Younger breast cancer survivors often report problems related to sexuality following surgical and adjuvant treatment that often lead to sexual distress and body image distress. This research was conducted as an exploratory study within a larger R01 trial with the purpose to evaluate sexual distress and body image related-distress in younger women with breast cancer and to examine the extent to which the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction-Breast Cancer (MBSR(BC)) was efficacious in improving distress related to sexuality, i.e. sexual distress and body image related-distress. The aims of this study were to: 1) evaluate the efficacy of the MBSR(BC) program in improving the psychological symptoms of sexual distress and body image related distress; and 2) evaluate whether positive effects achieved from the MBSR(BC) program are modified by specific patient characteristics measured at baseline. Ninety-one participants were randomized to either the MBSR(BC) intervention or Usual Care (UC) and assessments were conducted at baseline, 6-week and 12-week follow-up for sexual distress, body image related distress, demographic data as well as clinical history. For aim 1, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and linear mixed model (LMM) analysis were the methods used to evaluate the efficacy of the MBSR(BC) program. For aim 2, ANCOVA and stepwise multiple linear regression were used to evaluate the patient characteristics at baseline that modified the effects achieved from the MBSR(BC) program. Results showed the mean age of the sample was 57 years and 74% were White, non-Hispanic. Chi square analyses found that there were no significant differences between the MBSR(BC) and UC groups on baseline demographic or clinical characteristics. For Aim 1, results of the ANCOVA analyses found that there was no significant difference between the MBSR(BC) and UC groups at the 6-week follow-up on sexual distress or body image related distress (both p > .05). However, ANCOVA analyses found that there was a significant relationship between baseline scores and scores at the 6-week follow-up for both sexual distress (p < .0001) and body image related distress (p < .0001). Further ANCOVA analyses for Aim 1 found that there was a trend towards a statistical significance for the difference between the MBSR(BC) group and UC groups at the 12-week follow-up for both sexual distress (p = .09) and body image related distress (p = .06). Results of the Linear Mixed Model (LMM) analyses, implemented to assess sexual distress over time, showed a significant main effect (ME) of time (p < .000) and a trend towards significance for the time by assignment interaction (p = .104). The LMM analyses for body image disturbance resulted in a significant ME of (p < .000) and an interaction that approached significance (p = .071). For aim 2, ANCOVA results found that age at baseline was a significant predictor of change at 6 weeks in levels of body image related distress (p = .007), but no relationship was observed for sexual distress. Further, analysis using a stepwise multiple linear regression analysis found age at baseline to be the only significant predictor of both baseline sexual distress (p = .004) and baseline body image related distress (p = .008). Although the MBSR(BC) program was not tailored for integrating sexuality content, results of this stress reducing program (MBSR(BC)) program, adapted for breast cancer survivors, appeared to benefit these young women. The findings of this study identify that there is a need for stress reducing interventions addressing problems related to sexual distress and body image related distress. In addition, these results identified that clinically, BCS should be assessed for sexual distress and body image disturbance post-treatment, and interventions to assist with this distress should be incorporated into their plan of care.

This thesis explores the transformation of the Buddhist technique of mindfulness as it is applied in psychotherapy. It is based on primarily on the experience of a Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course as taught in Montreal in 2015, as well as some prior experiences of mindfulness meditation at the Palyul Center and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Ottawa. Written as an auto-ethnography, the thesis provides an intimate first hand immersion experience into mindfulness meditation through a phenomenological approach in anthropology. The sociopolitical aspects of MBSR are also discussed through a related Deleuzo-Guattarian framework. The central argument of the thesis is that while effective in the management of stress MBSR fails to address deeper and more severe forms of suffering, stressing the management of emotions rather than their exploration. This fact coupled with the omission of the Buddhist concept of no-independent self and training in mindfulness results in MBSR being a territorializing force of self-surveillance and a social pacifier .The question emerging from this exploration brings us to revisit the role of ethics in the application mindfulness in therapy.

