Mindfulness In Education Research Articles

The effects of a mindfulness-based program on higher education students

BackgroundEntering higher education is a process with multiple challenges that requires the mobilization of personal, social and instrumental resources. As a result, students tend to experience grater stress, anxiety, and depression. In this regard, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can serve as a useful tool to help students deal with these demands.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the effect of a Mindfulness in Education program in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms among students.MethodsForty-four students of higher education from four degrees in the fields of Social and Cultural Sciences participated and finished surveys before and after the 12-weeks intervention, measuring stress, depression, anxiety, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Twenty-three students (82.61% female; Mage = 20.35 DPage = 3.24) participated in Mindfulness in Education. These participants were paired with 21 students (90.48% female; Mage = 18.67, DPage = 0.73), which constituted the control condition.ResultsThe results showed a session × condition interaction that was statistically significant for depression (p < 0.012) and stress (p < 0.026). In the follow-up exploration, the experimental condition revealed a statistically significant and moderate change in the severity of the symptoms of depression [t(14) = –2.315, p = 0.036, ξ = 0.304, 95% CI (–0.023, –0.499)] but not at the stress level [t(14) = –1.443, p = 0.171, ξ = 0.223, 95% CI (–0.006, –0.364)].ConclusionOutcomes were promising, adding to evidence that MBIs can play an important role in helping students manage stress and depression. However, it is still necessary to investigate the mechanisms underlying this type of interventions.

Mindfulness in psychotherapy: The experience of psychotherapists who incorporate mindfulness into their practice.

Mindfulness is most commonly defined as the ability to bring one's attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, with complete acceptance and without judgment. The diverse benefits of mindfulness as a therapeutic tool have been widely explored. Nevertheless, when mindfulness is incorporated into psychotherapy it may influence the relationship between the therapist and the patient in diverse manners. This influence appears in the literature as relational mindfulness pertaining to mindfulness practiced in relationship to other people. The present article attempts to delineate the diverse influences of relational mindfulness within the psychotherapeutic setting through Qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with eight psychotherapists recruited from an institution for the teaching of mindfulness for psychotherapists. Analysis revealed influences on the therapist's worldview, on technique, on the presence of the therapist and, on the therapeutic alliance. These aspects are discussed from a psychoanalytic and a cognitive-behavioral framework. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Adaptations to mindfulness-based interventions for neurological impairment: The SMALL PROMPTS approach.

Standardized mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), used for the management of physical and psychological symptoms associated with neurological impairment/injury (NI), have been problematized as lacking accessibility due to their focus on sensory presence and mindful walking. Research is needed to generate formalized recommendations regarding how MBIs may be best adapted to enhance their suitability for people with NI. A two-phase qualitative study was completed. First, semistructured interviews were undertaken with eight accredited mindfulness teachers with NI. Interviews reviewed the adaptations participants made in their personal and teaching practice, using thematic analysis, and generated recommendations for adaptations to MBIs specific to people with NI. Second, using the DELPHI method, the adapted practice recommendations were reviewed and revised via three rounds, following cognitive interviews with an expert panel (N = 5 trained mindfulness teachers with NI). Ten core areas for adaptation are proposed and validated, acting as SMALL PROMPTS which can be used to adapt mindfulness-based teaching techniques to the specific requirements of people with NI: (a) Skin/bladder/bowel management; (b) mindful Movement; (c) Accessible training; (d) Language Leadership; (e) Permissive pRactice; (f) Optimizing timelines; (g) Management of posture; (h) inclusion of Pacing; (i) Teaching from experience; and (j) body Scanning. Mindfulness is a highly applicable approach for people with sensory loss, however significant, specific adaptations are required to improve inclusivity and accessibility. The SMALL PROMPTS adaptations increase the accessibility, applicability, and utility of MBIs for populations living with NI, enhancing effective management of physical and psychological wellbeing, and optimizing MBI delivery. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-Care Skills to Prevent Burnout: A Pilot Study Embedding Mindfulness in an Undergraduate Nursing Course.

