Mindfulness and Psychology
Excerpted from Wikipedia, January 2014:
Mindfulness as a psychological concept is the focusing of attention and awareness, based on the concept of mindfulness in Buddhist meditation.[1] It has been popularised in the West by Jon Kabat-Zinn.[2] Despite its roots in Buddhism, mindfulness is often taught independently of religion.[3][4]
Clinical psychology and psychiatry since the 1970s have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on mindfulness for helping people suffering from a variety of psychological conditions,[5]
Since 2006 research supports promising mindfulness-based therapies for a number of medical and psychiatric conditions, notably chronic pain(McCracken et al. 2007), stress (Grossman et al. 2004), anxiety and depression (Hofmann et al. 2010), substance abuse (Melemis 2008:141-157), and recurrent suicidal behavior (Williams et al. 2006). Bell (2009) gives a brief overview of mindful approaches to therapy, particularly family therapy, starting with a discussion of mysticism and emphasizing the value of a mindful therapist.
A comprehensive 2013 meta-analysis of mindfulness-based therapy concluded that it was "an effective treatment for a variety of psychological problems, and is especially effective for reducing anxiety, depression, and stress."[6]
Mindfulness as a psychological concept is the focusing of attention and awareness, based on the concept of mindfulness in Buddhist meditation.[1] It has been popularised in the West by Jon Kabat-Zinn.[2] Despite its roots in Buddhism, mindfulness is often taught independently of religion.[3][4]
Clinical psychology and psychiatry since the 1970s have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on mindfulness for helping people suffering from a variety of psychological conditions,[5]
Since 2006 research supports promising mindfulness-based therapies for a number of medical and psychiatric conditions, notably chronic pain(McCracken et al. 2007), stress (Grossman et al. 2004), anxiety and depression (Hofmann et al. 2010), substance abuse (Melemis 2008:141-157), and recurrent suicidal behavior (Williams et al. 2006). Bell (2009) gives a brief overview of mindful approaches to therapy, particularly family therapy, starting with a discussion of mysticism and emphasizing the value of a mindful therapist.
A comprehensive 2013 meta-analysis of mindfulness-based therapy concluded that it was "an effective treatment for a variety of psychological problems, and is especially effective for reducing anxiety, depression, and stress."[6]
Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment therapy or ACT (typically pronounced as the word "act") is a form of clinical behavior analysis (CBA)[1] used in psychotherapy. It is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies mixed in different ways[2] with commitment and behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. The approach was originally called comprehensive distancing.[3] It was developed in the late 1980s[4] by Steven C. Hayes, Kelly G. Wilson, and Kirk Strosahl.[5]ACT differs from traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in that rather than trying to teach people to better control their thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories and other private events, ACT teaches them to "just notice," accept, and embrace their private events, especially previously unwanted ones.
ACT helps the individual get in contact with a transcendent sense of self known as "self-as-context"—the you that is always there observing and experiencing and yet distinct from one's thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories. ACT aims to help the individual clarify their personal values and to take action on them, bringing more vitality and meaning to their life in the process, increasing their psychological flexibility.[3]
While Western psychology has typically operated under the "healthy normality" assumption which states that by their nature, humans are psychologically healthy, ACT assumes, rather, that psychological processes of a normal human mind are often destructive.[6] The core conception of ACT is that psychological suffering is usually caused by experiential avoidance, cognitive entanglement, and resulting psychological rigidity that leads to a failure to take needed behavioral steps in accord with core values. As a simple way to summarize the model, ACT views the core of many problems to be due to the concepts represented in the acronym, FEAR:
ACT commonly employs six core principles to help clients develop psychological flexibility:[6]
References
ACT helps the individual get in contact with a transcendent sense of self known as "self-as-context"—the you that is always there observing and experiencing and yet distinct from one's thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories. ACT aims to help the individual clarify their personal values and to take action on them, bringing more vitality and meaning to their life in the process, increasing their psychological flexibility.[3]
While Western psychology has typically operated under the "healthy normality" assumption which states that by their nature, humans are psychologically healthy, ACT assumes, rather, that psychological processes of a normal human mind are often destructive.[6] The core conception of ACT is that psychological suffering is usually caused by experiential avoidance, cognitive entanglement, and resulting psychological rigidity that leads to a failure to take needed behavioral steps in accord with core values. As a simple way to summarize the model, ACT views the core of many problems to be due to the concepts represented in the acronym, FEAR:
- Fusion with your thoughts
- Evaluation of experience
- Avoidance of your experience
- Reason-giving for your behavior
- Accept your reactions and be present
- Choose a valued direction
- Take action
ACT commonly employs six core principles to help clients develop psychological flexibility:[6]
- Cognitive defusion: Learning methods to reduce the tendency to reify thoughts, images, emotions, and memories.
- Acceptance: Allowing thoughts to come and go without struggling with them.
- Contact with the present moment: Awareness of the here and now, experienced with openness, interest, and receptiveness.
- Observing the self: Accessing a transcendent sense of self, a continuity of consciousness which is unchanging.
- Values: Discovering what is most important to one's true self.[7]
- Committed action: Setting goals according to values and carrying them out responsibly.
References
- Jennifer C Plumb, Ian Stewart, Galway JoAnne Dahl, Tobias Lundgren (Spring 2009). "In Search of Meaning: Values in Modern Clinical Behavior Analysis". Behav Anal. 32 (1): 85–103.
- Hayes, Steven. "Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)". ContextualPsychology.org.
- Zettle, Robert D. (2005). "The Evolution of a Contextual Approach to Therapy: From Comprehensive Distancing to ACT". International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy 1 (2): 77–89.
- Murdock, N. L. (2009). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: A case approach. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill/Pearson
- "Getting in on the Act - The Irish Times - Tue, Jun 07, 2011". The Irish Times. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
- Harris, Russ (August 2006). "Embracing your demons: an overview of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy". Psychotherapy in Australia 12 (4): 2–8.
- Robb, Hank (2007). "Values as Leading Principles in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy". International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy 3 (1): 118–23.
