Chapter 9 - Personalized meditation

Abstract

Finding a universal panacea for everyone is an impossible mission, as each individual is unique in many observable ways. For psychological interventions that aim to promote individual health and well-being, finding one intervention that addresses all psychological problems and symptoms is equally impossible. Given the interindividual variability presented among the population, developing more personalized intervention approaches would be highly meaningful and potentially more effective in clinical applications. In previous chapters we discussed how individual differences in response to meditation are manifested and how such differences may influence daily meditation practices and related outcomes. As meditation-based interventions are widely utilized in clinical settings for treating and ameliorating psychological symptoms, our knowledge of individual differences could inform the tailoring of existing meditation programs to each individual, as well as his or her unique needs. Therefore we seek to explore the concept of personalized meditation and discuss its feasibility by referencing the ongoing progress of precision medicine and personalized medicine. The goal of this chapter to propose ways through which personalized meditation can be realized and implemented to improve the overall efficacy and effectiveness of existing intervention programs.