Considering how much time I spend discussing mindfulness (and other terms such as impermanence, non-attachment and suffering) I think it is only fair that I make my position on Buddhism clear (given that these terms originate in Buddhist thinking).
As discussed previously, mindfulness is everywhere in psychology at the moment. What some psychologists struggle with is how to use mindfulness
Some psychologists use mindfulness strictly as a technique on a par with for example cognitive challenging with no reference to an overarching worldview or larger understanding of what it means to be a human being.
That works for some people.
Mindfulness for me, however, is much better understood within a Buddhist perspective.
I am not a Buddhist. I consider myself an existentialist. I am interested in human existence. More specifically, in the question of why life is so hard and what can we do about it. I have come across philosophers that have had astute and useful things to say about existence but the Buddhist worldview has been the most insightful, comprehensive, and practical I’ve encountered so far. Thus Buddhism in this context is not a religion but what I consider more an existential psychology.
The American clinical psychologist Germer says: “Reading Buddhist texts will convince the clinician that the Buddha was essentially a psychologist”
I completely agree.