The Christian Psychologist: Mental Health for 21st Century Christ Followers

Episode 55: Attention

Jan 28, 2024

This discussion highlights the powerful role attentional control plays in mental health. By directing focus towards meaningful aspects of life, individuals can significantly reduce feelings of anxiety and depression. Personal stories illustrate how maintaining focused attention deepens one's connection with spiritual practices like contemplation and centering prayer. The impact of mindfulness techniques is also emphasized, showcasing their potential to enhance both psychological well-being and spiritual growth.

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The Importance of Attentional Control in Mental Health

00:00 • 2min

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The Importance of Attentional Control in Mental and Spiritual Health

02:05 • 25min

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The Cloud of Unknowing

Anonymous

This book is a foundational text of Christian mysticism, written in the 14th century. It advises readers to direct their full attention, love, and effort towards God by embracing a 'cloud of unknowing' that stands between them and God. The author emphasizes that God cannot be known through intellect but only through love and a deep, contemplative practice. The text advocates for the abandonment of all worldly thoughts and distractions to focus solely on God, using a 'cloud of forgetting' to separate oneself from created things. It is a guide for advanced spiritual seekers, outlining the stages of spiritual life including purgation, illumination, and union with God.

Full Catastrophe Living

Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness

Jon Kabat-Zinn

This book, first published in 1990, is based on the work of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. It introduces the concept of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and provides a step-by-step guide to various forms of meditation, including breathing, sitting, body-scan, yoga, walking, and loving-kindness meditation. The book emphasizes the interconnectedness of mind and body and offers strategies for coping with stress, pain, and illness by living fully in the present moment. It is structured into five parts, covering the practice of mindfulness, a new paradigm for health and illness, stress, and practical applications for managing various types of stress.

A Ladder of Monks

and Twelve Meditations

Guigo II

Guigo II's "A Ladder of Monks" is a concise yet profound guide to contemplative prayer, presented as a letter to a fellow monk. The book outlines four stages of prayer: Lectio Divina (reading), meditation, prayer, and contemplation, each representing a rung on a ladder ascending to God. Guigo emphasizes the importance of simplicity and attentiveness in spiritual practice, urging readers to cultivate a receptive consciousness open to God's presence. The text's brevity and directness make it accessible to both novice and experienced practitioners, offering practical guidance for integrating contemplative prayer into daily life. Its enduring relevance lies in its timeless wisdom on cultivating intimacy with the divine.

Christian Meditation and Clinical Practice

A four-step model and workbook for therapists and clients

Joshua Knabb

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression

A New Approach to Preventing Relapse

Zindel Segal

Zindel Segal, John Teasdale, and Mark Williams's "Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression" is a leading text in the field of mindfulness-based interventions for depression. The book presents MBCT, a structured program that combines cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques with mindfulness practices. It guides readers through the core principles of MBCT, including mindfulness of thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. The book emphasizes the development of self-awareness and the cultivation of non-judgmental acceptance of difficult emotions. MBCT has been shown to be an effective treatment for preventing relapse in individuals with recurrent depression.

APA Dictionary of Psychology

American Psychological Association Staff

Gary R. VandenBos

References

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (n.d.). Attention. https://dictionary.apa.org/attention

Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., & Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230-241.

Knabb, J., & Bates, M. (2020). “Holy desire” within the “Cloud of Unknowing”: The psychological contributions of medieval apophatic contemplation to Christian mental health in the 21st century. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 39, 24-39.

Cairncross, M., & Miller, C. J. (2020). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapies for ADHD: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(5), 627-643.

Contemplative Outreach. (n.d.). Centering prayer. https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/centering-prayer-method/

Guigo II. (2012). The ladder of monks (P. Nau, Trans.) [Kindle version]. Amazon.com

Hayes, S., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.

Hsu, K. J., Beard, C., Rifkin, L., Dillon, D. G., Pizzagalli, D. A., & Björgvinsson, T. (2015). Transdiagnostic mechanisms in depression and anxiety: The role of rumination and attentional control. Journal of Affective Disorders, 188, 22-27.

Johnston, W. (Ed.). (1973). The cloud of unknowing and the book of privy counseling. Image Books.

Knabb, J. (2021). Christian meditation in clinical practice: A four-step model and workbook for therapists and clients. InterVarsity Press.

Segal, Z., Williams, J., & Teasdale, J. (2012). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.

Upper Room Dictionary of Christian Spiritual Formation. (2003a). Discipline. Upper Room Books.

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