Received 09/23/16

Revised 06/09/17
Accepted 06/15/17
DOI: 10.1002/cvj.12069

Issues and Insights

Meditation and Appropriation:
Best Practices for Counselors
Who Utilize Meditation
Kendra A. Surmitis, Jesse Fox, and Daniel Gutierrez
Support for meditation is found across academic communities and popular
culture. Although the application of meditative practices has yielded positive
treatment outcomes, larger purposes of the practice are perhaps lost in the
empirically driven West, thus driving a risk of appropriation. In response, the
authors outline 4 implications for best practice for counselors who aspire to
engage in the culturally responsible use of meditative practices.
Keywords: meditation, mindfulness, appropriation, spirituality, spiritual bypass

A
s counselors continue to utilize meditation as a research-supported in-
tervention for client concerns (Ospina et al., 2007; Walsh & Shapiro, 2006),
the call for continued research warrants critical consideration of the use of
meditative practices in Western psychology and counseling (Kabat-Zinn, 2005/2015;
Rosch, 2007). Thus, the purpose of this article is to respond to this call by provid-
ing the following: (a) the contextualizing of current meditative practice in the
therapeutic setting, (b) a discursive consideration of the risk of appropriation—or
unfair use—of these practices in Western counseling, and (c) specific implications
for best practice in the use of meditative practices in the field of counseling.

The History of Meditation in the Therapeutic Setting

Social scientific interest in meditation as a psychotherapeutic function can
be traced back to the early 1930s. In 1931, Franz Alexander examined what
he called Buddhistic training to evaluate the relationships between Freudian
psychoanalysis and meditative states. In his essay, Alexander suggested that
meditation was a form of regression that endeavored to remove individuals
from the world by turning them inward in a “narcissistic–masochistic affair”
(p. 131). Geraldine Coster continued the investigation between psychoanaly-
sis and meditation and concluded that the two were very similar and both
offered benefits (Kasanin, 1935). These early investigations were helpful in
introducing meditation to the psychological community, but they offered
only limited insight into the possible usefulness of meditation with clients.
In the 1970s, scientific interest in meditation research rekindled. This renewed
interest was partially due to the widespread attention it gained from popular
Kendra A. Surmitis, private practice, Alexandria, Virginia; Jesse Fox, Department of Pastoral Counsel-
ing, Loyola University Maryland; Daniel Gutierrez, Department of School Psychology and Counselor
Education, College of William & Mary. Jesse Fox is now at Department of Counselor Education, Stetson
University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kendra A. Surmitis, 601 King
Street, Suite 301, Alexandria, VA 22314 (e-mail: kendra.surmitis@gmail.com).

