Discussion 2 – Week 10: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Interventions

Discussion 2 – Week 10: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Interventions

According to Garland (2013), there is skepticism about mindfulness as an effective intervention. Often, because of its philosophical roots in Buddhism, practitioners and scholars equate mindfulness with “New Age” beliefs. As a result, some may wonder how effective mindfulness interventions are. Recall from Week 1 that it is important to answer the question about the effectiveness of interventions by using empirical evidence rather than experiences or intuition.

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You may not have experienced or practiced mindfulness. After you listen to the recordings found on the website listed in the Learning Resources, reflect on some of the following questions: (1) What did you notice? (2) What were you thinking while you were listening? (3) What were you feeling while you were listening? (4) How was your body reacting while listening? (5) How did you feel after you practiced mindfulness?

In this Discussion, you will experience an example of mindfulness and also determine whether mindfulness has scientific support.

To prepare for Discussion 2 – Week 10: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Interventions:

Listen to a recording from those found at this website listed in the Learning Resources: UCLA Health. (n.d.). Free guided meditations. Retrieved December 8, 2017, from http://marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations

Read this article listed in the Learning Resources: Garland, E. L. (2013). Mindfulness research in social work: Conceptual and methodological recommendations. Social Work Research, 37(4), 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svt038

Conduct a library search in the Walden Library for one research study about the effectiveness of mindfulness as an intervention for the client in the case study you have been using. Remember when looking for studies to take into account your client’s age, developmental stage, and presenting problem.

By Day 4

Post:

In 1 to 2 sentences, respond to one of the four following questions in terms of what you noticed during the mindfulness exercise you completed:

What were you thinking while you were listening?

What were you feeling while you were listening?

How was your body reacting while listening?

How did you feel after you practiced mindfulness?

In 2 to 3 sentences, describe your experience practicing this technique and how this experience influences your choice on whether to use it with a client during practice.

Provide the reference for the study you found, and be sure to use citations in the body of your post using APA guidelines.

In 1 to 2 sentences, briefly summarize the methodological context (i.e., research method, how data was collected, and the instruments used) of the studies and the findings.

Evaluate the findings in terms of their validity and applicability for the client

Sample Solution for Discussion 2 – Week 10: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Interventions

The effectiveness of mindfulness Intervention

To appreciate the importance of mindfulness interventions, one must acknowledge that we live in a busy, disruptive, and overwhelming world. Most people’s lives are so busy that they can never fully commit to a particular task, goal, or duty. In most American households, it is not strange to find people folding their laundry and eating dinner, while keeping one eye on the kids and another on the television. People plan their days while listening to the radio and commuting to work, and their next career moves while they are in the showers shampooing their hair. Do we ever fully concentrate our minds on a single task? Even couples multitask while addressing important family matters. Mindfulness intervention might be the answer to people’s struggles.

Listening to the Recording

The state, trait, and practice of mindfulness may be broadly characterized by a present-oriented, nonjudgmental awareness of cognitions, emotions, sensations, and perceptions without fixation on thoughts of past or future (Garland, 2013). After listening to the recording, I noticed what I already knew, I have a difficult time concentrating on a single task. I was trying my best to focus on the mindfulness meditation audio, but I found my mind thinking about my internship, my job, and even my next term. I was able to listen to the entire recording, but I was not able to achieve the level of relaxation that is necessary to get the most out of a meditation session. Mindfulness is a state of active and open attention to the present, in which people to pay close attention to their thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad (Psychology Today, n.d.).  I have done several meditation sessions in the past where I was able to feel more relaxed, and my experience was rewarding. My experience practicing this technique did not influence your choice of whether to use it with a client during practice. I have always supported mindfulness meditation as a strategy because it allows people to leave all their concerns behind while concentrating on achieving inner peace.

Chosen Research

I chose a study conducted by Follette and Vijay (2009) to support my discussion on the topic of mindfulness meditation. Follette and Vijay (2009) used a mixed-method to examine two telehealth interventions to address symptoms of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. Thirty-three male combat veterans were randomly assigned to one of two telehealth treatment conditions: mindfulness or psychoeducation. In both conditions, participants completed 8 weeks of telehealth treatment (two sessions in person followed by six sessions over the telephone) and three assessments (pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6-week follow-up).

The mindfulness treatment was based on the tenets of mindfulness-based stress reduction and the psychoeducation manual was based on commonly used psychoeducation materials for PTSD. Results for the 24 participants who completed all assessments indicate that: (1) Telehealth appears to be a feasible mode for delivery of PTSD treatment for veterans; (2) Veterans with PTSD are able to tolerate and report high satisfaction with a brief mindfulness intervention; (3) participation in the mindfulness intervention is associated with a temporary reduction in PTSD symptoms; and (4) a brief mindfulness treatment may not be of adequate intensity to sustain effects on PTSD symptoms. The findings were applicable to the participants and appear to offer relevant insight. One thing that might affect the validity of the findings and its applicability is the fact that the researchers only used male participants for their study. I wonder if the findings might be different if the same study is conducted with female participants diagnosed with combat-related PTSD.

References

Follette, V. M., & Vijay, A. (2009). Mindfulness for trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. In F. Didonna (Ed.), Clinical handbook of mindfulness (pp. 299-317). New York, NY: Springer Science.

Garland, E. L. (2013). Mindfulness research in social work: Conceptual and methodological recommendations. National Association of Social Workers, 11, 439-448. doi:10.1093/swr/svt038

Psychology Today. (n.d.).  What is mindfulness? Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/mindfulness