Although suicide ranks 10th as a cause of death in the United States, and 1st among active military personnel, there are surprisingly few evidence-based therapies addressing suicidality, and development of new treatments is limited. This paper describes a clinical trial testing a novel therapy for reducing suicide risk in military veterans. The intervention, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy...
Military MedicineSeptember 2016Carol D Crisp, Marie Hastings-Tolsma, Karen R Jonscher
One of the most common reasons women seek gynecologic health care services is for chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and women in the military are no exception. For women diagnosed with CPP, the burden can be difficult as they struggle to perform military obligations. A chronic low-grade systemic disease believed triggered by inflammation, CPP is difficult to diagnose and treat. With limited treatment...
Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) for insomnia and sleep disturbances are receiving increasing clinical and research attention. This paper provides a critical appraisal of this growing area investigating the application of MBIs for people with insomnia and sleep disturbance. First, we discuss the theoretical justification for how mindfulness meditation practice may affect sleep processes....
Despite growing evidence for demonstrated efficacy of mindfulness in various disorders, there is a continuous concern about the relationship between mindfulness practice and psychosis. As schizotypy is part of the psychosis spectrum, we examined the relationship between long-term mindfulness practice and schizotypy in two independent studies. Study 1 included 24 experienced mindfulness...
There is a lack of studies about psychological interventions for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their caregivers. We investigated the experience of a meditation training program tailored for ALS needs. People with ALS (pALS) and their caregivers that joined a meditation program for ALS were interviewed at the end of the program. Verbatims were analyzed with a qualitative...
Mindfulness-based interventions have been increasingly utilized in the management of chronic pain since 1982. This second review of a two-part series evaluates the efficacy, mechanism, and safety of mindfulness meditation for chronic pain, substance use disorder, tobacco use disorder, and insomnia frequently co-occurring after return from deployment. Standard databases were searched until...
Although there is currently insufficient evidence to support meditation as a first-line treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the evidence base for meditation used adjunctively in the management of PTSD and related psychiatric comorbidities is rapidly expanding. The 2010 Veterans Administration/Department of Defense (VA/DoD) clinical practice guideline (CPG) for management of PTSD...
Military MedicineSeptember 1, 2016Marina A Khusid, Meena Vythilingam
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been increasingly utilized in the management of mental health conditions. This first review of a two-part series evaluates the efficacy, mechanism, and safety of mindfulness meditation for mental health conditions frequently seen after return from deployment. Standard databases were searched until August 4, 2015. 52 systematic reviews and randomized...
Mindfulness-oriented therapies have a positive impact on patients' overall well-being and alleviate many psychiatric conditions. However, little is known about their use in people with severe mental illness. We aimed to identify which clinical and sociodemographic factors are associated with suitability/tolerability of a brief group mindfulness-oriented therapy. This retrospective study...
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was introduced in 1995 to address the problem of recurrent depression. MBCT is based on the notion that meditation helps individuals effectively deploy and regulate attention to effectively manage and treat a range of psychological symptoms, including emotional responses to stress, anxiety, and depression. Several studies demonstrate that mindfulness...