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Paranoia and anxiety are both recognized as experiences that are widespread in the general population. Studies have investigated the use of brief mindfulness-based interventions on both conditions,...

Stress is a key contributor to several major life-threatening illnesses including depression and cardiovascular disease. Behavioral strategies that enable individuals to regulate stress responses can lead to improved health and well-being. Such practices may also help reduce required clinical interventions, ease pressure on the National Health Service (NHS), and reduce the need for medical and psychological treatments. This study explores the effects of a novel mind-body therapy for stress reduction and enhanced well-being. A single-group longitudinal intervention design was applied in a study comprising 29 healthy volunteers. The 10-day program was delivered online and consisted of deep-breathing exercises, cold-water exposure, and mindfulness meditation. Participant measures of perceived stress, depression symptoms, and mental well-being were taken at baseline and after completing the 10-day program. A MANOVA analysis revealed significant pre-post intervention differences for all psychometric measures, suggesting the intervention elicited improvements in symptoms of stress, well-being, and depression. This study provides preliminary evidence supporting the efficacy of an innovative mind-body therapy that may be learned and used by individuals to help modulate stress responses, improve mood levels, and enhance well-being. Future research could utilize multi-modal controlled study designs to understand the psychophysiological mechanisms associated with the benefits this practice may generate.

Mindful parenting teaches parents to focus awareness on their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, as well as pay attention to their children in an intentional, present-centered and non-judgmental ma...

A common custom when greeting each other in English is to respond with the phrase ‘I’m fine’, even when this is not so. Historically, the English have a reputation for stoicism, and the legacy of this can still be seen in gender norms that promote hegemonic masculinity and the notion of the ‘superwoman’ who can juggle demands of home and work without being fazed. The impact of the pandemic on mental health has led to a nation beset by loss and adversity and we must now make space for people’s authentic responses, even when they are not ‘fine’.

Ontological Addiction Theory is a metaphysical theory of mental illness which conceptualises psychological suffering in terms of excessive ego-centeredness. This study aimed to develop and validate the Ontological Addiction Scale (OAS) and compare OAS scores with mental health measures. A 31-item prototype scale was developed based on traditional Buddhist theory and contemporary models of addiction. An ego-centeredness form of the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory (FFNI) was the main criterion measure. For mental health measures, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were used. The prototype OAS and two shorter versions showed excellent internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Construct validity was evidenced by medium to large correlations with criterion measures. OAS scores showed strong correlations with PHQ-9, GAD-7 and RSES, suggesting a clear relationship between OAS and mental health. The OAS appears to be a valid and reliable instrument suitable for assessing OA.

Consanguineous marriage is associated with increased risk of congenital physical disabilities, as well as behavioural and mental health problems among consanguineous offspring. Furthermore, mental health problems have been highlighted as being prevalent among women involved in consanguineous marriages. Despite this, there has been limited research exploring the lived experiences of consanguineous marriage among women living in the United Arab Emirates, where up to 39% of all marriages are consanguineous. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of Emirati women involved in a consanguineous marriage in order to improve understanding of the experiential challenges faced by such individuals. Six Emirati women involved in a consanguineous marriage attended a focus group, and a thematic analysis of the interview transcript was subsequently undertaken. Five master themes emerged from the dataset: (i) Reasons for Marrying Consanguineously, (ii) Awareness and Fear of Hereditary Diseases, (iii) Emotional and Psychological Challenges, (iv) Coping Mechanisms, and (v) Confidence in Consanguineous Marriages. The master themes indicated a high level of family and parental influence as well as a cultural/traditional paradigm as being key causes for entering into a consanguineous marriage. Emotional and mental health challenges arouse due to the fear of genetic problems among offspring as well as difficulties coming to terms with consanguineous marriage dynamics. Self-help coping strategies were identified such as participants turning to religion in times of need, while shunning professional psychological help. Despite these challenges, participants generally retained confidence in the consanguineous marriage process. Findings shed light on the personal and health challenges experienced by Emirati women involved in consanguineous marriages, and highlight the need for further research to better understand the support needs of this population group.