Background Burnout negatively affects nurses and increases nursing turnover. Many student nurses experience burnout throughout their academic program, negatively affecting student success and patient care. Objectives To explore effects of mindfulness education / self-care skills training in undergraduate nursing students on stress and self-care. Design A four-week pilot with four-week follow-up. Setting In-person mindfulness sessions were offered to first-year nursing students. Participants 67 students enrolled in a nursing skills course. Methods Four in-person mindfulness educational sessions were provided with a 4-week follow-up. Outcomes were stress and self-care, measured by the Perceived Stress Scale and Mindful Self-Care Scale at pre-, post-, and follow-up. Results 58 (86.6%) completed pilot; mean age = 22.8 (5.75), majority females (84%) and Caucasian (79%). Students practicing one or more mindfulness techniques at least 8 times outside class increased self-care 9.5% pre- to post-intervention (p = .01), although not sustained at follow-up. Stress did not change significantly in either direction (p = .94), potentially mediating the stress of starting clinical immediately following the intervention. Conclusions Mindfulness education increased self-care in first-year nursing students who practiced mindfulness outside class. Recommendations include further research and integration of mindfulness into courses to assess benefits and coping skills for future nurses.

Teaching mindfulness to ELL students as a social-emotional learning wartime coping strategy: a multimodality perspective

This article focuses on exploring the pressing issue of teaching armed conflict affected English language learning (ELL) Ukrainian students to be mindful to better cope with wartime stressors for the sake of their psychological, physical health, intellectual and emotional well-being, enhanced resilience and ethical sustainability. Within the methodological framework of social emotional learning and linguocognitive paradigms, the authors have substantiated the status of the time-tested practice of mindfulness as a coping tool kit to be integrated in teaching English to students in conflict settings. As a result of the study conducted, it has been concluded that consistent practices of teaching mindfulness to students who suffer from war (post)-traumatic stress disorders, depression, anxiety, lack of hope, fear, have promising linguodidactic and psychological implications that result in students’ language performance improvements. On the basis of analytically summarizing methods to implement (non-)verbally represented mindfulness as a coping mechanism in the corresponding EFL environment, the authors have come up with a four-dimensional mindfulness developing model of multimodal coping strategies for war affected ELL students. The matrix model suggested includes problem-focused, emotion-focused, avoidance and faith-based linguodidactic activities with an emphasis on the multimodal nature of mindfulness. The most efficient exercises are presented in the paper. It has been pointed out that mindfulness can be taught through listening, speaking, writing, reading practices, as well as through stimulating verbally and non-verbally actualized visual, auditory, olfactory, haptic, and gustatory types of perception, The pilot research project carried out, whose outcomes are to be perspectively refined, interculturally enriched and amalgamated into a coursebook, has proved that helping ELL students with wartime experience to be more mindful through adaptive coping strategies can mediate and moderate the negative impact of armed conflict trauma on their mental health and well-being.

Examining the Acceptability and Feasibility of the Compassionate Mindful Resilience (CMR) Programme in Adult Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: The COSMIC Study Protocol.

Kidney disease is often progressive, and patients experience diminished health-related quality of life. In addition, the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and its associated restrictions, has brought many additional burdens. It is therefore essential that effective and affordable systems are explored to improve the psychological health of this group that can be delivered safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to support a new service development project in partnership with the UK’s leading patient support charity Kidney Care UK by implementing the four-session Compassionate Mindful Resilience (CMR) programme, developed by MindfulnessUK, and explore its effectiveness for patients with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease or have received a kidney transplant. The study will utilise a quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest design to measure the effect of the CMR programme on anxiety, depression, self-compassion, the ability to be mindful, wellbeing, and resilience, using pre- and posttests, alongside a qualitative exploration to explore factors influencing the feasibility, acceptability, and suitability of the intervention, with patients (and the Mindfulness Teacher) and their commitment to practice. Outcomes from this study will include an evidence-based mindfulness and compassion programme for use with people with kidney disease, which is likely to have applicability across other chronic diseases.

Effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training compared with normal school provision on teacher mental health and school climate: results of the MYRIAD cluster randomised controlled trial

BackgroundEducation is broader than academic teaching. It includes teaching students social–emotional skills both directly and indirectly through a positive school climate.ObjectiveTo evaluate if a universal school-based mindfulness training (SBMT) enhances...

How Does Mindfulness Affect Registered Nurses Practicing in Acute Care Settings? A Study of the Lived Experiences of Nurses After Participating in a Mindfulness Program.

Psychological well-being of nurses is necessary to protect the overall care of themselves, as well as their patients. This is especially concerning given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several research studies on mindfulness for RNs and its impact on psychological health and well-being. There is limited research on how nurses may use mindfulness during patient care. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of mindfulness education and practice on helping RNs to develop self-care skills and to apply mindfulness in the clinical setting. This was an exploratory mixed method design including quantitative (pilot study) and qualitative methods. Upon completion of a 4-week course on mindfulness practices, focus groups were held with the seven participants who completed the program. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were held 1 week and then 3 months post-intervention. A constant comparative method and thematic analysis were utilized to analyze the data. Four themes were identified; (1) using mindfulness to calm down one's emotional response in the clinical setting; (2) awareness; (3) loving yourself; and (4) self-care. Nurses reported increased awareness and were able to use the technique of mindfulness practice during patient care. The findings of this study validate the benefits of mindfulness for self-care. Nurses were able to utilize mindfulness while caring for patients in different settings and during difficult patient situations, including in Behavioral Health. Further research is needed longitudinally, to explore how mindfulness can be practiced and utilized to improve outcomes in patient care.

