Pain Practice
October 9, 2026
David Cardona Müller, Eric L Garland, Robert Randolph Edwards et al.
BACKGROUND: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is common and often refractory to existing treatments, necessitating long-term opioid therapy, which has substantial risks. Mindfulness-based (MBT) and cognitive behavioral (CBT) therapies are safe and can be effective for CLBP. AIMS: To better understand how MBT and CBT may help improve opioid-treated CLBP: METHODS: This qualitative study involved a...
JAMA Network Open
April 1, 2025
Aleksandra Zgierska, Robert R Edwards, Bruce P. Barrett et al.
Key Points Question What is the comparative effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) and standard-of-care cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) among adults with opioid-treated chronic low back pain (CLBP)? Findings In this randomized clinical trial of 770 adults with opioid-treated CLBP, although there were no differences between groups, both the MBT and CBT groups experienced improved...
Journal of Health Psychology
April 28, 2024
David Horton, David K. Woods, Eric L Garland et al.
This article reports qualitative outcomes from a randomized controlled trial comparing eight weeks of cognitive-behavioral group therapy for chronic pain (CBT-CP) and mindfulness-based group therapy (MBT) in individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Approximately 10 months post-treatment, 108 participants completed structured qualitative interviews to express how the study treatment...
Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health
2024
Bruce P. Barrett, Sarah Walters, Mary M. Checovich et al.
Rising greenhouse gas levels heat the earth's surface and alter climate patterns, posing unprecedented threats to planetary ecology and human health. At the same time, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease have reached epidemic proportions across the globe, caused in part by decreases in physical activity and by over-consumption of carbon-intensive foods. Thus, interventions that...
Nature Mental Health
July 10, 2023
Julieta Galante, Claire Friedrich, Napaporn Aeamla-Or et al.
102 citations
Mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) are widely used to prevent mental ill-health that is becoming the leading global cause of morbidity. Evidence suggests beneficial average effects but wide variability. We aimed to confirm the effect of MBPs on psychological distress, and to understand whether and how baseline distress, gender, age, education, and dispositional mindfulness modify the effect of...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
June 1, 2023
Anna Parisi, Aleksandra Zgierska, Cindy A. Burzinski et al.
Individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) are commonly prescribed long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for analgesia, placing this population at increased risk for opioid misuse and opioid use disorder. Acceptance of aversive experiences (e.g., chronic pain) and awareness of automatic thoughts and behaviors (i.e., automaticity) are two facets of dispositional mindfulness that may serve as...
Journal of Health Psychology
October 2020
Ellen Goldstein, James Topitzes, Roger L Brown et al.
This study investigated the effects of mindfulness and exercise training on indicators of mental health and stress by examining shared mediators of program effects. Community-recruited adults (N = 413) were randomized into one of three conditions: (a) mindfulness-based stress reduction, (b) moderate intensity exercise, or (c) wait-list control. Composite indicator structural equation models...
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
September 2018
Jacob D Meyer, Elisa Torres, Maggie L Grabow et al.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and aerobic exercise training (AET) programs improve health and well-being. Exercise participation has been related to mindfulness and may be altered by MBSR training. This study aimed to compare 8 wk of MBSR, AET, and no-treatment control during the fall season on objectively measured physical activity in healthy adults. Participants (n = 66) wore an...
PLoS One
2018
Bruce P. Barrett, Mary S Hayney, Daniel Müller et al.
Practice of meditation or exercise may enhance health to protect against acute infectious illness. To assess preventive effects of meditation and exercise on acute respiratory infection (ARI) illness. Randomized controlled prevention trial with three parallel groups. Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Community-recruited adults who did not regularly exercise or meditate. 1) 8-week behavioral training in...
Sustainability
October 17, 2016
Bruce P. Barrett, Maggie L Grabow, Cathy Middlecamp et al.
Greenhouse gases from human activities are causing climate change, creating risks for people around the globe. Behaviors involving transportation, diet, energy use, and purchasing drive greenhouse gas emissions, but are also related to health and well-being, providing opportunity for co-benefits. Replacing shorter automobile trips with walking or cycling, or eating plants rather than animals,...