Veterans often avoid or drop out of mental health treatment, so new approaches are needed. A nature-based mindfulness intervention was tested against an indoor version for veterans with mental illness. Forty-one veterans from a Veterans Affairs health care center were randomly assigned to either a six-session outdoor or indoor group mindfulness program. More veterans completed the outdoor program than the indoor one, though average attendance did not differ. The outdoor group also showed greater reductions in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms over time. Nature-based interventions may help reduce stigma and improve treatment completion rates for veterans.
Mindfully listening to music, including improvisational jazz, can reduce chronic pain and anxiety more effectively than listening without mindfulness training. In a pilot study of 120 adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain, participants were randomly assigned to mindful listening or music education groups, each with either preferred music or jazz. Those in the mindful listening groups reported significantly greater reductions in pain intensity and anxiety. A clinically meaningful (20%) decrease in pain occurred more often in the mindful jazz (50%) and mindful music (41%) groups than in the jazz education (29%) and music education (26%) groups. The findings suggest that combining mindfulness with music listening enhances pain relief.