mindfulness

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mindfulness hypnosis

• Stewart Mercer James Hawkins

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what is mindfulness?
there are several quite widely used definitions

• Kabat-Zinn (Full catastrophe living, 1990)
  paying attention in a particular way, on purpose,
  in the present moment and without judgement.
• Bishop et al (Mindfulness a proposed operational
  definition, 2004) The first component involves
  the self-regulation of attention so that it is
  maintained on immediate experience the second
  component involves adopting a particular
  orientation toward one's experiences in the
  present moment that is characterized by
  curiosity, openness, acceptance

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mindfulness two helpful lenses
one lens sees mindfulness interventions as
adaptations of various traditional Buddhist
meditation practices

• Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
  Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
  Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP)
  Loving-kindness meditation and Compassionate mind
  training (CMT).
• This is where the current flowering of scientific
  interest in the clinical possibilities of
  mindfulness began.
• Research grows showing the value of these
  approaches.
• There are interesting important questions about
  the mechanisms involved e.g. improvements in
  mindfulness, self-compassion, experiential
  tolerance, self-regulation

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mindfulness two helpful lenses
a second lens sees mindfulness as a useful
attentional and attitudinal mode which can be
encouraged in a variety of ways of which
meditation is only one

• Here mindfulness is considered to overlap with a
  number of related concepts attention,
  acceptance, de-centring, cognitive defusion,
  metacognition, openness, compassion
• There are a series of so-called Third wave
  cognitive behavioural therapies that emphasise
  developing a different response to distressing
  experience rather than trying to challenge the
  content or alter the experience
• These include mindfulness training, metacognitive
  therapy, acceptance commitment therapy, DBT,
  etc

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the buddhist noble eightfold path
to relieve suffering lead to self-awakening
the eightfold path divides into 3 basic divisions

• wisdom
• right understanding right intention
• ethical conduct
• right speech, right action, right livelihood
• meditation
• right effort, right mindfulness, right
  concentration

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buddhist meditation
right mindfulness
right concentration
NICE guideline for generalised anxiety
NICE guideline for recurrent depression
right effort
marshmallow research 2011 1000 child NZ study
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broad to narrow focus spectrum
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mindfulness meditation works
a wealth of emerging research demonstrates the
value of mindfulness practice both for patients
practitioners

• tested across a broad range of problem areas
  depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating
  disorders, chronic pain and a variety of chronic
  medical conditions
• tested too with diverse populations adults,
  adolescents, children, parents, teachers,
  students, therapists, doctors
• meta-analysis (39 studies) Hofmannn, S. G., et
  al. (2010). "The effect of mindfulness-based
  therapy on anxiety and depression A
  meta-analytic review." J Consult Clin Psychol
  78(2) 169-183.
• systematic review (15 studies) Merkes, (2010).
  "Mindfulness-based stress reduction for people
  with chronic diseases." Aust J Prim Health 16(3)
  200-210.
• well over 200 studies in my personal database
  growing!

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research challenges include

• better quality research for example more
  studies that compare mindfulness meditation
  approaches with active alternative treatments
  (like applied relaxation), better controls for
  example for allegiance effects
• improved understanding of the important
  therapeutic mechanisms reduced reaction to
  potentially upsetting thoughts/emotions/events
  (especially spirals of rumination worry)
  reduced internal/external avoidance reduced
  self-judgement increased self-compassion
  increased self-control/emotion-regulation
  relevance of home practice to changes in
  mindfulness increased value-driven action
• better integration with other interventions for
  example value-driven action, broader health
  practices, concentration meditation forms, other
  seven aspects of the eightfold path!

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other mindfulness approaches
there are a whole series of emerging therapeutic
approaches that include an emphasis on
mindfulness acceptance rather than trying to
change difficulties

• Compassionate mind training (CMT)
• Acceptance commitment therapy (ACT)
• Metacognitive therapy (MCT)
• Functional analytic therapy (FAP)
• Behavioural activation (BA)
• Integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT)
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)

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other mindfulness approaches
a recent excellent overview of this field is
provided by
Hayes, S. C., M. Villatte, et al. (2011). "Open,
aware, and active Contextual approaches as an
emerging trend in the behavioral and cognitive
therapies." Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
7(1) 141-168. A wave of new developments has
occurred in the behavioral and cognitive
therapies that focuses on processes such as
acceptance, mindfulness, attention, or values. In
this review, we describe some of these
developments and the data regarding them,
focusing on information about components,
moderators, mediators, and processes of change.
These third wave methods all emphasize the
context and function of psychological events more
so than their validity, frequency, or form, and
for these reasons we use the term contextual
cognitive behavioral therapy to describe their
characteristics. Both putative processes, and
component and process evidence, indicate that
they are focused on establishing a more open,
aware, and active approach to living, and that
their positive effects occur because of changes
in these processes.
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four aspects of helpful inner focus
reducing negative states
nourishing positive states
exploring processing
encouraging mindfulness