© 2018 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

4 Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63

music bands, such as the Beatles, who were seen meditating on their trip to
India. At that time, the scientific community was still unsure about the benefits
of meditation (Smith, 1975). However, some researchers began having success
in conducting empirical research on meditation. For example, Wallace, Benson,
and Wilson (1971) investigated the physiological reaction to transcendental
meditation (TM) and found that meditation resulted in a distinct physiologi-
cal state. This state, later known as the relaxation response (Benson, 2000), was
hypometabolic, consisting of lower oxygen consumption, blood pressure, and
heart rate, as well as increased skin resistance. Benson (2000) suggested that the
mental state achieved in meditation could aid in recovery from stress-related
illness. Goleman and Schwartz (1976) confirmed the stress-reducing effect of the
relaxation response when they compared the skin conductance, heart rate, and
temperature of meditators and nonmeditators who were exposed to stressful
stimuli. As expected, those who meditated demonstrated a faster recovery rate
than did nonmeditators (Goleman & Schwartz, 1976). These seminal studies laid
the foundation for future meditation research.
In recent years, mindfulness meditation has become the focus of much of the
meditation research (Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007; Greeson, Juberg, Maytan,
James, & Rogers, 2014; Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt, & Walach, 2004; Oman,
Shapiro, Thoresen, Plante, & Flinders, 2008; Shapiro, Oman, Thoresen, Plante,
& Flinders, 2008; Warnecke, Quinn, Ogden, Towle, & Nelson, 2011). Originating
from Buddhist religious tradition, mindfulness is one method of meditation that
focuses on the nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment (Kabat-Zinn,
1990). Scholars credit Jon Kabat-Zinn with having brought mindfulness to the West
through his development of a stress reduction program for individuals struggling
with chronic pain (mindfulness-based stress reduction; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Since
then, mindfulness has been integrated and developed into other clinical programs,
including mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression (Segal, Teasdale, &
Williams, 2004), mindfulness-based relapse prevention for addiction (Witkiewitz
& Bowen, 2010), dialectical behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder
(Linehan & Dawkins, 1995), and acceptance and commitment therapy for general
mental health concerns (Hayes, 2008).
Currently, meditation continues to receive substantial attention from popular
culture and the scientific community (Farias & Wikholm, 2016; Ospina et al., 2007;
Sedlmeier et al., 2012) and was even featured as the cover story for Time magazine
(Pickert, 2014) and Scientific American (Ricard, Lutz, & Davidson, 2014). In their
systematic search of the literature, Sedlmeier et al. (2012) reported finding 595
studies on meditation and psychological health. The benefits of meditation on
physical and psychological health are well documented (Conn, 2011; Creswell,
Pacilio, Lindsay, & Brown, 2014; Goyal et al., 2014; Ospina et al., 2007; Walsh &
Shapiro, 2006). Specifically, the literature supports the use of meditation as a treat-
ment for anxiety, stress, pain, blood pressure, anger, addiction, and depression,
as well as for the increase of positive emotion (McGee, 2008; Ospina et al., 2007;
Sedlmeier et al., 2012). These findings were generally welcomed by the counseling
community. However, in many cases, this research was conducted by detaching
meditation from its traditional goals and cultural context, leading some scholars
to suggest that more research is needed (Grossman, 2011; Gutierrez, Fox, & Wood,
2015; Kabat-Zinn, 2005/2015; Walsh & Shapiro, 2006).

Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63 5

 Methodological Concerns in Meditation Research
Although researchers have made mindfulness, as one meditative method, read-
ily accessible to larger portions of the population, the unfortunate effect is that
meditation is almost subsumed under the descriptor mindfulness when there are
many contemplative methods, or practices, that require prolonged thought for
psychological benefit, that are practiced in different ways, and that are likely
affecting people through diverse pathways (Davidson & Kaszniak, 2015). The
popularity of mindfulness could in part be due to the history of the introduction
and study of meditation in the West. Although there were three distinct phases of
how meditation interfaced with Western psychology (beginning with Zen, to TM,
and now to mindfulness), the most recent, widespread, and robust findings and
clinical applications have come from mindfulness-based approaches (Harrington
& Dunne, 2015), which might give reason for its recent popularity.
This cultural phenomenon is also likely due to the fact that the scientific com-
munity has studied meditation almost exclusively as a “thing”—much like an
atom in a physics experiment. Randomized controlled trials have long been the
gold standard of social science research (Granello & Young, 2011), and with good
reason. They allow for a high level of control over study conditions, making it
easier to detect the exact relationship between psychological constructs. How-
ever, what these studies make up for in control they forfeit in external validity;
naturalistic settings rarely if ever reflect the sterile and predictable environment
of a research lab. Therefore, when Kabat-Zinn (2011) introduced mindfulness
meditation to Western medicine, he made every effort to remove even the ap-
pearance of Buddhist origins for fear that its therapeutic potential would be
dismissed as esoteric Eastern mysticism or New Ageism. However, the reality
is that meditation as a contemplative practice (including mindfulness) has long
existed within larger spiritual and religious contexts (Wachholtz & Austin, 2013).
Mindfulness, again as an example of a meditative practice utilized in the West,
is only one path toward transformation in the Buddha’s original formulation he
discovered as an enlightened being. As the story goes, when the Buddha experienced
enlightenment, he discovered the Four Noble Truths. First, all of life involves suf-
fering. Second, the cause of suffering is the human propensity to remain attached
to objects because of their desire. Third, there is the real possibility that suffering
can be transcended. Finally, the way to end suffering is to practice the Noble
Eightfold Path (right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation). As Knabb (2012)
observed, these eight paths are grouped into three larger goals (wisdom, morality,
and discipline) and “all eight parts are equally important and are to be pursued
within the Buddhism tradition” (p. 912). In other words, mindfulness has existed
for thousands of years as a means to bring the aspirant toward enlightenment,
but rarely is this addressed when one examines empirical studies of mindfulness
in Western laboratory settings. Similarly, in their critique of the Western empiri-
cal use of mindfulness, Keng, Smoski, and Robins (2011) noted the devaluation
of primary aspects of the Buddhist traditional practice, such as impermanence.
Adapting the traditional Buddhist method of right mindfulness to Western empiri-
cism has likely promoted a positive aspect of human functioning in parts of society
that may never have been interested in meditation (see York, 2001). In the best light,
the mindfulness movement in mental health settings has helped people live healthier

