For Immediate Release
Integrative Group Examines the Ethical Fit of Mindfulness in Corporate America
Contact: Kathryn Ryan
914-740-2250
kryan@liebertpub.com
New Rochelle, NY, May 9, 2018— An invited commentary for JACM (TheJournal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine) from leaders of the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Medicine raises challenging questions begged by the rapid uptake of mindfulness practices in corporate America, given the potential conflicts between prioritizing shareholder return and mindfulness’ philosophical commitment to “non-harm and wholesome living.” JACM is a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers dedicated to examining paradigm, practice, and policy advancing integrative health. The article is available free on JACM website.
In “Mindfulness in Corporate America: Is the Trojan Horse Ethical?”Ruth Wolever, PhD and Poppy Schoenberg, PhD, CPsychol (Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, Tenessee) and their colleague Robert Schwartz, MD (Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Florida) first share from the extensive research supporting the “myriad cognitive benefits [that] have enticed corporate America to welcome mindfulness training.” They then peer into the “ethical challenges” to both the practitioners contracted to bring these nominally transformative practices into corporations, and to the corporations that may view these as merely tools to enhance productivity. The authors explore whether it is possible “that infiltrating corporate culture with mindfulness is an avenue for raising the ethical bar within society as a whole?”
“The tension between the value of modalities – such as mindfulness – and that of the whole systems from which they arise – in this case the ethical context – has challenged the entire integrative health process,” comments JACM Editor-in-Chief John Weeks, johnweeks-integrator.com, Seattle, WA. “The Osher Collaborative’s courageous commentary suggests that the community benefit will be most pervasive if corporate leaders who seek the benefits of mindfulness in their employees also engage the intention behind them.”
About the Journal
JACM (The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine) is a monthly peer-reviewed journal published online with open access options and in print that is dedicated to research on paradigm, practice, and policy advancing integrative health. Led by John Weeks (johnweeks-integrator.com), the co-founder and past Executive Director of the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health, JACM publishes human clinical trials, observational studies, systematic reviews and commentary intended to help healthcare professionals, delivery organization leaders, policy-makers and scientists evaluate and integrate therapies into patient care protocols, payment strategies and appropriate protocols. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the JACM website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Alternative and Complementary Therapies, Medical Acupuncture, and Journal of Medicinal Food. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN(Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.