A mindfulness-based stress reduction program for the treatment of anxiety

Anxiety disorders are the most commonly diagnosed psychological disorders in the United States (Barlow, 1988; Kessler et al., 1994; Regier, Narrow, & Rae, 1990). Traditional cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches have focused on trying to alleviate or control anxiety. Recently, acceptance based approaches have been developed to help people live satisfying lives while experiencing anxiety instead of attempting to reduce or alleviate it (Hayes, 1994). Mindfulness meditation is an acceptance-based treatment approach that has been shown to be promising in treating and/or accepting the symptoms associated with a variety of physical and psychological disorders, including anxiety (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992). However, no controlled studies utilizing mindfulness meditation in an anxious sample have been conducted to date. This study attempted to address some of the methodological flaws cited in the literature (Bishop, 2002).;The current study utilized a multiple baseline design across twelve subjects in examining the effectiveness of an eight week mindfulness meditation program (Kabat-Zinn, 1990) for fostering participants' acceptance and/or reduction of anxiety and its related symptoms. It was hypothesized that participants would show reductions in anxiety and its related symptoms, as evaluated through self-report measures. Additionally, it was hypothesized that participants would have an increased ability to accept and live with symptoms of anxiety, and that the effectiveness of the treatment would be maintained at follow-up.;Overall, the hypotheses were supported, as substantial reductions in anxiety, depression, and somatization were seen in a majority of the participants on all of the dependent measures except state-anxiety. Additionally, a majority of the participants reported an increased level of acceptance from baseline to treatment. The improvements made during treatment were maintained at follow-up for a majority of the participants who completed the treatment on all of the dependent measures except for state anxiety.;The current study added to the literature on the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation. It improved on the controls utilized in previous studies and on the measurement of symptoms of anxiety and acceptance. Theoretical considerations and implications of the findings were also discussed. For example, the lack of a reduction in state anxiety may be attributable to participants' exposure to anxiety that may have occurred during the mindfulness meditation practice. This could have been the result of focusing on the present moment. Additionally, questions about the importance of symptom reduction versus an increase in acceptance were discussed. Strengths, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research were also presented.