6 Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63

lives. The shadow side to this phenomenon is that mindfulness may no longer actually
be mindfulness proper (Grossman, 2011; Kabat-Zinn, 2005/2015).

The Problem of Appropriation

Although the ethos surrounding mindfulness-based practices is generally one
of enthusiasm in clinical practice and research, scholars have cautioned against
the indulgent decontextualizing of meditative practices because it reduces
meditation to just another field of academic study (Purser & Loy, 2013). Why
might the clinical utility of an overwhelmingly supported treatment modality
be in question? The answer arguably lies in appropriation as it relates to
meditation and the responsibilities that counselors hold as culturally responsible
helping professionals.
The term appropriation is used across academic disciplines; it refers to the act
or instance of taking or using something (in a way that is illegal, unfair, etc.)
without authority or right (“Appropriation,” n.d.). Appropriation is derived
from the Latin word appropriare, or to make one’s own, which is from the Latin
root proprius, to own property. The parallels between such terms and their
context in the practice of law only strengthen what Rogers (2006) referred to
as the connotation of an “unfair or unauthorized taking—that is, theft” (p.
475). In cultural, critical research, Shugart’s (1997) definition of appropriation
is often used and refers to

any instance in which means commonly associated with and/or perceived as belonging
to another are used to further one’s own ends. Any instance in which a group borrows or
imitates the strategies of another—even when the tactic is not intended to deconstruct or
distort the other’s meanings and experiences—thus would constitute appropriation. (p. 211)

In its application to sociopolitical and historical contexts, cultural appropriation

refers to an appropriation, or unfair taking, of a group’s symbols, rituals, images,
or sacred philosophies by another group that has access to greater resources. The
consuming of the original group’s property is akin to making objects from the
sacred. Timalsina (2011) described this process of spiritually oriented cultural
appropriation as “the sacred of some . . . turned into an object for appropriation
and commodification for others” (p. 274).
Examples of cultural appropriation are generally found in the study of indig-
enous cultures, music, religion, literature, and art aesthetics (e.g., Buyukokutana,
2011; Robertson, 2015; Rogers, 2006; York, 2001; J. O. Young, 2010). For example,
Robertson (2015) outlined the oppressive societal mechanism that continues to devalue
Native American communities, including overt racism reminiscent of 19th-century
anti-Jewish propaganda. Acts of cultural appropriation include the use of Native
American mascots and sexualized, Native-influenced Halloween costumes. Given
the breadth of examples, the line between overt and covert exploitation is blurred
for many individuals who identify with an appropriated culture.
Furthermore, appropriation ranges in scale—from Christian-acquired pagan fes-
tivals; to the celebrated work of Henri Mattise, whose 1905 Green Stripe is colored
with the conscious infusion of African artistic influence; to the lesser feted emula-
tion of Native American culture in American professional sports (Fryberg, Markus,
Oyserman, & Stone, 2008; York, 2001; J. O. Young, 2010). Despite the variance in
intentionality behind appropriative acts, the risk of cultural extinction is inherent

Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63 7

to this process; in the process of dissolving culture, there is no ownership of the
particular cultural property such as practices, especially not by those who originally
practiced them (York, 2001).
It is important to also consider that members of the appropriated culture
are often tasked with disseminating or selling cultural property, such as a
traditional practice or religious relic. Take, for example, the Tibetans’ selling
of Vajrayana Buddhism to the “spiritually hungry West” (York, 2001, p. 368).
An individual may believe that selling one’s culture is an act of intentional
distribution of ownership and therefore determine that the risk of appropria-
tion is null. Perhaps, as New Age solipsism contends, spiritual practices are
not owned by the culture from which they originate but instead belong to the
self—the only thing one can be certain of (York, 2001). One may further deny
the risk of appropriation, noting that the Dalai Lama has, on numerous occa-
sions, shared aspects of a mindful life with Western communities and has played
a contributing role in the Emory–Tibet Partnership for a common humanity
(Emory University, 2007). However, despite existing partnerships across faith
and culture, one must not dismiss these sentiments as the justification for
the appropriation of practices that are valued by the individual consumer or
practitioner; rather, one should recognize the prospective spiritual exploitation
of mindfulness and meditative practices.
Western acquisition of Eastern cultural property is well documented and includes
the appropriation of sacred practices such as tai chi (China), Ayurveda and yoga
(India), and Buddhist meditation (Klassen, 2005; York, 2001). In fact, scholars of socio-
logical, psychoanalytic, and religious disciplines have critiqued the appropriation of
mindfulness meditation by Western psychology (e.g., Cisneros, 2011; Hyland, 2015;
Rosch, 2007). For example, in her critique of mindfulness-based outcome research,
Rosch (2007) argued that this research has measured a distinctively different factor;
the mindfulness practiced by Western psychology (and its application in professional
counseling) has lost its cultural foundation, resulting in a reductionist approach to
a positivist technology. Similarly, in their review of the Theravada tradition, Keng
et al. (2011) critiqued the Western devaluation of the nonself and impermanence
essential to Buddhist mindfulness practice, as well as the various departures from
traditional Buddhist philosophy (contextual, process, and content). Across critiques
of the clinical utilization of mindfulness, culturally relevant differences emerge be-
tween the Buddhist tradition and Western psychology regarding how mindfulness
is conceptualized and, recently, operationalized by the counseling and psychology
fields (Keng et al., 2011; Rosch, 2007).
In exploring the problem of appropriation of meditation in the field of counseling,
one should consider the intention and have ample understanding of the context.
Essentially, without knowing another’s association with or personal study of mind-
fulness, there is debatably little to gain from suspecting appropriation among one’s
professional peers. For example, researchers and clinicians have expressed support
for the use of mindfulness in their professions, citing a multitude of benefits to health
and organizational function; however, they often guarantee nearly instant results and
provide little or no cultural or spiritual context. Nevertheless, attempting to identify
examples of cultural insensitivity or appropriation in all cases is not as critical and,
in fact, may only reinforce the current deflection from contextualizing the practice.
Rather, we propose a deep consideration of counselors’ collective orientation to

8 Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63

mindfulness as researchers and practitioners who value its utility in their clinical
and academic practice.
Although acts of appropriation are under investigation across academic disci-
plines and are the subject of cultural inquiry, the counseling field has conducted few
investigations into its own appropriative actions. Thus, there is an opportunity to
critically examine the use of meditative practices in counseling, with a specific focus
on the decontextualization of mindfulness meditation and the ethical responsibility
held by professional counselors as culturally informed practitioners, researchers,
and counselor educators. Following a review of spiritual and secular contexts for
meditation, we provide four specific strategies for professional counselors who aim
to substantiate their approach to mindfulness as one that is culturally informed.

