Loving-Kindness Meditation to Target Affect in Mood Disorders: A Proof-of-Concept Study
Joint Authors
Hofmann, Stefan G.
Petrocchi, Nicola
Steinberg, James
Lin, Muyu
Arimitsu, Kohki
Kind, Shelley
Mendes, Adriana
Stangier, Ulrich
Source
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Issue
Vol. 2015, Issue 2015 (31 Dec. 2015), pp.1-11, 11 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2015-06-01
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
11
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Conventional treatments for mood disorders primarily focus on reducing negative affect, but little on enhancing positive affect.
Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is a traditional meditation practice directly oriented toward enhancing unconditional and positive emotional states of kindness towards oneself and others.
We report here two independent and uncontrolled studies carried out at different centers, one in Boston, USA (n = 10), and one in Frankfurt, Germany (n = 8), to examine the potential therapeutic utility of a brief LKM group intervention for symptoms of dysthymia and depression.
Results at both centers suggest that LKM was associated with large-sized effects on self-reported symptoms of depression (d = 3.33 and 1.90), negative affect (d = 1.98 and 0.92), and positive affect (d = 1.63 and 0.94).
Large effects were also found for clinician-reported changes in depression, rumination and specific positive emotions, and moderate effects for changes in adaptive emotion regulation strategies.
The qualitative data analyses provide additional support for the potential clinical utility of the intervention.
This proof-of-concept evaluation of LKM as a clinical strategy warrants further investigation.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Hofmann, Stefan G.& Petrocchi, Nicola& Steinberg, James& Lin, Muyu& Arimitsu, Kohki& Kind, Shelley…[et al.]. 2015. Loving-Kindness Meditation to Target Affect in Mood Disorders: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine،Vol. 2015, no. 2015, pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1061295
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Hofmann, Stefan G.…[et al.]. Loving-Kindness Meditation to Target Affect in Mood Disorders: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine No. 2015 (2015), pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1061295
American Medical Association (AMA)
Hofmann, Stefan G.& Petrocchi, Nicola& Steinberg, James& Lin, Muyu& Arimitsu, Kohki& Kind, Shelley…[et al.]. Loving-Kindness Meditation to Target Affect in Mood Disorders: A Proof-of-Concept Study. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2015. Vol. 2015, no. 2015, pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1061295
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1061295