Mindfulness/Meditation

Abstract

Abstract Mindfulness describes both a type of nonjudgmental present‐focused awareness and a set of practices aimed at developing this awareness that have received increased attention in medical and mental health fields in recent decades. This entry reviews definitions and measurement of mindfulness, discusses mindfulness as a learned skill, a dispositional quality, and describes common formal and informal mindfulness practices. Mindfulness‐based behavioral and psychotherapeutic interventions, including mindfulness‐based stress reduction, have been applied to diverse clinical presenting problems and have shown reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms, along with a number of other potential psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal benefits. Mechanisms explaining how the salutary effects of mindfulness come about are not well understood, but may include increased “reperceiving” or “decentering”—seeing one's internal experiences as temporary phenomena distinct from the self. Research on mindfulness with children, adolescents, and nondominant populations and underserved communities (i.e., racial/ethnic and sexual minorities) is lacking and further research is needed.