Meditation in Spiritual and Secular Contexts

Scholars have noted a variety of cultural limitations and implications of meditation
as it is currently studied and promoted, and have noted that spirituality tends to
potentiate the effect meditation can have (Benson, 1997). However, meditation
researchers have tended to distance themselves from psychospiritual constructs
for fear of being criticized by the biomedical community (Stewart-Sicking, Deal,
& Fox, 2017; Wachholtz & Austin, 2013). At the same time, Wachholtz and Austin
(2013) observed that as early as the 1990s it became increasingly apparent to
researchers that meditation cannot be completely untangled from spirituality.
Even secularized meditative practices have a demonstrable effect on participants’
spirituality (Carmody, Reed, Kristeller, & Merriam, 2008). Moreover, when spiritual
and secular meditations are compared, spiritual meditation produces stronger
psychological and spiritual effects (Wachholtz & Pargament, 2008). Recogniz-
ing the interaction between the innate spiritual disposition of the meditator
with the way meditation is taught and practiced (spiritual vs. secular) has led
scholars to suggest that at the very least meditation in general—and mindful-
ness in particular—has to be adapted to the cultural nuances of the individual
practicing it (Davidson & Kaszniak, 2015). Not surprisingly, there have been
increased calls for a diversification of research and clinical application of medi-
tation that intentionally examines the innate spiritual life of the meditator and
how this may or may not match with particular meditative practices (Gutierrez
et al., 2015; Wachholtz & Austin, 2013). In fact, emerging evidence suggests that
practitioners of meditation will gravitate toward methods that match not only
their spiritual experiences but also their religious rituals (Gutierrez et al., 2015).
One recent study is a prime example of this new wave of emphasis.
O’Connor et al. (2015) compared the relative outcomes of five different medi-
tation methods. They surveyed practitioners of Tibetan (n = 156), Theravada (n
= 136), centering prayer (n = 108), mindfulness (n = 1,116), and yoga (n = 309)
methods. The first three practices (Tibetan, Theravada, and centering prayer)
were classified as explicitly religious, and the last two methods (mindfulness
and yoga) were deemed secular versions. When comparing the two groups,
O’Connor et al. found that explicitly religious meditations were associated with
superior outcomes on inappropriate guilt, empathic distress, altruism toward
strangers, resilience, depression, consciousness, and neuroticism. Neverthe-
less, these findings should not overshadow the fact that when O’Connor et al.
compared secular meditators with nonmeditators, the secular meditators were

Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63 9

still associated with better outcomes on many of the same measures. Still, these
findings do underscore the primary emphasis of new scholarship examining the
specific and relative effects of various forms of meditation and how they can be
applied to maximize their potential.

Four Implications for Best Practice

The following are four principles derived from the literature as well as our own reasoning
and reflection of how counselors can effectively and responsibly apply principles of
meditation into their clinical practice. Although this list is likely not exhaustive, these
principles constitute what are the essentials of best practice that honor the unique
cultural heritage of meditative practices within the context of Western psychological care.

Recognizing Spiritual Bypass

Spiritual and religious practices (such as meditation) have an ability to provide
many health benefits but lose their greater purpose when practiced as a way to
avoid psychological work (Cashwell, Glassoff, & Hammond, 2010; Cashwell,
Myers, & Shurts, 2004; Whitfield, 2003). Spiritual bypass in counseling can be
understood as “an avoidance function; it allows the individual to avoid the often
painful and difficult psychological work of healing old wounds” (Cashwell et al.,
2010, p. 163). This concept helps to explain the discrepancy sometimes noted in
clinical work in which clients practice spiritual and religious disciplines yet do not
fully experience the psychological benefits of those practices or they unconsciously
repress emotional turmoil despite claiming to be very spiritual. This process likely
originates from a dualistic conceptualization of spiritual issues being the “high
plane” of existence (and therefore more important) and psychological issues being
the “low plane” of existence (and therefore less important; Cashwell et al., 2004).
At every phase of spiritual development are certain pitfalls or illusions that
sabotage growth; an overattachment to positive experiences that are produced
from meditation is one of them (Goleman, 1988; Masters, 2010). Thus, in spiritual
bypass terms, it is not the meditative practice that is deficient nor the state of
consciousness the meditative practice is intended to cultivate (e.g., mindful-
ness); rather, it is the attitude and motivation the client brings to the tradition
that may be misguided (Clarke, Giordano, Cashwell, & Lewis, 2013). The risk,
then, in prescribing a meditative experience is that the practice can become a
means of soul massage, in which a spiritual practice is co-opted primarily for
the therapeutic effects it cultivates while neglecting its larger purposes (Fox,
Gutierrez, Haas, & Durnford, 2017).
As with other intrapsychic conflicts, when spiritual bypass is observed within
the context of meditative practice, it is suggested that counselors focus on the
reasons for the avoidant behavior (Clarke et al., 2013). Methods such as motivational
interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2002) can be used to help clients explore their
spiritual bypass, while building confidence, increasing self-efficacy, addressing
discrepancies, resolving ambivalence toward positive change, and developing
self-awareness of personal values (Clarke et al., 2013). Spiritual bypass may
also be evidence that the client needs stronger direction in his or her spiritual
development that could require seeking mentorship from more experienced
practitioners within his or her own tradition.