While there is a growing understanding of the relationship between mindfulness and compassion, this largely relates to the form of mindfulness employed in first-generation mindfulness-based interventions such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Consequently, there is limited knowledge of the relationship between mindfulness and compassion in respect of the type of mindfulness employed in second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs), including those that employ the principle of working harmoniously as a “secular sangha.” Understanding this relationship is important because research indicates that perceived emotional synchrony (PES) and shared flow—that often arise during participation in harmonized group contemplative activities—can enhance outcomes relating to compassion, subjective well-being, and group identity fusion. This pilot study analyzed the effects of participation in a mindful-dancing SG-MBI on compassion and investigated the mediating role of shared flow and PES. A total of 130 participants were enrolled into the study that followed a quasi-experimental design with an intervention and control group. Results confirmed the salutary effect of participating in a collective mindful-dancing program, and demonstrated that shared flow and PES fully meditated the effects of collective mindfulness on the kindness and common humanity dimensions of compassion. Further research is warranted to explore whether collective mindfulness approaches, such as mindful dancing, may be a means of enhancing compassion and subjective well-being outcomes due to the mediating role of PES and shared flow.

School-based mindfulness interventions have recently shown promise for treating and preventing mental health issues in young people. However, the literature lacks a high-level perspective of the impact of mindfulness on young people’s mental health according to their own first-hand accounts. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct the first systematic review and thematic synthesis to rigorously evaluate the qualitative evidence pertaining to students’ experiences of school-based MBIs. The following electronic databases were searched for qualitative school-based mindfulness intervention papers published up until the end of March 2019: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. An assessment of study quality was undertaken using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative checklist. The initial literature search returned 4102 papers and seven studies met all of the inclusion criteria. The thematic synthesis identified four major themes of (i) using attentional processes to regulate emotions and cognitions, (ii) stress reduction, (iii) improved coping and social skills, and (iv) calming and/or relaxation. Findings show that school-based MBIs are experienced by students as having a range of benefits to mental health, including in both preventative and treatment contexts. However, efforts should be made to improve methodological quality, including taking steps to minimise recall bias and provide a greater degree of transparency regarding how students are selected to attend qualitative interviews or focus groups.

International audience; Bypassing a reductionist view of existing diagnostic categories, ontological addiction theory (OAT) is a new psychological model of human functioning. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), defined as "a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and affects, and marked impulsivity", is not only common (up to 20% of psychiatric inpatients), but also strongly associated with suicide attempts and death by suicide. Therefore, BPD constitutes a major public health concern. As a consequence of an underlying condition of ontological addiction, self-harming behaviors can be conceptualized as addictions, suicidal acts reflecting an experiential avoidance strategy against unbearable psychological pain. The present paper aims at: (1) understanding BPD daily life experiences from the perspective of OAT; (2) offering psychotherapeutic perspectives for this mental disorder. The diagnostic category of BDP may be understood as a simple label reflecting several extreme types of manifestations resulting from the Self-grasping ignorance that underpins ontological addiction. Therefore, development of psychotherapeutic interventions targeting ontological addiction appears to be a promising future direction.

Purpose Though several work-related mental health training initiatives have been implemented in Japan, the effectiveness of such approaches remains unclear. Consequently, some Japanese corporations prefer using interventions such as neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to improve employee mental health and wellbeing. This language-based development methodology has been the subject of debate in terms of the quality of the underlying empirical evidence. However, a perspective missing from this debate is an evidence-based understanding of the first-hand experiences of employees that have undertaken NLP training. The purpose of this paper is to inform this debate by conducting a rigorous qualitative examination of the experiences of Japanese senior managers who had recently received training in NLP. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews attended by 11 Japanese NLP master practitioners were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Four themes emerged from the data set: improving work-related mental health, NLP fosters a better understanding of the mind, NLP helps to reframe perspectives relating to work and mental health, and challenges of NLP training. Originality/value While managers found NLP training skills such as reframing and neuro-logical levels useful to their managerial practice and mental health more generally, they raised concerns about NLP’s reputation as well as the utility of some of the techniques employed in NLP.

