Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) improved trust and sense of calling while reducing communication anxiety and defensive medicine practice among doctors. In a randomized trial with 94 doctors from a Chinese hospital, those who completed an 8-week LKM program showed significantly higher trust and calling, and significantly lower communication anxiety and defensive medicine practice, compared to a waitlist control group. The control group showed no changes. The findings suggest LKM may help reduce defensive medicine practice by fostering positive psychological states.
An 8-week mindfulness group therapy program for 16 people in Japan who suffered from depression and/or anxiety led to significant decreases in depression and anxiety from before the program to after it and at a 2-month follow-up, with moderate to large effect sizes. Some facets of mindfulness and self-compassion improved, and these improvements, along with reductions in behavioral inhibition, correlated with lower depression and anxiety. Other factors like mind wandering and behavioral activation did not change significantly. The findings suggest the program may be effective for this population, with mindfulness and self-compassion as possible mediators.