Psychophysiology of Consciousness: Spirituality, Mindfulness, Quality of Life and Health
Management
Dr. Niko Kohls
Cooperation
John A. Ives, Ph.D., Senior Scientist & Director Brain, Mind & Healing Program & Special Projects, Samueli Institute, Alexandria, VA, USA
Prof. Dr. Dr. Harald Walach, Psychology Division, The University of Northampton, United Kingdom
Contact Details
| Tel: |
|
+49-(0)8041-79929-26 |
| Fax: |
|
+49-(0)8041-79929-11 |
| mail: |
|
kohls@grp.hwz.uni-muenchen.de
|
|
|
New main research area „ Psychophysiology of Consciousness: Spirituality, Mindfulness, Quality of Life and Health“ established at the GRP
Since 2008 a new and timely main research area „Psychophysiology of Consciousness: Spirituality, Mindfulness, Quality of Life and Health” has been established at the Generation Research Program, which was made possible by a strategic partnership with the Center for Brain, Mind, and Healing Research of the US based Samueli Institute (www.samueliinstitute.org) through funding from the Laurence S. Rockefeller Trust.
Background
Recent interest in studying the relationship between spirituality, religiosity, quality of life and health has rapidly increased. In contrast to religiosity, which tends to be associated with belief systems, rituals and institutionalized traditions, spirituality can be regarded as an individual’s specific orientation towards life, which is characterized by the conviction that one’s own existence – despite all of its problems and unpredictability – is meaningful, coherent and desirable.
A number of empirical studies have looked into the importance of spiritual practices and experiences for health and well-being; these studies have shown that the positive effect(s) of spiritual practices and experiences can have important medical
implications. For example, recent studies have revealed that mindfulness based meditation is a technique that can not only help an individual to cope with distress, but may also be used to lessen the illness-effects of chronic diseases. Thus, the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program, a non-denominational meditation technique that was originally developed by the American psychologist Jon Kabat-Zinn, has frequently been used in order to help patients cope with the stress, anxiety and pain of long-term disease and illness. Additionally, the importance of spiritual practices and spirituality is not only acknowledged within palliative medicine and pain medicine, but also recognized more broadly within the fields of health psychology, and psychoneuroimmunology.
Scope of the research group
This new research program at the GRP is aimed at exploring the interface of subjective meaningfulness and physiological/psychological well-being. Studies have shown that spirituality and spiritual practices tend to become more solidly ingrained during the last 2-4 decades of life, as maturity, socio-cultural experience, and the realization of illness and finitude sustain durable questions of personal identity and the meaning. Given that modern medicine has allowed an extended lifespan, the increasing numbers of older persons, and the increasing prevalence of chronic disease and illness, these questions become ever more important, and these needs and demands of elderly populations are a major research focus of the GRP. A great number of medical therapies could be improved, if physicians had a scientific background on consciousness studies, and if they could use this knowledge more in their daily business.
Members and Collaboration Partners
The psychologist Dr. Niko Kohls, who has been researching relationship between spirituality and health for more than 10 years, has been named as the Samueli-Rockefeller Scholar, and will be responsible for establishing the new research area at the GRP. Dr Kohls studied psychology at the Universities of Jena and Freiburg and has worked at the University Hospital Freiburg until 2005, at which time he took a position at the University of Northampton in Great Britain, working with Professor Harald Walach. At the University of Northampton, Drs. Kohls and Walach established a postgraduate MSC Program, “The Psychology of Consciousness”, that addresses the relationship between spirituality and health.
As Samueli-Rockefeller Scholar, Dr Kohls will work closely together
with Dr. John Ives, Director at the Center for Brain, Mind and Healing
Research at the Samueli Institute, USA, and Professor Dr. Dr. Harald
Walach, who is Director of the Samueli-Rockefeller Doctoral Program in
Consciousness and Spirituality Studies at the University of
Northampton. The focus of the research program will be on those aspects of spirituality which are of particular relevance to the health sciences. |