Mindfulness and Stress Reduction
Esha Sachdeva University of Calgary.
Theoretical Influences
v Once mindfulness was introduced into clinical settings and began to be evaluated scientifically, there
were challenges. For example, there were contradictions in what types of questions are allowed to be
asked when interviewing research participants and the rules on how to set up a trial to test the claims
of the effectiveness of mindfulness (Baer, 2011).
v Within only a few decades, potential benefits of mindfulness training have become available globally to
many that have been suffering from severe conditions, such as depression, chronic pain, and
borderline personality disorder (Baer, 2011).
v Mediation is being taught to help people obtain release (Bodhi, 2011).
v Originally the release was to get out the cycle of birth and death (to escape the cycle of reincarnation)
and now it has transformed to release from everyday stresses (personal and professional struggles)
(Bodhi, 2011).
v Mindfulness originates from northeast India and has travelled throughout the world (Bodhi, 2011).
v Mindfulness is considered awareness itself, an entirely different and one might say, larger capacity
than thought, since any and all thought and emotion can be held in awareness (Williams & Kabat-Zinn,
2011).
Interventions or Treatments
v Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
This is the most scientifically credited mindfulness practice. It is a total of 8 weeks and
2.5 hours per week (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). There is weekly homework. The program
focuses on how to attend to body sensations through stretching, yoga mindfulness
practice and discussions to cope with stress (Kabat-Zinn, 2003).
v Mindfulness Retreats
A more brief experience to refresh the mind. A study done on a 2-week mindfulness
training program showed how focused breathing could elicit more focus. Participants
of the study showed better focus and performed better on reading comprehension
tests (Mrazek, Franklin, Phillips, Baird & Schooler, 2013).
v Internet and Smartphone Application Mindfulness Interventions.
Mindfulness intervention phone applications are advantageous as they are easily
accessible and financially feasible (Creswell, 2017).
Contraindications
v In borderline personality disorder, the mind wanders frequently, making
mindfulness a sometimes frustrating and difficult task (Scheibner, Spengler,
Kanske, Roepke, & Bermpohl, 2016).
v Mindfulness can have potentially adverse affects for those with schizophrenia
or bioploar disorder (Lustyk, Chawla, Nolan, & Marlatt, 2009).
v According to Dobkin, Irving, and Amar (2012) most individuals had a
beneficial experience with mindfulness, but for very few it added increased
stress.
v For a small minority, silent meditation in the MBSR program created
exhaustion and feelings of disorientation (Dobkin et al., 2012).
`
Interest and Importance of
Topic
v This topic is a source of interest to me as I grew up in a family who devoutly
follows traditional practices of mindfulness in the Hindu religion.
v Growing up I didn’t take it seriously because of the way it was forced on me.
Now in order to cope with stress and anxiety, I have been trying a range of
mindfulness strategies and found it effective. For my family mindfulness is
about reincarnation (traditional view) and for me it is to release from everyday
stresses (Bodhi, 2011).
v Mindfulness is considered awareness itself, an entirely different and one
might say, larger capacity than thought, since any and all thought and
emotion can be held in awareness (Williams & Kabat-Zinn, 2011).
v Increases in mindfulness were shown to completely mediate the relationships
between meditation practice over the course of the intervention and
improvement in psychological symptoms and perceived stress (Carmody &
Baer, 2008).
v Home practice of formal meditation exercises (body scan, yoga, sitting) is
significantly correlated with degree of change (Carmody & Baer, 2008).
v Mindfulness based stress-reduction (MBSR) may be beneficial for a wide
variety of youth issues including personal relationships, emotional
development, academic achievement, and physical health (Sibinga et al.,
2011).
Cultural Influences
v In a study done by Ivers (2016), it was found that components of
mindfulness and completing a course on multicultural competency was
associated with self-perceived multicultural awareness.
v For me, taking the course on multicultural competency in this program helped me
begin to view culture as a trait that cannot be separated from an individual. This is a
prospective that will influence all interactions with a client (Gutierrez & Rogoff, 2003).
v Multicultural Counselling Competency is also enhanced solely by
mindfulness practice because it assists with mindful observing, describing
and responding (Campbell, Vance & Dong, 2018).
v The acceptability of mindfulness can be effective with clients facing
adversity and discrimination. Mindfulness does not have to be abandoned
because the client has a lack of consistency in his/her life and finds it
challenging to apply (Sobczak, & West, 2013).
v The greatest benefit of mindfulness for client minority groups who face
disadvantages, is to increase awareness on feelings of powerlessness
(Sobczak, & West, 2013).
v I have found dwelling on issues that are out of my control creates
negative thought patterns which in turn creases a sense of
powerlessness. Mindfulness has helped me focus on my breath and put
things into prospective to allow for a fuller sense of self.
v MBSR was successful with African American females diagnosed with PTSD.
It assisted them in being more accepting of themselves and nonreactive
(Dutton, Bermudez, Matás, Majid, & Myers, 2013).
v When I worked at a women’s shelter, many of the women experiencing
PTSD found mindfulness practice helpful.
v I noticed it assisted them in becoming more empowered rather than
reacting in the heat of the moment which increased their emotional
vulnerability.
Online Resources
v Phone applications are popular and one example of this trend is the
headspace mindfulness smartphone app (Creswell, 2017). I have tried this
application and found it convenient and rewarding.
v Mindshift is a free phone application recommended for children undergoing
stress and anxiety (Weekly, Walker, Beck, Akers, & Weaver, 2018).
v I have had a positive experience using mindshift with students who are
having breakdowns in the classroom.
v Online training for health professionals is associated with immediate
improvements in mindfulness (Kemper, 2017). For instance, the program
offered through “http://mind-bodyhealth.osu.edu” is affordable and brief
(Kemper, 2017).
 References
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Bodhi, B. (2011). What does mindfulness really mean? A canonical perspective.Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 19-39.
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Burton, A., Burgess, C., Dean, S., Koutsopoulou, G. Z., & Hugh-Jones, S. (2016). How effective are mindfulness-based
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Campbell, A., Vance, S. R., & Dong, S. (2018). Examining the relationship between mindfulness and multicultural
counseling competencies in counselor trainees. Mindfulness, 9(1), 79-87. 10.1007/s12671-017-0746-6