Bakgrund: Mindfulness är ett nytt koncept inom omvårdnad. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) är ett program som utvecklats från mindfulness inom vården. MBSR har studerats i samband med olika sjukdomar däribland cancer. Bröstcancer är den vanligaste maligna cancern hos kvinnor världen över och att få en cancerdiagnos medför både fysiska och psykiska svårigheter. Syfte: Att beskriva effekter av MBSR på personer med bröstcancer. Metod: Litteraturöversikt baserad på RCT-studier (randomised controlled trials). Datainsamling gjordes via CINAHL, Medline och PsychINFO och tolv RCT-studier granskades med en induktiv ansats. Resultat: Resultatet bygger på tolv RCT studier som jämför MBSR med vanlig behandling (VB) och är indelat i effekter avseende fysiskt välmående, effekter avseende psykiskt välmående, effekter avseende hantering och effekter avseende socialt välmående. Slutsats: Generellt finns kortsiktiga positiva effekter till följd av MBSR-programmet hos personer med bröstcancer. Dock är dessa effekter ofta uppmätta direkt efter interventionen och flera studier visar att dess effekt minskar efter tolv månader. Evidensen för att använda MBSR i vården av personer med bröstcancer är ännu låg och fler studier med längre uppföljning bör göras. / Background: Mindfulness is a fairly new concept in nursing. The MBSR-programme (Mindfulness based stress reduction) was developed from mindfulness in healthcare. MBSR has been studied in relation to different healthcare settings and illnesses there among cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer amongst women worldwide. To live with cancer entails both psychological and physical issues. Aim: To describe the effects of MBSR on persons with breast cancer. Method: A literature review based on RCT-studies (randomised controlled trials). Data collection was done using CINAHL, Medline and PsychINFO and twelve RCT-studies was examined with an inductive approach. Results: The result is based on twelve RCT-studies comparing MBSR with standard treatment and presented in effects related to: physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, coping and social wellbeing. Conclusion: Generally, there are short term positive effects of the MBSR-programme on persons with breast cancer. These effects are often measured directly after the intervention and several studies show that the effects diminish after twelve months. Evidence to use MBSR in healthcare for persons with breast cancer is still low and more studies with longer follow up should be conducted.

The thesis deals with the topic of mindfulness. In the theoretical part of the thesis, the latest research on mindfulness in work (non-clinical) environments and ways to promote and develop mindfulness in people are reviewed. Standardized and non- standardized ways of increasing mindfulness are mentioned. The research section consists of several sub-researches. The first, qualitative research explores how people understand the concept of mindfulness and how they think it can be increased. The qualitative research was conducted in the form of a questionnaire (N = 54). The results of the analysis show that how people understand the concept of mindfulness is not too far from the professional definition of the term, but primarily people understand the term as mindfulness of the environment, less mindfulness of the self. The second, quantitative research project involves the adaptation of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire into Czech and its new standardization, which was carried out by comparing parallel translations and subsequent back-translation checked by the author of the questionnaire, Ruth Baer. The standardization was performed on a quota representative sample of the population (N = 240). Norms were created for both the overall mindfulness score and for the individual scales of the...

Dans le courant des alternatives thérapeutiques et de l'approche corps/esprit, la méditation comme objet de recherche dans le champ des prises en charge thérapeutique et de la psychologie de la santé fait état d'un grand nombre de recherches aux États-Unis depuis les vingts dernières années, Un développement embryonnaire voit le jour dans les pays francophone. S'inscrivant dans cette optique, l'objectif de cette thèse est dans un premier temps de montrer l'intérêt de ce concept en psychothérapie en le clarifiant dans ces trois approches principales (concentration, pleine conscience, méditation en mouvement), de focaliser sur la méditation de pleine conscience en l'articulant au sein de la troisième vague des TTC et de l'éclairer sous l'angle neurologique et physiologique. Dans un second temps, nous développerons de façon pratique l'approche MBSR issue des travaux de J Kabat Zinn (1990) et de ses successeurs en la testant sur la gestion du stress, de l'anxiété, de la qualité de vie, du coping et de la dépression sur une population d'étudiant et de diabétique de type 1. A cela s'ajoutera des études de cas. Enfin, nous amènerons la discussion sur l'efficacité de la pratique MBSR au regard des recherches neurologiques dans un souci futures dans l'intégration en psychothérapie / AIn the feld of the alternative therapy and of the mind body approche, meditation as a new object of research in this aera show a lot of improvment in the last twenty years, with a new development in Europe. The objective of this thesis is to show the great interest of this concept inpsychotherapy with a clarification in its three main areas (concentration, mindfulness, and movement meditation), with a focus on mindfulness meditation linked to the behavioural and cognitive therapies, and with an neurological and physiological highlights. Additionnaly to that, we will develop on a pratical way, the MBSR (Mindfulness based stress reduction) approach linked to the work of J Kabat Zinn (1990) with experimental assessment on stress, anxiety, quality of life, coping and depression on two populations (student and diabetic type 1), and case studies. At the end, we will focus the discussion ont the effectiveness of MBSR linked to neurological researches and integration with psuchotherpies

