Abstract

I read with great interest a recent article published in this journal titled “Realizing the Economic Potential of Meditation and Mindfulness Practices in Mental Health Care” by Chhatwal et al. The authors highlighted the limited economic evaluations of meditation and mindfulness practices in mental health care, emphasizing the need for standardized methodologies and long-term cost-effectiveness studies. They claimed that strengthening research funding, standardizing protocols and outcome measures, and leveraging digital tools for large-scale studies could facilitate the adoption of meditation and mindfulness practices, potentially reducing healthcare costs and improving accessibility to mental health care. Thus, these practices must be elevated from supplementary treatments to mainstream mental health interventions. These suggestions can play a pivotal role in the success of mental health interventions through meditation and mindfulness practices. In contrast, the authors’ claim of elevating it as a mainstream mental health intervention may not be possible because of cultural/economic context, and such practices are not tailored to everyone’s mental health needs. I aim to flesh out this claim using the context of the Philippines.