Putting mindfulness and meditation into perspective: When does it help and when may it harm? - Associate Professor Nicholas Van Dam

Abstract

Preliminary estimates suggest that as many as one third of Australians have used meditation in the past year. Given it prominence in Australian society, what do we know about for whom it works, how well it works, and for whom it doesn’t work? In this presentation I will give an overview of recent research conducted by my team exploring trends in mindfulness and meditation use, what we have learned about amounts of practice potentially needed for benefits, as well as how often meditation practice may result in negative experiences and considerations of what that may mean for health and wellbeing. While mindfulness and meditation are increasingly popular, the practices are demonstrably not universally beneficial.  We have learned some important lessons about how often such practices may result in adverse experiences and the amount of practice potentially necessary for desired change. In addition to reviewing this evidence, I will provide important contextual considerations for historical and contemporary meditation to help us understand how to maximise potential benefits and minimise potential harms. 

Bio

Associate Professor Nicholas Van Dam is the inaugural Director of the Contemplative Studies Centre at The University of Melbourne. Nicholas is a highly regarded global leader in contemplative research and practice with a strong commitment to interdisciplinary dialogue and empirical rigour. His research explores the ways that meditation and mindfulness practices can support wellbeing, in pursuit of a better understanding of the human condition. He completed a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University at Albany, SUNY (USA), and worked at New York University, the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, and the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.