Evolving Conceptions of Mindfulness in Clinical Settings
A number of issues important to the clinical utility of mindfulness require systematic study. These include the most parsimonious definition of mindfulness for clinical purposes, how mindfulness is best described to be most approachable to patients, and the extent to which mindfulness
shares common mechanisms with other mind–body programs. The discussion includes a brief review of the transition of mindfulness from traditional into clinical settings as well as the components commonly contained within clinical descriptions of mindfulness. A model based on facility
in the use of attention is proposed, and a description of mechanisms by which attentional skill may lead to the recognition of internal associational processes and account for psychological outcomes is given. Using constructs already familiar to patients, an attention-based conception may
also be more accessible to patients than more elaborate descriptions and have greater utility in identifying commonalities that mindfulness training may have with other mind–body programs.
Keywords: ATTENTION; MECHANISMS; MEDITATION; MINDFULNESS; MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 August 2009
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