Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
The MBSR program was introduced by Kabat-Zinn and assisted by Saki Santorelli and colleagues in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (Bodhi, 2013; Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Kabat-Zinn set up the Stress Reduction Clinic, which came to establish MBSR as a component of integrative medicine (Segal et al., 2013). Integrative medicine is described as allowing one to recognize a unity between body and mind which permits one to be an active participant in the care of one’s personal health (Segal et al., 2013).
Since this time, it has been used for treatment of pain and stress in innumerable centers of medicine, clinics, and hospitals worldwide (Bodhi, 2013). MBSR is specifically described as being a structured 8-week program that uses mindfulness meditation to alleviate an individual’s mental or physical suffering affiliated with physical or psychiatric disorders (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). The overall goal affiliated with MBSR is to provide a greater awareness in relation to the present moment in order to provide a clearer perspective and to reduce negative mood as well as to increase energy (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011).
MBSR also entails usage of sitting, walking meditations, yoga, and guided attentional processes on bodily awareness (Gause & Coholic, 2010). Kang and Whittingham (2010) further elaborated that MBSR entails mindfulness of the breath, body scans, and hatha yoga. Mindfulness is encouraged to be practiced on a daily basis within MBSR programs (Kang & Whittingham, 2010). In MBSR there is also said to be a focus on an acceptance of a nonjudgmental nature in relation to the body, devoid of comparison to others (Gause & Coholic, 2010). Similar to MBCT, the goal of the MBSR program is to increase awareness for individuals to their present, moment-to-moment experience (Segal et al., 2013).
Although MBSR’s initial treatment goals were to assist individuals to cope with stress, it has expanded beyond this in clinical settings so as to assist patients dealing with conditions such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and depression (Bodhi, 2013). MBSR also places an emphasis on learning general skills relating to attentional control (Segal et al., 2013). This means that similar to MBCT structure, negative symptomatology does not need to be present at the time of the classes for learning to occur (Segal et al., 2013). Within these classes, individuals are also encouraged to permit sensations, feelings, and emotions to come and go (Segal et al., 2013).
The MBSR program consists of 8 weekly 2.5 hour sessions with patients (Segal et al., 2013). Similar to MBCT, patients are encouraged to view their breath as being an “anchor” for awareness within the MBSR practice (Segal et al., 2013). More particularly, when individuals notice that attention has drifted to other components such as thoughts or worries, then they are encouraged to bring their attentional focus back to the breath (Segal et al., 2013). Individuals in these classes are also taught how to recognize early warning signs of depression as their mood commences to deteriorate (Segal et al., 2013).