Carmody, J., & Baer, R. A. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and
psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Behavioral
Medicine, 31(1), 23-33. 10.1007/s10865-007-9130-7
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Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mindfulness interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 68(1), 491-516. 10.1146/annurev-psych-
042716-051139

Dobkin, P. L., Irving, J. A., & Amar, S. (2012). For whom may participation in a mindfulness-based stress reduction
program be contraindicated? Mindfulness, 3(1), 44-50. 10.1007/s12671-011-0079-9

Dutton, M. A., Bermudez, D., Matás, A., Majid, H., & Myers, N. L. (2013). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for low-
income, predominantly african american women with PTSD and a history of intimate partner violence. Cognitive and
Behavioral Practice, 20(1), 23. 10.1016/j.cbpra.2011.08.003

Gutierrez, K. D., & Rogoff, B. (2003). Cultural ways of learning: Individual traits or repertoires of practice. Educational
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Ivers, N. N., Johnson, D. A., Clarke, P. B., Newsome, D. W., & Berry, R. A. (2016). The relationship between mindfulness
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Kemper, K. J. (2017). Brief online mindfulness training: Immediate impact. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary &
Alternative Medicine, 22(1), 75-80. 10.1177/2156587216639199

Lustyk, M. K., Chawla, N., Nolan, R. S., & Marlatt, G. A. (2009). Mindfulness meditation research: Issues of
participant screening, safety procedures, and researcher training. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 24, 20–30.

Mrazek, M. D., Franklin, M. S., Phillips, D. T., Baird, B., & Schooler, J. W. (2013). Mindfulness training improves
working memory capacity and GRE performance while reducing mind wandering. Psychological Science, 24(5), 776-781.
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 References
Scheibner, H. J., Spengler, S., Kanske, P., Roepke, S., & Bermpohl, F. (2016). Behavioral assessment of mindfulness
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Sibinga, E. M. S., Kerrigan, D., Stewart, M., Johnson, K., Magyari, T., & Ellen, J. M. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress
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Weekly, T., Walker, N., Beck, J., Akers, S., & Weaver, M. (2018). A review of apps for calming, relaxation, and mindfulness
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