Paradoxes of mindfulness: The specious promises of a contemporary practice

The growing popularity of Western secular mindfulness programs in recent decades has frequently been criticized by sociologists. Mindfulness in this line of argument is viewed as the quintessential neoliberal and capitalist technology of the self. However, this – quite justified – functionalist critique does not account for how mindfulness is increasingly being used to escape growth driven-based optimization pressure. We therefore show, on the basis of our extensive empirical field research, how mindfulness is negotiated as a response to contemporary crises and social change, how this phenomenon can be understood as a symptomatic, contemporary cultural phenomenon. From our ethnographic data from 121 hours of participant observation in mindfulness courses in Germany and six interviews with mindfulness teachers, as well as analysis of relevant literature, we reconstruct four paradoxes of mindfulness. With reference to this, we show to what extent mindfulness is a program of specious promises. For in the final analysis, the broad accessibility and popularity of the program are based on the fact that its application is just as paradoxical as the social problems to which it promises to be a solution.

Mindfulness and Goal Setting Proficiency Relationship: A Case of Prospective Teachers

This study examined the relationship between prospective teachers' mindfulness and their goal-setting proficiency. A correlation research method was used. Through a multi-stage random sampling process, a sample of 500 prospective teachers who were pursuing a BS in Education was chosen for data collection. 372 prospective teachers returned their questionnaires. Cronbach's Alpha value measured the reliability, and expert opinion was used to establish the validity of two instruments that were developed by the researcher. After collecting the data, analysis was applied that indicated a positive,moderate, and significant relationship between mindfulness and prospective teachers' goal-setting proficiency, which means prospective teachers, who believed they were mindful, showed an inclination towards having goal-setting proficiency as well. Qualitative, as well as quantitative research must be conducted to increase knowledge and fill the gaps in the literature about the potential of mindfulness and goal-setting proficiency of prospective teachers.

Neoliberal Hegemonic Masculinity and McMindfulness: The Need for Buddhist Values and Principles in Mindful Masculinity Programs

This paper explores how certain Buddhist-inspired principles such as impermanence of self and compassion for all (metta) and the practice of mindfulness can contribute to challenging ways in which young men adopt troublesome aspects of systemic patriarchy. It (1) briefly examines the problem of systemic patriarchy in its most dominant forms, neoliberal hegemonic masculinity and right-wing racist authoritarian masculinity; (2) critically discusses examples of mindfulness education and counseling programs for young men that have been severed from their Buddhist origins (McMindfulness) that attempt to challenge young men around patriarchal beliefs and thoughts but end up reproducing neoliberal hegemonic masculinity; (3) briefly considers the problem of McMindfulness and its relation to Buddhism and neoliberal hegemonic and mindful masculinity; and (4) offers Buddhist perspectives as part of a counter-view that may serve within programs as an alternative to current forms of patriarchy while including and renewing the aforementioned Buddhist principles.

Understanding the History, Theoretical Perspectives, and Influence of Mindfulness: Building Sustainability Through Mindfulness in Education

This study presents an understanding of the influence of mindfulness in the educational field at student, teacher, and principal levels. The review includes a definition of mindfulness, value of mindfulness, and a new perspective of education based on physical and mental health. The prevailing COVID-19 pandemic subjects school academics to unexpected situations. I present in this paper the history, practice, and influence of mindfulness in both Eastern and Western traditions as a proven stress reliever. I also evaluate its impact on the training that students, teachers, and principals undergo, and are thus likely to provide, throughout their schools.

