Incorporating Contemplative Neuroscience and Mindfulness-Based Therapies Into Pastoral Care and Counseling: a Critical Correlational Method

This paper puts forward a methodology for engaging and incorporating the findings of contemplative neuroscience into pastoral care and counseling, guided by the theological foci of critical correlation and emancipatory praxis. A key finding is that the regular practice of mindfulness, whether in the context of daily meditation and/or contemplative prayer, can reduce activity in regions of the brain associated with fear and stress. The use of mindfulness has become a central feature of several of the third-wave cognitive therapies, including Emotion Regulation Therapy (ERT), with the clinical approach to treatment guided by research on the neural bases of emotion.