Mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy

Recent studies have highlighted the promising benefits of mindfulness-based interventions for a range of clinical issues. The growing interest among practitioners in using mindfulness as an intervention raises issues of therapeutic potential, practical application and potential adverse effects. Mindfulness meditation is defined as paying attention to ongoing sensory experiences and mental contents, deliberately and intentionally, and in a non-elaborative and non-judgmental way. The history and psychological mechanisms of mindfulness meditation is discussed as well as the ways it differs from traditional cognitive therapies. Empirical evidence for mindfulness meditation as a therapeutic technique is considered in addition to costs and benefits, potential adverse effects and practitioner issues such as skills and training. Finally, we examine the proposition that interest in mindfulness meditation has spawned a number of new therapies that appear to have high efficacy and represent a new conceptualisation of potentially active ingredients in psychotherapy and psychological change. (author abstract)