Web Pages on Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Review on the Different Training of Third-Wave Psychotherapies Available in the United Kingdom

AimsWith extensive evidence and track record on efficiency, third-wave psychotherapies, i.e. mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), have gained popularity in the United Kingdom (UK) as the mainstream tool for mental health and well-being. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of MBI training has shifted from physical meetings to online to improve access nationally. To date, there is limited data on the differences of online MBIs available in the UK. This web pages review is aimed to elucidate the available resources for online training on MBIs in the UK.MethodsGoogle Search engine was used to identify web pages providing MBI training in the UK from February 2021 to March 2021. The search words used were “mindfulness”, “acceptance commitment therapy”, “dialectical behaviour therapy”, “DBT”, “Compassion focused therapy”, “CFT”, “England”, “Northern Ireland”, “Scotland”, “Wales”, and “United Kingdom”. The search word “ACT” was omitted due to a high number of irrelevant search results. Inclusion criteria were any web page providing mindfulness training in the English language, based in the UK. Exclusion criteria were web pages that were not from the UK with limited information and the web page was not about the provision of mindfulness training. Given the high number of web pages appearing in the Google Search for each of the localities, further search was stopped when all ten web pages that appeared on a Google search page were all excluded.ResultsThe total number of web pages returned from searches was 23,030,000 of which were 13.1 million for England, 2.89 million for Scotland, 3.09 million for Wales, 2.18 million for Northern Ireland, and 1,770,000 were unspecified. Only 165 web pages offering MBI training were included. Among those, 57% were for the general public while 30% had information for both professionals and the public. The majority of them, i.e. 65% offered online training courses when only 25% of them offered both online and face-to-face training. There were 25% of web pages offering free basic courses for the public. There was a similar split between the group, individual and mixed training.ConclusionThere is a significant amount of MBI training resources available online for both public and professionals. One interesting finding is that a significant portion of them provide free basic training which is very encouraging and certainly has a positive impact on the accessibility of mindfulness education during the pandemic disruption.

Applying Mindfulness Techniques to the Management of Depressive Tendencies in Women in Taiwan in the Perinatal Period: A Qualitative Study

Perinatal distress, especially depression, commonly occurs during pregnancy and the first year postpartum, but this medical condition are often undiagnosed and untreated. The present study explored how women with depressive symptoms during the perinatal period who had participated in a mindfulness course applied the training and perceived its effects. This descriptive qualitative study included 16 women with probable perinatal depression who had participated in an 8-week mindfulness-based childbirth and parenting program during their pregnancy and agreed to be interviewed. One-to-one in-depth interviews were conducted and recorded following the completion of the mindfulness course, approximately 1month after childbirth. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. We proposed three themes and six subthemes relating to first-time mothers' experiences during and after the group mindfulness-based intervention: learning to be aware of the body and mind (confronting awareness of physical change, managing negative feelings differently), building positive family relationships (strengthening the mother-baby bond, developing a satisfactory marital partnership), and overcoming ongoing challenges (conquering childbirth pain with confidence, accepting unexpected situations). Three main themes were generated to demonstrate how women experience the effects of mindfulness training. Mindfulness-based interventions helped the participants develop insight into their mood and physical changes and accept their childbirth process. Therefore, mindfulness education programs can be incorporated into prenatal care to enhance the management of the depressive symptoms of perinatal women.

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Education on Emotional Cognitive Regulation, Eating Style and Body Mass Index in Obese Adolescent Students Female

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Education on Emotional Cognitive Regulation, Eating Style and Body Mass Index in Obese Adolescent Students Female

555 The Art of Caring

IntroductionProviding Burn Care is a physically and emotionally demanding job. AND, it is a rewarding and inspiring profession. 2020 and 2021 saw unprecedented rates of burn out and turn over in staff. Our concern for the well being of staff as well as our need to increase retention motivated our desire to provide staff with tools to build resiliency and coping strategies. Traditionally, this education comes in the form of teaching mindfulness, breathing exercises or self care outside of the burn center. We recognized that while these approaches are important and effective, they are not the right fit for everyone. The current times require us to use a multipronged approach to the tools we offer our burn teams.Our regional burn center partnered with a community based arts education nonprofit to re-think how we provide staff with tools for adaptability. A curriculum was formulated that provided therapeutic art to nursing staff via four weekly zoom meetings. This resulted in a novel approach to resiliency building and self care.MethodsThe program was opened to all burn center staff members. Staff registered in advance for the four week program; the arts organization mailed each participant a box containing all the supplies they would for need. Each week, a different art modality/artist was paired with therapeutic discussions grounded in a trauma informed approach. Discussions focused on emotional and physical safety, building a community of support, finding balance between work and home and identifying coping skills to use to help ground ourselves during times of stress.ResultsSeven burn center staff members signed up for this program. Weekly attendance averaged 6-7. A program evaluation was completed by participants at the end of the final session. Questions were divided into three sections: program logistics, community building and the artistic process. Results indicated that this was an extremely valuable experience for participants. In addition, staff made comments such as "allowing myself to be vulnerable in the process has built trust and connection between myself and the other participants", "I don't remember the last time I did something like this just for myself", "I feel like I can add art to my list of coping strategies, despite never thinking of myself as an artist".ConclusionsOffering burn center staff with an alternative program to help build resiliency resulted in an increased sense of trust between staff members, provided one more outlet for self care and allowed participants to build resiliency in a new way.

