Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Psychiatry.

Mindfulness meditation, a practice with deep roots in eastern traditions, has gained widespread public and scientific interest. Mindfulness is a natural state of present-moment awareness, and interventions have been developed to train this skill. This review discusses the concept of mindfulness and its use in treating psychiatric disorders. It identifies which patients benefit from mindfulness-based interventions and summarizes how they work, including cognitive, psychological, and neural mechanisms that drive clinical improvements. The review offers a foundation for incorporating these interventions into clinical practice.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation has a longstanding 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. The current article will discuss the concept of mindfulness and describe its implementation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. We further identify for whom MBIs have been shown to be efficacious and provide an up-to-date summary of how these interventions work. This includes 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.