An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results
Abstract
The practice of mindfulness meditation was used in a 10-week Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program to train chronic pain patients in self-regulation. The meditation facilitates an attentional stance towards proprioception known as detached observation. This appears to cause an “uncoupling” of the sensory dimension of the pain experience from the affectivel evaluative alarm reaction and reduce the experience of suffering via cognitive reappraisal. Data are presented on 51 chronic pain patients who had not improved with traditional medical care. The dominant pain categories were low back, neck and shoulder, and headache. Facial pain, angina pectoris, noncoronary chest pain, and GI pain were also represented. At 10 weeks, 65% of the patients showed a reduction of ≥33% in the mean total Pain Rating Index (Melzack) and 50% showed a reduction of ≥50%. Similar decreases were recorded on other pain indices and in the number of medical symptoms reported. Large and significant reductions in mood disturbance and psychiatric symptomatology accompanied these changes and were relatively stable on follow-up. These improvements were independent of the pain category. We conclude that this form of meditation can be used as the basis for an effective behavioral program in self-regulation for chronic pain patients. Key features of the program structure, and the limitations of the present uncontrolled study are discussed.
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Introduction
Clinical Aspects of Pain
Cited by (2587)
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The aim of this pilot comparative study was to compare the efficacy and the processes of two third wave psychotherapy interventions (a Mindfulness Based Intervention and a Positive Psychology Intervention) in the reduction of moderate to severe depression.
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Participants showed reduced depressive symptoms and hopelessness, enhanced well-being, authentic-sustainable happiness, psychological flexibility, and attention orientation towards positive aspects of life at T2 in both interventions, which were maintained at T3. Procrastination significantly decreased at T2 only for the PPI group. The TAU control group only showed a significant increase in well-being at T2. The results from the semi-directed interviews underlined that the patients perceived the interventions as useful in terms of increased openness and self-kindness (MBI) as well as altruistic attitudes (PPI).
Although the interventions are distinct, the effects appear to be similar in terms of efficacy and mechanisms of action, apart from a greater behavioral activation in the PPI intervention. The mindfulness based intervention group intervention and the positive psychology group intervention carried out in this study appeared to be adapted to the patients and mostly positive psychology practices were reported to be easily used outside the sessions.
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Impact of a brief and online mindfulness intervention to improve cognitive performance and emotional well-being in adults
2024, Neurologia ArgentinaLa mindfulness se define como una forma de atención consciente y deliberada al momento presente y sin juzgar. El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar el impacto de la aplicación de un programa grupal online breve basado en atención plena en las funciones cognitivas, variables emocionales y de mindfulness de una población adulta comunitaria.
Participaron 58 personas a las cuales se les administró una batería de pruebas neuropsicológicas y psicológicas pre y posintervención. Se aplicó un programa de seis semanas de entrenamiento en habilidades de atención plena con la finalidad de evaluar su impacto en variables emocionales, así como en el rendimiento en memoria episódica, procesos atencionales y funciones ejecutivas.
Para la mayoría de las variables emocionales se verificó un efecto de interacción estadísticamente significativo, observando en el grupo experimental una mejoría en las variables ansiedad y depresión, bienestar estado y rasgo, en el post-test comparado al pre-test excepto en la variable estrés percibido donde no hubo cambios luego de la intervención. En las funciones cognitivas de memoria episódica verbal, atención sostenida, selectiva y alternante, span atencional, flexibilidad cognitiva, control inhibitorio y velocidad de procesamiento de la información, no se observaron diferencias de interacción estadísticamente significativas posterior al entrenamiento.
Los resultados de estudio aportan más evidencia a favor de los beneficios de programas basados en atención plena, modalidad online y breves, para el bienestar emocional de la población general.
Mindfulness is defined as a form of conscious and deliberate attention to the present moment without judgment. The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of the application of a brief online group program based on mindfulness on the cognitive functions, emotional and mindfulness variables of an adult community population.
58 people participated, to whom a battery of neuropsychological and psychological tests were administered pre and post intervention. A 6-week training program in mindfulness skills was applied in order to evaluate its impact on emotional variables, as well as performance in episodic memory, attentional processes and executive functions.
For most of the emotional variables, a statistically significant interaction effect was verified, observing in the experimental group an improvement in the variables anxiety and depression, state and trait well-being, in the post-test compared to the pre-test except in the perceived stress variable. where there were no changes after the intervention. In the cognitive functions of verbal episodic memory, sustained, selective and alternating attention, attentional span, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control and information processing speed, no statistically significant interaction differences were observed after training.
The study results provide more evidence in favor of the benefits of programs based on mindfulness, online and brief modality, for the emotional well-being of the general population.