Breast cancer survivors (BCS) account for the largest group of cancer survivors living in the United States and they often experience lingering physical symptoms that may affect quality of life, with fatigue and pain the most commonly reported. This genetic research study was conducted within a parent R01 study, with the purpose of exploring associations between genetic variants and fatigue and pain symptoms and the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Breast Cancer (MBSR(BC)) program. The aims of this study were to: 1) identify specific genotypes involved in fatigue and pain symptoms, and 2) explore whether single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1800795 in gene IL6, SNP rs16944 in gene IL1B, and SNP rs4680 in gene COMT, moderate the effects of the MBSR(BC) intervention on fatigue and/or pain symptoms. As part of a larger R01 trial, one-hundred-fifty-eight participants were randomized to either a six-week MBSR(BC) intervention or Usual Care (UC). Data were collected at baseline, six-week, and 12-weeks on subjective measures of pain, fatigue, along with demographic and clinical history information. In addition, DNA was collected for genotyping among the 158 participants using the PCR analysis method. For Aim 1, one-way linear trend analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were implemented to explore associations between the SNPs in genes with subjective symptom measures of pain and fatigue. For Aim 2, comparison of mean scores along with linear mixed model (LMM) analyses were used to explore if the patient’s SNPs moderated the effects of the MBSR(BC) intervention on fatigue and pain symptoms. Results found the mean age of the total sample was 58.4 years and 89% were White, non-Hispanic. Although participants were randomized 1:1 to either the MBSR(BC) or UC groups, chi square analyses found that there was a significant difference for time since treatment, with the UC group being closer to treatment end (< 1 year) than the MBSR(BC) group (p < .05). No other statistically significant differences between groups for baseline demographic or clinical characteristics were found. For Aim 1, one-way linear trend ANOVAs among fatigue and pain scores and the three SNPs (COMT rs4680, IL1B rs16944, IL6 1800795) included as part of this study, fatigue and/or pain, resulted in no statistically significant associations (p > .05). Linear Mixed Model (LMM) analyses, implemented to assess the between-group interactions between pain and/or fatigue symptom, time, and SNP, resulted in no statistically significant findings for SNP rs4680 in COMT and SNP rs16944 in IL1B, however significant findings were found for the interaction between assignment (MBSR(BC) versus UC) and genotype for SNP rs1800795 in IL6. Second, a comparison of means suggests that participants in the MBSR(BC) group who had CG genotype for SNP rs1800795 in IL6 benefited more from the intervention than those with CC or GG genotypes for fatigue severity, fatigue interference, pain severity, and pain interference, with small to large effect sizes ranging from d = 0.38 to d = 0.72. Although this genetic study was exploratory in nature, the results suggests that the effects of the MBSR(BC) program may be moderated by SNPs in genes that are involved in cytokine production, which means that BCS with specific genotypes experience a greater improvement in symptoms than those with other genotypes. The results of this study also suggest that further research is needed, with larger sample sizes, to assess the genetic moderation of symptoms experienced by BCS.

No description available.