Using Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Support Self-regulation in Young Children: A Review of the Literature.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a rise in stress, mental health concerns, and externalizing behaviors in children and their caregivers across the globe and illuminated the need to reduce stress levels and support self-regulation skills in even the youngest of children. The goal of this literature review is to describe what research has shown about the use of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to support young children’s self-regulation in early childhood settings. A total of 18 research studies conducted between 2010 and 2021 were identified. The main purposes of the studies reviewed were to examine the effects of MBIs on the development of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive self-regulation. Results showed that teachers generally found mindfulness practices feasible, acceptable, and effective in their classrooms. Although MBIs were found to have mixed effects on self-regulation in young children, positive effects on self-regulation were significantly greater for children in need of additional support, including those with difficulties or delays in developing self-regulation skills. The current review found a wide variety of MBIs used in early childhood settings globally. The results of this review suggest that teaching mindfulness practices to young children and their caregivers can both support the development of self-regulation of young children and foster socially and emotionally healthy environments in which this development can occur.

Building a More Diverse and Inclusive Science: Mindfulness-Based Approaches for Latinx Individuals.

ObjectivesThis article represents a call to action for the mindfulness field to be more diverse and inclusive of Latinx individuals. Building a diverse and inclusive science around mindfulness-based approaches (MBAs) that considers important group-level cultural and contextual information is an important public health challenge in need of innovative solutions.MethodsWe describe ways that the Latinx population is poised to benefit from MBAs. We further elucidate challenges, describe potential solutions, and outline a research agenda that may hold promise for building a more inclusive mindfulness movement.ResultsOur recommendations center around developing nuanced cultural adaptations to MBAs, engaging Latinx individuals in research, increasing the rigor of scientific studies pertaining to Latinx individuals, relying on implementation science to develop innovative methods for disseminating MBAs to Latinx individuals, developing training and certification mechanisms to increase diversity and representation of Latinx mindfulness teachers, and creating mechanisms for the oversight of MBAs within this group.ConclusionsThere has been a lack of inclusivity of Latinx individuals in the field of MBAs with regards to research studies, barriers to access for economically disadvantaged groups, and lack of diversity in its workforce. Considering the recognition of adverse social drivers of health that generate chronic stress and health disparities, the Latinx population is especially poised to benefit greatly from MBAs. A diverse and inclusive mindfulness science holds promise to enhance the effectiveness, acceptability, feasibility, and wide-scale dissemination and implementation of MBAs.

What do Teachers do to Show They Care? Learning From the Voices of Early Adolescents

This mixed methods study examined how middle school students (ages 11–13) in middle-class neighborhoods in Western Canada characterized a caring teacher. Specifically, qualitative content analysis was conducted on 199 sixth and seventh grade students’ written responses to the question “What are three things that teachers do to show they care?” Guided by recent work in the area of mindfulness in teaching, we identified 19 themes: one was categorized as General Teaching (e.g., “They teach”), and 18 that were grouped into one of three thematic categories associated with mindful teaching: Calm (e.g., calm/not reactive), Clear (e.g., democratic communication), and Kind (e.g., empathy). In their descriptions of caring teachers, almost all students (97.5%) used Kind themes, while many used Clear themes (41%); with fewer students using Calm (13.6%) or General Teaching (10.6%) themes. Chi square analyses revealed that girls were more likely to mention Clear themes compared to boys, while boys were more likely to use the specific themes of nurturance and helpfulness. Additional demographic differences were also explored. This research adds to the growing body of studies aimed at elucidating the role of mindful teaching in caring student-teacher relationships, particularly from the perspectives of early adolescents.

Integrating Mindfulness Practice in Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotic Psychotherapy

After the emergence of Mindfulness in the Western world, many studies proved its mental and physical benefits. However, implementing Mindfulness in psychotherapy has several challenges: therapists are not formal Mindfulness instructors; the Mindfulness course is a continuous eight-week course, which many patients do not attend during therapy, while others attend and drop out. Thus, Hypnosis was applied to shorten and strengthen the desired changes. The article describes the logic behind this integration, demonstrates it using a case study, and details the ideas, philosophy, and hypnotic scripts in the appendix.