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Abstract

The authors discuss mindfulness and describe its implementation in treating psychiatric disorders. They further identify for whom mindfulness-based interventions have been efficacious, and they provide a summary of how these interventions work, including research support for the cognitive, psychological, and neural mechanisms that lead to psychiatric improvements.

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation has a long-standing history in Eastern practices that has received considerable public interest in recent decades. Indeed, the science, practice, and implementation of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have dramatically increased in recent years. At its base, mindfulness is a natural human state in which an individual experiences and attends to the present moment. Interventions have been developed to train individuals how to incorporate this practice into daily life. In this article, the authors discuss the concept of mindfulness and describe its implementation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. They further identify for whom MBIs have been shown to be efficacious and provide an up-to-date summary of how these interventions work, including research support for the cognitive, psychological, and neural mechanisms that lead to psychiatric improvements. This review provides a basis for incorporating these interventions into treatment.

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History

Published in print: Winter 2018
Published online: 24 January 2018

Keywords

  1. Mindfulness
  2. mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
  3. mindfulness-based stress reduction
  4. MBCT
  5. depression

Authors

Details

Benjamin G. Shapero, Ph.D. [email protected]
Dr. Shapero, Dr. Greenberg, and Dr. Pedrelli are with the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. de Jong is with the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Dr. Desbordes is with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Jonathan Greenberg, Ph.D.
Dr. Shapero, Dr. Greenberg, and Dr. Pedrelli are with the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. de Jong is with the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Dr. Desbordes is with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Paola Pedrelli, Ph.D.
Dr. Shapero, Dr. Greenberg, and Dr. Pedrelli are with the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. de Jong is with the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Dr. Desbordes is with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Marasha de Jong, M.D.
Dr. Shapero, Dr. Greenberg, and Dr. Pedrelli are with the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. de Jong is with the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Dr. Desbordes is with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Gaelle Desbordes, Ph.D.
Dr. Shapero, Dr. Greenberg, and Dr. Pedrelli are with the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. de Jong is with the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Dr. Desbordes is with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Shapero (e-mail: [email protected]).

Funding Information

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

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