10 Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63

 Understanding the Desired Effect of Meditation
There are important considerations to bear in mind when adapting meditative
practices in clinical settings. First, the relative effects one can expect from different
meditative practices are still emerging in the empirical literature (cf. O’Connor et
al., 2015), although many theoretical pieces exist on the topic (Wachholz & Austin,
2013). Nevertheless, it is recommended that counselors familiarize themselves with
the literature and the taxonomical methods for organizing meditative practices
either by their method or intended outcome. For example, M. E. Young, de Armas
DeLorenzi, and Cunningham (2011) grouped meditative practices into three cat-
egories: (a) devotional meditations, (b) mantra meditations, and (c) mindfulness
meditations. Devotional meditations typically involve contemplating a particular
prayer, sacred scripture, or positive or affirming thought, and are common in the-
istic traditions such as Christianity. Mantra meditations involve repeating a word or
phrase to either keep the mind occupied or mentally brush away thoughts. Finally,
mindfulness meditations involve a nonjudgmental and nonattached posture toward
thoughts and feelings and a focus on present-moment awareness.
Although it is likely that there are similar psychological and physiological
effects that come from practicing any of the three types of meditative practices,
the desired effect a client may expect will likely possess important nuances that
warrant clinical attention. Take, for example, the contrast between a theistic client
who practices lectio divina (devotional meditation) and an atheistic client who
practices Zen (mindfulness meditation). The theistic client is likely motivated to
engage in such a practice as a way of growing into a relationship with a higher
power, whereas the atheistic client is more likely to frame the experience in
terms of egolessness. Thus, possessing a more sophisticated understanding of
the variety of meditative practices and how they are experienced would make
counselors more effective in guiding clients toward mediative practices that
better suit their personal values.

Matching the Treatment to the Client

Another important consideration for counselors who utilize meditative practices
is treatment matching. Scholars have argued that matching clients to appropriate
treatment models accounts for more of the success in counseling than the specific
model used (see Beutler, Forrester, Gallagher-Thompson, Thompson, & Tomlins,
2012; Blow, Sprenkle, & Davis, 2007; Simon, 2012; Wampold, 2015). When using
meditation in counseling, counselors should also consider matching clients to the
approach most consistent with the clients’ cultural background and presenting
concern. Clients who identify or have a cultural connection with an approach
are more likely to engage in and commit to the practice. For example, a devout
Catholic may feel reluctant to practice mindfulness but may be more responsive
to using centering prayer. These approaches are not interchangeable. Although
they may have similar psychotherapeutic benefits, using an approach that is
more culturally appropriate could facilitate better outcomes.
In addition, matching a meditative practice to a client’s presenting concern is
important. A client struggling with traumatic memories may experience adverse
reactions to awareness practices. In this case, a mantra-based approach may
provide a safer starting point. Using a recognized source for deliberate treatment

Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63 11

matching, such as Baer’s (2014) Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches: Clinician’s
Guide to Evidence Base and Applications, may support a counselor’s intentional,
evidence-based approach to choosing specific meditative practices in clinical
treatment. In short, there are hundreds of meditative practices, and counselors
incorporating meditation into treatment should consider finding the most suit-
able practice for each client.

Engaging in Reflexivity
Before using or adapting meditative practices in clinical work, counselor train-
ing, or research, counselors have an opportunity to engage in reflexivity, or to
explore the elements of personal and professional relevance of such a practice
to develop a strong understanding of the practice itself. In their use of mind-
fulness and meditation, counselors are encouraged to move away from what
the German philosopher Husserl referred to as a “natural attitude” of naïveté
in relation to meditative practices and toward a “phenomenological attitude,”
which is understood as the process of retaining a wonder and openness to the
phenomenon while suspending one’s assumptions (Moran, 2000). Furthermore,
Husserl was among the first to argue that a profound self-meditative process—
a special attitude—was required to engage in this complete investigation of a
phenomenon or practice. During this self-meditative process, the investigator
(or counselor) attempts to truly see the phenomenon in its essence, while set-
ting aside the world of interpretation and his or her preconceived assumptions
(Moran, 2000). The setting aside of assumptions, or fore-structures, calls for
what other philosophers, such as Heidegger, emphasized: the need to bracket
or thoroughly explore then set aside one’s historical or cultural context (Moran,
2000). Essentially, counselors ought to develop a thorough understanding of the
self (within one’s historical or cultural context) in relation to meditative prac-
tices prior to the indiscriminate use or research of these practices in the field of
professional counseling.
For Husserl, engaging in reflexivity helps to liberate us from our prejudices,
offering a level of detachment so that we, as counselors, intentionally encounter
phenomena (Moran, 2000). Finlay (2002) described the process of reflexivity as
“full of muddy ambiguity and multiple trails as researchers negotiate the swamp
of interminable deconstructions, self analysis and self disclosure” (p. 212) and
described the reflexive investigator as sliding between reflexive self-awareness
and moving forward with new insight. Although many methods of reflexivity
have been suggested, how to be reflexive and how to go about developing this
phenomenological attitude in practice have been the subjects of prolonged debates
in the fields of qualitative and philosophical research (Finlay, 2008).
One method of reflexivity, introspection, does provide direction for counselors
who wish to expose complex, political or ideological hidden agendas in their
work (Richardson, 1994). The purpose of introspection as a reflexive practice is to
use personal revelation as a springboard for interpretations and general insight,
while being explicit about knowledge claims and social or cultural context. By
identifying and bracketing these revelations, counselors can approach culturally
and spiritually relevant phenomena in an informed, responsible manner, thus
understanding meditative practices in their most essential form. Essential to

