Bangor University’s Centre for Mindfulness shortlisted for UK Health Award

Bangor University’s Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP) has been shortlisted for a prestigious UK health Award which highlights the people and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of health and wellbeing in the UK.

The Winners of this year’s Bevan Prize for Health and Wellbeing 2014 awarded by the Bevan Foundation and Aneurin Bevan Society, with the generous support of UNISON, the Open University and the Royal College of Midwives, will be announced at an event in London on Tuesday 15 July.

The Bevan Prize will once again recognise one individual and one organisation who have over the past and which embody the founding principles of the NHS.

Mindfulness is a way of developing sustained attention that is purposeful, in the moment, and non-judgmental. The practice draws from ancient contemplative traditions but has been developed into an eight session training programme for contemporary secular contexts.

Mindfulness courses are now being offered by the NHS in many parts of the country as a treatment for a range of mental health issues following its recommendation by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence. Scientific studies have shown a 40-50% reduction in the risk of relapse for those suffering from depression.

Both Bangor University’s CMRP and mindfulness in general have been under the spotlight recently, following the establishment of a mindfulness group at Westminster and a series of interviews and documentaries on mindfulness on BBC Radio 4 in the last month.

Rebecca Crane, Director of the CMRP at the University’s School of Psychology said;

“We’re delighted to have been shortlisted for this Award, which seeks to recognise and celebrate individuals and organisations who are working to ensure equality of access and equality of health outcomes in the UK, one of the founding values of the NHS.

Our research at Bangor University has extended to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapies in a range of contexts and settings – and in the NHS in particular. We have also trained individuals and trainers, enabling thousands of people to practice mindfulness for their own-well-being”

CMRP has consistently provided UK leadership in enabling the strong research evidence on the effectiveness of mindfulness to be translated into practice within the NHS and other contexts. During this period of expansion in interest in the mindfulness CMRP has deepened its emphasis on the importance of organisations, commissioners and practitioners paying attention to integrity and good practice.

The Bevan Foundation is a registered charity which sees the welfare state, created by Aneurin Bevan, as fundamental to equality and justice and develops solutions to inequality and injustice, aiming to tackle the root causes of problems. 

Publication date: 17 June 2014