Mindfulness and Psychotherapy

Mindfulness, a natural mental state of present-moment awareness, can be trained through meditation techniques that cultivate a nonjudgmental focus. Integrating mindfulness meditation with standard psychotherapies, especially cognitive behavior therapies, effectively alleviates suffering in affective disorders such as anxiety, depression, and personality disorders while enhancing well-being. Early evidence also suggests a positive impact on therapy outcomes when the clinician practices mindfulness. Mindfulness-based interventions are an important tool for clinicians, though further research with larger samples and controlled conditions is needed to confirm their efficacy.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mindfulness is a natural human mental state of moment-to-moment awareness of present experience. It is a skill that can be trained using meditation techniques that sustain focus on the present moment with a nonjudgmental attitude. Mindfulness training has been shown to be effective in relieving the suffering of numerous medical and psychological conditions while enhancing well-being. In particular, affective disorders including anxiety, depression, and personality disorders are particularly well suited to demonstrate benefit to patients when integrating mindfulness meditation techniques with usual psychotherapies, primarily cognitive behavior therapies. In addition, early evidence shows that when the clinician is practicing mindfulness, there is a positive impact on the outcome of the therapy. Mindfulness-based therapeutic interventions are an important technique for clinicians to be aware of in the treatment of their patients' distress. Further study using larger sample sizes and more controlled conditions is warranted to establish the benefit and efficacy of mindfulness-based psychotherapies.