Overview CE credits: 1 Exam items: 10 Learning objectives: 1. Identify the definition of mindfulness and what practices develop mindfulness. 2. Identify benefits of mindfulness including benefits for therapists and trainees. 3. Understand the relationship between therapists’ mindfulness and psychotherapy outcome based on the research to date.
Mindfulness has enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity in the past decade, both in the popular press and in the psychotherapy literature. The practice has moved from a largely obscure Buddhist concept founded about 2,600 years ago to a mainstream psychotherapy construct today.
Advocates of mindfulness would have us believe that virtually every client and therapist would benefit from being
more mindful. Among its theorized benefits are self-control, objectivity, affect tolerance, enhanced flexibility, equanimity,
improved concentration and mental clarity, emotional intelligence and the ability to relate to others and one’s self with
kindness, acceptance and compassion.
But is mindfulness as good as advertised? This article offers an overview of the research on mindfulness and discusses its
implications for practice, research and training.
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JULY/AUGUST 2012 • MONITOR ON PSYCHOLOGY
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