| An 8-week mindfulness meditation program requiring participants to practice 45 minutes per day has been demonstrated to be helpful for chronic pain sufferers. However, many people find 45 minutes too much of a time commitment. The current study involved 71 people seeking treatment for chronic pain, 53 were randomly assigned to a 20 or 45 minute per day mindfulness group, the balance comprised a comparison group. Participants completed depression, anxiety, and grieving measures, and an open-ended questionnaire. At post-test both treatment groups were lower on depression than the comparison group. No differences were found between treatment groups on the quantitative measures. When the treatment groups were combined they were found to have lower depression, state anxiety and have progress further on initial phases of grieving than the comparison group. Differences on the qualitative measure and drop-out rates favored longer meditations. Drop-outs were characterized as having higher state anxiety and being in the initial phases of grieving. Implications for screening instruments and future research incorporating qualitative data are discussed. |
