Loving-Kindness Meditation to Target Affect in Mood Disorders: A Proof-of-Concept Study
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine January 1, 2015 Stefan G. Hofmann, Nicola Petrocchi, James Steinberg et al. 70 citations
Loving-kindness meditation (LKM), a practice aimed at cultivating unconditional kindness toward oneself and others, was tested as a brief group intervention for people with dysthymia or depression in two small, uncontrolled studies—one in Boston (10 participants) and one in Frankfurt (8 participants). At both centers, LKM was associated with large reductions in self-reported depression symptoms and negative affect, and large increases in positive affect. Clinician ratings also showed large improvements in depression, rumination, and specific positive emotions, with moderate gains in adaptive emotion regulation. Qualitative reports supported the intervention's potential. These proof-of-concept results warrant further controlled investigation.