The application of mindfulness to anxiety : an exploration of the effectiveness of using mindful based interventions in treating patients with anxiety

Ozcelik, Kerry (2007) The application of mindfulness to anxiety : an exploration of the effectiveness of using mindful based interventions in treating patients with anxiety. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Disorders such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder and social phobia are the most prevalent anxiety disorders (Kessler et al., 1994) and several different theories and models of treatment have been developed. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) has been identified as first-line treatment for anxiety (Bystritsky, 2006). Evidence suggests that it does not benefit everyone and CBT has been criticised for its focus on the content of thoughts. Little research has focused on what mindfulness-based interventions can contribute to our understanding and treatment of these disorders. This review describes anxiety, its aetiology, underlying mechanisms and maintaining factors according to several models. Discussion of the clinical application of mindfulness and active mechanisms follows. The integration of CBT and mindfulness is considered and a rationale for its use in understanding and treating these anxiety disorders is presented. Directions for further research are discussed.

The contribution of mindfulness-based approaches in the understanding and treatment of anxiety disorders is unclear. The study had two components; firstly it investigated the impact of a mindfulness-based intervention on adults with persistent anxiety. Results suggested that the intervention was associated with an increase in mindfulness and significant decreases in symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress, and in overall scores on the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation outcome measures (CORE-OM; Mental Health Foundation & Core System Group, 1998). Secondly, it explored how adults with persistent anxiety experienced a mindfulness-based intervention. Five superordinate themes emerged through the IPA analysis (Smith, 1996); these were (1) Getting to grips with mindfulness, (2) Timing (3) Integration (4) Sense of change and (5) Shared experience. Methodological issues, clinical implications and directions for future research are addressed.

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