12 Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63

this reflexive practice is obtaining knowledge about mindfulness, to include its
spiritual and historical roots as well as its effectiveness in professional counsel-
ing (Davis & Hayes, 2011), while engaging in personal introspection through
bracketing (i.e., maintaining a reflexive approach). As counselors embrace an
ongoing, habitual reflexive approach to meditative practices in their clinical
work, research, and counselor training, we propose the following introspective
questions to assist in bracketing one’s preunderstandings and imposing factors:

• How have I come to know this meditative practice? Who were my mentors,
instructors, and educators, and in what ways are their values or contexts
affecting my understanding?
• Who am I in relation to this meditative practice? In what ways do my
privilege, culture, faith orientation, and values influence my use of this
meditative practice?
• What do I believe about this meditative practice? What do I know about
this meditative practice, and what opportunities exist for additional
understanding?
• Why is this meditative practice of value to me? In what personal, financial,
and professional ways will I benefit from this meditative practice?

Further Considerations and Limitations

Limitations of our suggestions include concern for what Finlay (2002) referred to
as the dangers of infinite regress in the reflexive process. Investigators may fall
lost to the endless “narcissistic personal emoting or interminable deconstructions
of deconstructions” (p. 226) whereby meaning is lost and the purpose of the
investigation into any phenomenon falls second to the researcher’s investigation into
the self. However, Morrow (2005) pointed out that the quality and trustworthiness
of an investigation rely on the investigator’s expansion of understanding and
an in-depth exploration of previous beliefs about the phenomenon in question.
Therefore, the possibility of excessive embeddedness in introspective material is
quite possible and ought to be considered in the reflexive process.
A second, important limitation pertains to the evolution of the field of
professional counseling. As York (2001) noted, the appropriation of practices
that hold promise for positive psychological outcomes may be, in fact, leading
to “productive maturation” (p. 371). Perhaps our cautionary approach yields
hesitation and withdrawal from the growth of Western psychology’s adaptation of
meditative practices, including mindfulness. We, as counselors, must ask ourselves,
Are we potentially inhibiting growth by holding concern for appropriation?
Although it is unfortunate that the risk of appropriation exists, there is still the
potential for positive growth even when a religious practice loses its connection
to its faith origins. Therefore, an intentional orientation to growth is preferred
as we continue our thoughtful use of meditative practices and mindfulness.

Conclusion
The so-called mindful revolution is a powerful and positive force in clinical work
and will undoubtedly help countless individuals. However, in this article, we

Counseling and Values ■ April 2018 ■ Volume 63 13

have presented concerns regarding the decontextualizing and appropriation of
meditation. The act of taking a culturally embedded practice and applying it to
clinical work without first acknowledging the practice’s origins, history, intents,
and possible interactions with the client could be dangerous. As professional
counselors and helping professionals, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard.
Thus, counselors have an opportunity to adopt the aforementioned implications for
best practice (i.e., recognizing spiritual bypass, understanding the desired effect of
meditation, matching the treatment to the client, and engaging in reflexivity); these
principles constitute what are the essentials of best practice that honor the unique
cultural heritage of meditative practices adopted by Western psychological care.

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