effect of mindfulness in the context of
psychosynthesis on psychopathological symptoms. Fifty-eight participants (35 females, 23
males) attending a psychosynthesis seminar provided data on psychopathology (Symptom
Checklist-90-Revised; SCL-90–R) and mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire;
FFMQ) at baseline (T1), postintervention (T2), and 3-week follow up (T3). A significant
decrease for all psychopathological symptoms assessed by the SCL-90–R (p⬍.001) and an
increase in mindfulness abilities determined by the FFMQ (p⬍.001) from T1 to T2 was
observed. Postintervention effects remained stable at 3-week follow up. The decrease in
psychopathological symptoms from T1 to T2 was significantly correlated to an increase in
mindfulness abilities (p⬍.012). Future studies should investigate the effects of dialogical
mindfulness on specific symptomatology including control conditions.
Keywords: dialogical mindfulness, psychosynthesis, psychopathology, mindfulness
Conceptualizations of health as the mere absence of disease have been increasingly
challenged (Jadad & O’Grady, 2008;Larson, 1999;Smith, 2010;The Lancet, 2009), with
the traditional biomedical model giving way to more emphasis on patient-centered care
(Johnson, 2012) and enhanced adaptative resources and increased subjective well-being
This article was published Online First May 2, 2019.
Kerem Böge, Department of Behavioural and Social Science, Leiden University, and Depart-
ment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Hospital, Berlin, Germany; Joanne
Mouthaan and Annegret Krause-Utz, Department of Behavioural and Social Science, Leiden
University.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kerem Böge, Department of
Behavioural and Social Science, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the
Netherlands. E-mail: boege.kerem@gmail.com
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
The Humanistic Psychologist
© 2019 American Psychological Association 2020, Vol. 48, No. 1, 84–99
0887-3267/20/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hum0000134
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