Acceptance

PROBLEM: Parents of children with special needs encounter specific challenges in carrying out their caregiving roles. They experience difficulty accepting their children due to unrealistically high expectations. Mindfulness training (MT) may increase parental psychological well-being and acceptance. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to examine the evidence-base for the effectiveness of MT in enhancing psychological well-being for parents of children with special needs as a foundation for guidance for nurses in mental health practice.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Psychosis and the more specific diagnosis of schizophrenia constitute a major psychiatric disorder which impacts heavily on the self-esteem, functioning and quality of life of those affected. A number of mindfulness therapies have been developed in recent years, showing promising results when used with people with the disorder. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This review of the literature included only randomized controlled trials (RCTs), rather than other typically less robust methods of research (e.g. case studies, noncontrolled studies).

A growing body of research suggests that mindfulness- and acceptance-based principles can increase efforts aimed at reducing human suffering and increasing quality of life. A critical step in the development and evaluation of these new approaches to treatment is to determine the acceptability and efficacy of these treatments for clients from nondominant cultural and/or marginalized backgrounds.

BACKGROUND: Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions are increasingly studied as a potential treatment for a variety of mental conditions. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions on psychotic symptoms and hospitalization in patients with psychosis. METHODS: MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO were screened from inception through April 2015.

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are increasingly being delivered through the Internet. Whereas numerous meta-analyses have investigated the effectiveness of face-to-face MBIs in the context of mental health and well-being, thus far a quantitative synthesis of the effectiveness of online MBIs is lacking. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the overall effects of online MBIs on mental health. Fifteen randomised controlled trials were included in this study.

CONTEXT: The cultivation of mindfulness and acceptance has been theoretically and empirically associated with psychological ancillary well-being and has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of various disorders. Hence, mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments (MABTs) have recently been explored for the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD). This review aims to evaluate the benefits of MABTs for SAD. METHODS: Systematic review of studies investigating an MABT for individuals with SAD, using PsycInfo, Medline, PubMed, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

There is growing evidence that mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions have positive consequences for psychological and physical health. The most well-established of these interventions typically involve relatively large resource commitments, in terms of both the provider and participant. A number of recent studies have begun to explore whether the benefits of such interventions can be generalised to less intensive methods. Methods include pure and guided self-help utilising resources such as books and workbooks, computer programmes and applications and audio-visual materials.

The number of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), increased in recent years. Therefore an update is warranted of our former systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that reported effects on the mental and physical health of chronic pain patients. Pubmed, EMBASE, PsycInfo and Cochrane were searched for eligible studies. Current meta-analysis only included randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of mindfulness interventions are being used with individuals with psychosis or schizophrenia, but no known meta-analysis has investigated their effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of mindfulness interventions for psychosis or schizophrenia, we conducted an effect-size analysis of initial studies. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review of studies published in journals or in dissertations in PubMED, PsycINFO or MedLine from the first available date until July 25, 2013. REVIEW METHODS: A total of 13 studies (n=468) were included.

This article introduces the issue of Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session entitled "Beyond Meditation: Mindfulness-Related Clinical Practices." In the article, I describe how the "sisters of mindfulness"-forgiveness, gratitude, loving-kindness, compassion, acceptance, and best-self visualization-are each interconnected and important forms of mindfulness as well as tenets of Buddhist psychology. Each of these practices reflect mental strengths that are being integrated into the brain's neuroplastic development as a function of modern day psychotherapy.