Social validity (SV) is a concept used in intervention research and is concerned with the overall acceptability, relevance, and utility of an intervention to all intervention stakeholders. SV not only takes into account efficacy in respect of the pre-defined study outcomes, but also participants’ perceptions of the intervention as well as the wider social context in which it will be applied. There are a growing number of mindfulness-based educational programs (MBEPs) being empirically evaluated and implemented in educational settings. However, due to a lack of scientifically validated instruments that can assess SV in MBEPs, a systematic evaluation of SV in such programs has not been undertaken to date. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Social Validity Scale of Mindfulness-Based Programs for Adolescents (Escala de Validez Social de Programas de Mindfulness para Adolescentes—EVSPM-A), composed of 20 items. The sample comprised 512 compulsory secondary education and high school students (mean age = 14.5; SD = 1.57) from three Spanish educational centers that had completed an MBEP known as the TREVA Program. The final version of the scale showed good psychometric properties and factor analyses yielded five factors: global impact-satisfaction, acceptance and viability, individual perceived effectiveness, perceived classroom climate; training feasibility, and applicability of techniques. The EVSPM-A appears to be a suitable means of assessing SV in MBEPs delivered to adolescents. Using the EVSPM-A to evaluate SV can help improve the implementation and long-term efficacy of MBEPs.

Contemplative psychology is concerned with the psychological study of contemplative processes and practices, such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, introspection, reflection, metacognition, self-regulation, self-awareness, and self-consciousness. Although contemplative psychology borders with other psychological and nonpsychological disciplines, some of its underlying assumptions distinguish it from other remits of psychological and scholarly inquiry, as do its component areas of empirical focus, conceptual nuances, and challenges. Furthermore, the discipline has tended to be somewhat disparate in its approach to investigating the core techniques and principles of which it is composed, resulting in a need for greater intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary awareness of the commonalities and differences of core contemplative psychology attributes. As a remedy to these issues, in this article, we adopt a whole-discipline perspective and aim to explicate contemplative psychology’s history, breadth, key assumptions, challenges, and future directions.

Mindfulness has recently shown promise in mental illness treatment and preventative contexts with school-aged young people. However, there is a shortage of studies investigating the effects of school-based mindfulness interventions on young people of a pre-adolescent and early-adolescent age. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a regional multi-site school-based mindfulness programme on wellbeing and resiliency in UK school children aged 9–12 years old. A total of 1,138 children who received mindfulness training completed the Resiliency Scale for Children and Adolescents and the Stirling Children’s Wellbeing Scale pre- and post-intervention. Results showed significant improvements following intervention delivery in positive emotional state, positive outlook, and resiliency, with resiliency effects maintained at a six-month follow-up assessment. Findings indicate that mindfulness delivered by school teachers can improve wellbeing and resiliency in children and young people.

