Special Issue: More Mindful, More Accepting, More Compassionate, and More Self-Regulation

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The cover of this special issue of Biofeedback shows a nature image evocative of mindfulness (Thanks to Shutterstock for the image.)This special issue on “More Mindful, More Accepting, More Compassionate, and More Self-Regulation” is a continuation of the themes presented in several previous special issues of the Biofeedback magazine on mindfulness. The guest editors are Inna Khazan and Donald Moss. The editors have once again gathered a variety of authors contributing articles on the theme that becoming more mindful, more accepting, and more compassionate leads naturally to better self-regulation, and adds a dimension to clinical biofeedback and neurofeedback.In the lead article, Leah Lagos presents a protocol for integrating mindfulness and heart rate variability biofeedback, with the goal of fostering courage, confidence, and resilience. She applies this protocol in optimal performance work in athletics as well as in corporate consulting work. Her article includes a case narrative of a 42-year-old corporate executive seeking assistance with work stress and negative emotions. The combination of mindfulness and heart rate variability biofeedback enabled him to tune out negative thoughts, improve his confidence, and gain trust in his ability to perform optimally.Nimrod Tom Oren, Dror Gronich, and Arnon Rolnick introduce an innovative “Stairway to Togetherness” model for working with couples and families. Their model uses mindfulness interventions and biofeedback to de-escalate conflicts, reduce emotional and physiological reactivity, and enhance psychophysiological mutual-regulation patterns. Their stairway model emphasizes moving upward from a relational basement of reactivity and suspicion, through a ground floor of cognitive and physiological calming, through an acceptance floor of increased mindfulness and mutual compassion, to a top floor of high hopes and togetherness.Yuval Oded provides an article exploring the integration of mindfulness and biofeedback into the psychotherapeutic treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Oded examines research on the psychophysiological, perceptual, and cognitive features of PTSD. He highlights how the elevated arousal levels typical of PTSD and the lack of physiological habituation result in rigid and negatively biased attention, which in turn propels the elevated arousal levels in a vicious cycle of posttraumatic experiencing. Oded then introduces a detailed approach combining mindfulness practices, psychophysiological monitoring, and biofeedback to assist therapists in guiding their clients through the psychotherapeutic process.