Abstract

Group mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are educational courses in which participants learn formal meditation practices to develop new ways of being. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), the earliest, most researched and most widely taught of these programs, was designed to help participants develop present moment, non-judgmental awareness via training in contemplative practices (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, 2009/2017; Santorelli, 1999). This highly experiential course uses an eight-week, semi-structured curriculum that weaves together dialogue about stress reactivity, a systematic body scan, mindful movement, sitting, walking, and loving-kindness meditations. Each of these practices employs some degree of focused concentration (e.g., upon breathing) and open monitoring of perceptions as they arise (Lutz, Slagter, Dunne, & Davidson, 2008). This MBI was widely adopted because its founder, Jon Kabat-Zinn (1990, 2003), advocated for objective assessment of the program’s effectiveness.