Objectives There is burgeoning interest in studying the effectiveness of mindfulness-based and traditional contemplative practices, and brief yet suitably and comprehensive measures of mindfulness are needed to assess related changes. There is preliminary evidence that pilgrimage may share some aspects with contemplative practices. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the 15-item Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-15) in a large sample of pilgrims and explored the effects of pilgrimage on mindfulness. Methods The FFMQ-15 along with distress and wellbeing measures were administered via online to a large sample of participants undertaking a pilgrimage (i.e., the Way of Saint James) in Spain (baseline: n = 800; pre-post analyses: n = 314). Confirmatory factor analyses were computed to find the best-fitting model of the FFMQ-15; reliability and construct validity analyses were also performed. Results The four-facet bifactor structure (mindfulness plus four specific facets, excluding observing) was the best-fitting model for the FFMQ-15 (CFI = .956; TLI = .931; RMSEA = .058 [.048-.068]; SRMR = .046). Overall, we found satisfactory reliability (Cronbach's alpha ranged from .56 to .85) and small to moderate correlations with distress and wellbeing measures. Conclusions The FFMQ-15 showed a four-facet bifactor structure and an overall satisfactory internal consistency and construct validity despite its shortness. We observed that mindfulness can be cultivated by pilgrimage, but further studies including long-term assessments and control groups are warranted before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Business ethics have come under increasing scrutiny recently due to various corporate scandals. This has prompted a need for research into the characteristics of people drawn to the business world and the education they receive. This study (i) evaluates the levels of ethical judgement, mental health, motivation, and self-compassion in 144 UK business students and (ii) assesses the relationships between these variables. A high proportion of respondents (i) believed that other students would behave unethically, whilst they themselves would not, and (ii) had a high level of anxiety, extrinsic motivation and self-compassion. Extrinsic motivation was associated with participants’ belief that others would behave unethically, whilst intrinsic motivation was associated with strict ethical judgement and self-compassion. Extrinsic motivation and self-compassion were significant explanatory variables for students’ ethical judgement, and self-compassion was a significant explanatory variable for mental health symptoms. This study is unique in examining the facets of ethics, mental health, self-compassion and motivation in business students. Findings have implications for both educators and practitioners since improving ethical behaviour in the future workforce may be achieved by augmenting future employees’ levels of self-compassion and intrinsic motivation, rather than solely administering “ethics training” that has been found to be of limited value. Findings also indicate that such an approach may have utility for improving business students’ mental health.

Research into the effects and mechanisms of mindfulness training draws predominantly on quantitative research. There is a lack of understanding about the subjective experiences of experienced mindfulness meditators, which may provide additional insights into the effects, processes and context of mindfulness training. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of a novel group of experienced mindfulness meditators who practise Vipassana Mahasi (VM) meditation. The study aimed to understand how experienced VM practitioners make sense of the effects of practice and what processes they ascribe to it. Participants attended semistructured interviews, and their responses were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results yielded overarching themes including (a) improvements in hedonic and eudaimonic well-being; (b) insights into self, others and perception of reality; (c) attaining equanimity; and (d) physical and interpersonal difficulties. Participants perceived VM as a ‘cleansing’ process whereby maladaptive responses were eliminated through mindfulness, other supportive mental qualities, decentering and nonattachment. The findings revealed a complex and dynamic set of interdependent outcomes and processes, which are reinforced by Buddhist teachings and ethical practices. This study highlights the need for additional interdisciplinary research into topics such as insight generation and supportive mental qualities cultivated during VM, novel states of well-being informed by Buddhist constructs and interpersonal difficulties related to long-term practice. Findings also suggest that incorporating Buddhist teachings and ethics into mindfulness-based interventions may enhance practitioner understanding and implementation of meditation techniques.

Between 10 and 20% of adolescents worldwide experience a mental health problem within a given 12-month period. Mental health problems impact on an adolescent’s potential to live a fulfilling and productive life and lead to challenges such as stigma, isolation and discrimination. To address this need, in recent years, there has been growing interest into broad-based school-integrated health promotion interventions that seek to build resilience and augment protective factors in adolescents. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) reflect one such approach that have been administered to adolescent populations in both resilience building and treatment contexts. This paper discusses the utility of school-based MBIs as an adolescent health promotion approach and makes recommendations for intervention design, delivery and evaluation. Emerging evidence indicates that school-integrated MBIs may be a cost-effective means of not only meeting government objectives relating to adolescent mental health, but also for improving the wellbeing of teachers and parents. Furthermore, there is growing evidence indicating that mindfulness can elicit improvements in student learning performance and general classroom behaviour. However, notwithstanding these beneficial properties, there remains a need to conduct large-scale empirical investigations that seek to evaluate the effectiveness of school-integrated MBIs at a regional or national level. A further challenge is the need to ensure that mindfulness instructors are able to impart to adolescents an experiential understanding of this ancient contemplative technique.

There is growing awareness of mental health problems among UK business students, which appears to be exacerbated by students’ attitudes of shame toward mental health. This study recruited 138 UK bu...

