Novice Counselor's blog

The article I chose deals with one study done on the effect of mindfulness-based intervention on individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. This population deals with significant and persistent symptoms of anxiety. Although mindfulness has been widely used to help individuals without psychosis, the authors claim that theirs is the first study in adapting mindfulness to help those with schizophrenia manage worry and stress.

The study was done using an 8 -week mindfulness intervention adapted from two existing approaches: MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) and MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy). The subjects were 5 individuals with schizophrenia.

The participants were taught awareness of auto-pilot, self-compassion, and self-acceptance. Other skills taught and practiced were awareness through focus on the senses—touch and sight; coping with
distressing sensations, emotions, and thoughts during meditation; mindful walking, mountain meditation, yoga, body scan, and 1-minute breathing space; awareness and acceptance of thoughts and emotions as fleeting events, not necessarily as accurate reflections of reality.

The skills taught were designed to combat habits of clinging to or pushing away mental events as sources of stress and suffering and the acceptance and breath awareness as coping strategies for
stress and anxiety. In-home practice of self-compassion and acceptance meditations were encouraged with the goal of open awareness and mindfulness of pleasant and unpleasant events.

Finally, mindfulness as a way of life and a way of taking care of oneself was presented.

At the end of the eight weeks the participants were asked to provide feedback on the helpfulness of the intervention in coping with anxiety. Each said the mindfulness class had met or exceeded their expectations, which included learning new ideas, learning better ways of reacting to situations, and receiving help with calming themselves and reducing stress and back pain.

None of the participants reported increased experiences of or distress associated with psychotic
symptoms during meditation. In fact, one participant explained that it was easier for him to redirect himself when experiencing hallucinations during meditation by shifting his focus to the breath or to the meditation itself. Another participant identified as a benefit of the program that he was less stimulated
by hallucinations and images and dwelled less on the past. The primary clinicians of the program
participants reported that they observed no increase in the participants’ psychotic symptoms during the program.

The authors of the article did a good job of presenting the case for mindfulness interventions in severe mental illness like schizophrenia. The authors themselves suggest that further studies need to be done. This learners opinion is that a larger sample size should be used in subsequent studies. Mindfulness based interventions show great promise in helping many clients improve their quality of life.
For an example of mindfulness meditation see http://roujinlim.wordpress.com
For more information on mindfulness exercises see eyeslitcrypt’s twenty mindfulness exercises.
Reference:

Davis, L. W., Strasbuger, A. M., Brown, L. F. (2007). Mindfulness, an Intervention for Anxiety in Schizophrenia. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing, Vol. 45, No. 11