Research interest

If you are thinking of contacting us about a PhD project, please read this first. If we are not advertising a PhD opportunity (do check our facebook page) it means that we are unlikely to have the capacity to supervise other PhD students. The PhDs we might possibly consider are those that are very closely aligned with our current research work. Please have a look at our staff profiles and the FAQs here for to check whether your idea matches our current research work before making contact with us. If you are interested in working with the CMRP in a research capacity, please use this form to provide details of your enquiry.

Research queries can be directed to our admim team via- mindfulness@bangor.ac.uk, and please note that, while we welcome approaches about potential research collaborations, we are unable to offer a 'research advice' service about individual research projects. 

Mindfulness-based research

Research at the CMRP

Our CMRP core staff team are very research active and each has their own specialised area of research interest. Have a read of the staff profiles below to see what we are up to…

Dr Rebecca Crane 

Throughout the process of developing CMRPs training programmes since 2001 we have faced many interesting and challenging dilemmas and questions around the implementation of mindfulness-based interventions and my research reflects this journey. I led a paper outlining the current training models we use and the theoretical principles underpinning these. Following this I led a paper which looked at competency in related areas and considered how we could look at it from a mindfulness teaching perspective. This led into research with colleagues at Oxford and Exeter universities through which we developed a tool for assessing competence – the Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) - and then conducted research on its reliability and validity. I also wrote a very personal piece on the theme of competence and 'being good'! I have also investigated the process of inquiry using conversation analysis. We discovered that facilitating inquiry is a bit like playing jazz! I have become increasingly interested in the process of implementing mindfulness-based programs. I conducted a preliminary survey based research project on implementation of mindfulness-based programmes, and have then been part of a wider collaboration called the ASPIRE project. You can read the protocol paper here.

My current projects include:

  • Predictors of Outcomes in MBSR Participants from Teacher Factors (PrOMPT-F). I am a consultant on a National Institutes for Health funded research collaboration led by Dr Jud Brewer at the Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Prof Rick Hecht at the University of California.
  • I am co-supervising with Professor Rhiannon Edwards Lucy Bryning's PhD - a health economics analysis of Mindfulness-Based Interventions for people with cancer funded by Tenovus.
  • I am a collaborator on the learning disability research mentioned in Gemma Griffith's section.
  • I am a collaborator on a project led by Dr Clara Strauss at Sussex University - Low-intensity guided help through mindfulness (LIGHTMind funded by the National Institute for Health Research.

You can see my publications here.

Dr Gemma Griffith

A lot of my work here at the CMRP involves teaching research, so for me, it is so important to keep my own line of research going and having time to work on my research projects in amongst my teaching duties is great. Before I worked with the CMRP, I conducted quite a lot of research on people with autism spectrum disorder and Intellectual disabilities , as well as parenting research, and now focus much of my research effort towards how we might bring mindfulness to these populations. I’ve recently become interested in group processes in MBPs, and have published “The Inside Out Group Model” with colleagues. Trish Bartley and I are currently working on a book on groups in MBPs. 

2019

Griffith, G. M., Bartley, T., & Crane, R. S. (2019). The Inside Out Group Model: Teaching Groups in Mindfulness-Based Programs. Mindfulness, 1-13. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12671-019-1093-6

Griffith, G.M., Hastings, R.P., Williams, J., Jones, R.S.P., Roberts, J., Crane, R.S., Snowden, H, Bryning, L., Hoare, Z., & Edwards, R.T. (2019). Mixed experiences of a mindfulness-informed intervention: Voices from people with intellectual disabilities, their supporters, and therapists. Mindfulness, Online First, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12671-019-01148-0

Griffith, G.M., Hastings, R.P., Burke, C., Charlesworth, P., Chapman, M., Fothergill, S…& Wright, G. (2019). Good Practice Guidelines: Mindfulness-Based programmes for people with Learning Disabilities.  https://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/documents/Good%20Practice%20Guidelines%20Mindfulness%20and%20Learning%20Disabilities%20V5.pdf

2018

Clapton, N. E., Williams, J., Griffith, G. M., & Jones, R. S. (2018). ‘Finding the person you really are… on the inside’ Compassion focused therapy for adults with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 22, 135-153. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1744629516688581

Halstead, E. J., Griffith, G. M., & Hastings, R. P. (2018). Social support, coping, and positive perceptions as potential protective factors for the well-being of mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 64(4-5), 288-296. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2017.1329192

Halstead, E. J., Hastings, R. P., & Griffith, G. M. (2018). Evidence for the Protective and Compensatory Functions of Resilience in Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2(2), 216-223.https://rdcu.be/bytxf

Adams, D., Clarke, S., Griffith, G., Howlin, P., Moss, J., Petty, J., ... & Oliver, C. (2018). Mental health and well-being in mothers of children with rare genetic syndromes showing chronic challenging behavior: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study. American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 123(3), 241-253. https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-123.3.241

Halstead, E., Ekas, N., Hastings, R. P., & Griffith, G. M. (2018). Associations between resilience and the well-being of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 48(4), 1108-1121. https://rdcu.be/bytyb

Raymond-Barker, P., Griffith, G. M., & Hastings, R. P. (2018). Biographical disruption: Experiences of mothers of adults assessed for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 43(1), 83-92.https://doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2016.1262011

Adams, D., Hastings, R. P., Alston-Knox, C., Cianfaglione, R., Eden, K., Felce, D. Griffith, G.M, ... & Oliver, C. (2018). Using Bayesian methodology to explore the profile of mental health and well-being in 646 mothers of children with 13 rare genetic syndromes in relation to mothers of children with autism. Orphanet journal of rare diseases, 13(1), 185. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-018-0924-1