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are life transformational events that are increasingly being subjected to empirical research. However, to date, no study has investigated the phenomenon of a meditation-induced near-death experience (MI-NDE) that is referred to in ancient Buddhist texts. Given that some advanced Buddhist meditators can induce NDEs at a pre-planned point in time, the MI-NDE may make NDEs more empirically accessible and thus advance understanding into the psychology of death-related processes. The present study recruited twelve advanced Buddhist meditators and compared the MI-NDE against two other meditation practices (i.e., that acted as control conditions) in the same participant group. Changes in the content and profundity of the MI-NDE were assessed longitudinally over a three-year period. Findings demonstrated that compared to the control conditions, the MI-NDE prompted significantly greater pre-post increases in NDE profundity, mystical experiences, and non-attachment. Furthermore, participants demonstrated significant increases in NDE profundity across the three-year study period. Findings from an embedded qualitative analysis (using grounded theory) demonstrated that participants (i) were consciously aware of experiencing NDEs, (ii) retained volitional control over the content and duration of NDEs, and (iii) elicited a rich array of non-worldly encounters and spiritual experiences. In addition to providing corroborating evidence in terms of the content of a “regular” (i.e., non-meditation-induced) NDE, novel NDE features identified in the present study indicate that there exist unexplored and/or poorly understood dimensions to NDEs. Furthermore, the study indicates that it would be feasible – including ethically feasible – for future research to recruit advanced meditators in order to assess real-time changes in neurological activity during NDEs.

Spanish Research Network on Preventative Activities and Health Promotion (RD06/0018/0017) and the Aragon Health Sciences Institute.

Background and aims Workaholism is a form of behavioral addiction that can lead to reduced life and job satisfaction, anxiety, depression, burnout, work–family conflict, and impaired productivity. Given the number of people affected, there is a need for more targeted workaholism treatments. Findings from previous case studies successfully utilizing second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs) for treating behavioral addiction suggest that SG-MBIs may be suitable for treating workaholism. This study conducted a controlled trial to investigate the effects of an SG-MBI known as meditation awareness training (MAT) on workaholism. Methods Male and female adults suffering from workaholism (n = 73) were allocated to MAT or a waiting-list control group. Assessments were performed at pre-, post-, and 3-month follow-up phases. Results MAT participants demonstrated significant and sustained improvements over control-group participants in workaholism symptomatology, job satisfaction, work engagement, work duration, and psychological distress. Furthermore, compared to the control group, MAT participants demonstrated a significant reduction in hours spent working but without a decline in job performance. Discussion and conclusions MAT may be a suitable intervention for treating workaholism. Further controlled intervention studies investigating the effects of SG-MBIs on workaholism are warranted.