Hälso- och sjukvården har traditionellt arbetat kurativt. Tidigare forskning har visat att samhällsutvecklingen de senaste 20 åren, med högt tempo och stora krav, har resulterat i en ökning av stressrelaterad ohälsa, både nationellt och internationellt. Vinsterna med att arbeta hälsofrämjande är uppmärksammat i allt fler studier och det är därför av relevans att studera om Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), en förgrening av mindfulness, kan fungera som en effektiv och bidragande resurs för ett mer begripligt, hanterbart och meningsfullt liv. Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att belysa de hälsofrämjande effekterna av MBSR. Tio artiklar valdes för granskning och utifrån artiklarnas resultat framkom två kategorier: Kortvariga hälsofrämjande effekter och långvariga hälsofrämjande effekter. Resultatet visade att MBSR har hälsofrämjande effekter, både ur ett kortvarigt och långvarigt perspektiv. Genom kontinuerligt utövande av MBSR ökar självkännedomen och medvetenheten, vilket resulterar i större hanterbarhet i vardagen och utövarna upplever en större meningsfullhet. Den mängd och bredd av olika hälsofrämjande effekter som uppmärksammats i denna litteraturstudie bör vara indikation på vidare forskning för fler användningsområden samt motivationens inverkan på utövande. Fler studier bör även inkludera ett samhällsperspektiv där de kostnadseffektiva aspekterna av MBSR undersöks. / Health services have traditionally worked curative. Previous studies have shown a societal development during the last 20 years, indicating an increased pace and great demands that results in decreased health due to stress, nationally as well as internationally. However, the benefits of working with health promotion is noted in more and more studies and therefore it is relevant to study whether MBSR, a further development of mindfulness, can be used as an effective resource in order to contribute and achieve a more comprehensible, manageable and meaningful life. The purpose of this study was to examine the health effects of MBSR. Ten articles were selected for review and based on the results collected from all articles, two categories were revealed: Short-term health benefits and long-term health effects. The results showed that MBSR has health effects, from both a short-term and long-term perspective. Through continuous pursuit of MBSR increases self-knowledge and awareness, resulting in greater manageability of everyday life and practitioners experience a greater meaningfulness. The variety and breadth of various health promoting effects that was highlighted in this literature study might indicate further research regarding more uses and how motivation influence the amount of exercise and effect. More studies should also include a societal perspective, where the cost aspects of MBSR are investigated.

This is a qualitative literature analysis aimed at investigating elements of spirituality within the mindfulness practice of MBSR. This is done by looking at different definitions of spirituality, religiosity and mindfulness. I also look at the origins of mindfulness in the MBSR program and compare it to its contemporary religious counterpart to look for which similarities do or don’t exist. I consider the historical and current uses of these concepts to create a necessary background and theory. The study shows that mindfulness and related concepts are often not described in a satisfactory way within literature which creates problems in research. The founder of the MBSR method, Jon Kabat-Zinn, wanted to re-conceptualize Buddhist concepts in a secular context. But the actual inclusion of these elements depends largely on which definitions are used, and on the specific practice situation and instructor and partly on the participants’ own sense of spirituality. I discuss the use of mindfulness in secular and New age type businesses and bring up earlier criticism of mindfulness both from scientists and Buddhists. I also discuss spirituality in a secular context and how the MBSR program can be used by New age spiritual seekers and to fill people’s need for meaning and sense of coherence (SOC) in an individualistic society which is increasingly abandoning traditional religions.

Competence based self-esteem (CBSE) refers to a disposition where an individual strives for self-worth by achievements to compensate a low basic self-esteem (BSE). This kind of self-attitude is linked to burnout. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of an 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention on self-ratings of CBSE, BSE, burnout and mindfulness. Four MBSR groups were enrolled and a total sample comprised 29 participants. Results of repeated measures ANOVAs showed a significant decrease in CBSE and burnout as well as significant increases in BSE and mindfulness. It was further found that pre test - post test change in mindfulness was significantly associated with reduced CBSE. These results indicate the effectiveness of MBSR to reduce burnout and suggest the program’s applicability in treating self-esteem related problems.