A recent study has supported the efficacy of Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT) compared to relaxation (REL) for the management of fibromyalgia (FM). The main objective of this paper is to examine the cost-utility of ABCT compared to REL in terms of effects on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) as well as healthcare costs. Forty-two Spanish patients with FM received 8 weekly group sessions of ABCT or REL. Data collection took place at pre- and 3-month follow-up. Cost-utility of the two treatment groups (ABCT vs. REL) was compared by examining treatment outcomes in terms of QALYs (obtained with the EQ-5D-3L) and healthcare costs (data about service use obtained with the Client Service Receipt Inventory). Data analyses were computed from a completers, ITT, and per protocol approach. Data analysis from the healthcare perspective revealed that those patients receiving ABCT exhibited larger improvements in quality of life than those doing relaxation, while being less costly 3 months after their 8-week treatment program had ended (completers: incremental cost M, 95% CI = &euro, &minus, 194.1 (&minus, 450.3 to 356.1), incremental effect M, 95% CI = 0.023 QALYs (0.010 to 0.141)). Results were similar using an ITT approach (incremental cost M, 95% CI = &euro, 256.3 (&minus, 447.4 to &minus, 65.3), incremental effect M, 95% CI = 0.021 QALYs (0.009 to 0.033)). A similar pattern of results were obtained from the per protocol approach. This RCT has contributed to the evidence base of compassion-based interventions and provided useful information about the cost-utility of ABCT for FM patients when compared to relaxation. However, the small sample size and short follow-up period limited the generalizability of the findings.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT)—a standardised programme that includes practices to improve compassionate awareness with the aim of addressing maladaptive attachment—for improving mindfulness and self-compassion in fibromyalgia (FM) patients, and to determine whether gains in mindfulness and self-compassion mediate improvements in FM functional status together with comorbid anxiety and depression. The study comprised a randomised controlled trial of individuals undergoing ABCT, with a Relaxation condition as an active control group. Baseline, post-test, and 3-month follow-up assessments were included. Participants (n = 42) were FM patients randomly assigned to ABCT or relaxation. Outcomes were functional status (FIQ), anxiety (HADS-A), depression (HADS-D), mindfulness (FFMQ), and self-compassion (SCS). Differences between groups were estimated using mixed-effects regression models, and mediation analyses were conducted using path analyses. Compared with the Relaxation condition, the ABCT group was more effective for improving mindfulness and self-compassion, as it observed through changes in the FFMQ and SCS subscales. Effect sizes were in the moderately large to large range (Cohen’s d between 0.60–2.20). Reductions in FM functional status were not mediated by either mindfulness or self-compassion. However, the self-compassion facet of common humanity was a mediator for reductions in both anxiety (B = − 2.04; bootstrapped 95% CI = − 4.44, − 0.04) and depression (B = − 2.12; bootstrapped 95% CI = − 4.40, − 0.45). The improvement of common humanity via ABCT might be an active component for the reduction of comorbid anxiety and depression in FM patients. NCT02454244

Adolescent problem gambling is increasingly becoming a global public health concern. Consequently, there is a need for more effective population- and community-level health promotion responses. Ind...

International audience

There is consensus amongst both the scientific and Buddhist community that mindfulness – when correctly taught and practised – leads to a range of beneficial outcomes. However, there has been little evaluation of what happens when mindfulness is incorrectly taught, or is practised with a selfish rather than selfless intention. Nowhere is the importance of this issue more pertinent than the recent and growing assimilation of mindfulness for employees by large corporations. The current paper introduces the principle of ‘authentic spiritual transmission’ and examines how it can inform the integration of mindfulness into the corporate workplace. Three questions are explored: (i) what spiritual infrastructure is required to operationalize mindfulness that is effective in the corporate setting? (ii) to what extent can ‘inner change’ induced by mindfulness substitute the need for corporations to foster healthy ‘external’ working conditions? and (iii) is mindfulness corruptible or does it have a natural defence mechanism? The paper addresses these questions by synthesizing relevant Buddhist discourses, evaluating recent theoretical and empirical findings concerning the use of mindfulness in corporate settings, and examining how second-generation mindfulness-based interventions can inform this topical area of scholarly debate.

Background: Sex addiction is a disorder that can have serious adverse functional consequences. Treatment effectiveness research for sex addiction is currently underdeveloped, and interventions are generally based on the guidelines for treating other behavioral (as well as chemical) addictions. Consequently, there is a need to clinically evaluate tailored treatments that target the specific symptoms of sex addiction. It has been proposed that second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs) may be an appropriate treatment for sex addiction because in addition to helping individuals increase perceptual distance from craving for desired objects and experiences, some SG-MBIs specifically contain meditations intended to undermine attachment to sex and/or the human body. The current study conducts the first clinical investigation into the utility of mindfulness for treating sex addiction. \ud Case presentation: An in-depth clinical case study was conducted involving an adult male suffering from sex addiction that underwent treatment utilizing an SG-MBI known as Meditation Awareness Training (MAT). Following completion of MAT, the participant demonstrated clinically significant improvements in addictive sexual behavior, as well as reductions in depression and psychological distress. The MAT intervention also led to improvements in sleep quality, job satisfaction, and non-attachment to self and experiences. Salutary outcomes were maintained at 6-month follow-up. \ud Discussion and conclusion: The current study extends the literature exploring the applications of mindfulness for treating behavioral addiction, and findings indicate that further clinical investigation into the role of mindfulness for treating sex addiction is warranted.