Abstract
The UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for the prevention of relapse in chronic depression. Since Jon Kabat-Zinn first developed Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in the 1980s, most research has focused on questions of efficacy, i.e. does mindfulness work? More recently, interest has emerged in how mindfulness-based interventions, such as MBSR and MBCT, are experienced by participants. To evaluate how participants experience the 8-week MBSR/MBCT process, we carried out a meta-ethnography of published qualitative papers since 2001, whose focus is the patient experience of MBCT and MBSR. A systematic search of six databases was carried out. Relevant papers were critically appraised using a modified version of the Critical Appraisal Skills programme tool. Fourteen papers, each representing a unique study, were included in the meta-ethnography. The synthesis describes patients’ experience of the mindfulness process. Linking patient experiences to existing theories of mindfulness and chronic illness, the synthesis conceptualises the way participants develop a new understanding of their illness over time, and the role mindfulness approaches have in helping them manage their difficulties better.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
*Allen, M., Bromley, A., Kuyken, W., & Sonnenberg, S. J. (2009). Participants’ experiences of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: “It changed me in just about every way possible”, Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 37, 413–430.
*Chadwick, P., Newell, T., & Skinner, C. (2008). Mindfulness groups in palliative care: a pilot qualitative study. Spirituality and Health International, 9, 135–144.
*Dobkin, P. L. (2008). Mindfulness-based stress reduction: What processes are at work? Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 14, 8–16.
*Finucane, A., & Mercer, S. W. (2006). An exploratory mixed methods study of the acceptability and effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for patients with active depression and anxiety in primary care. British Medical Psychiatry, 6(14), 1–14.
*Fitzpatrick, L., Simpson, J., & Smith, A. (2010). A qualitative study of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in Parkinson’s disease. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 83(2), 179–192.
*Griffiths, K., Camic, P. M., & Hutton, J. M. (2009). Participant experiences of a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy group for cardiac rehabilitation. Journal of Health Psychology, 14(5), 675–681.
*Kerr, C. E, Josyula, K., & Littenberg, R. (2010). Developing an observing attitude: a analysis of meditation diaries in an MBSR clinical Trial. Clinical psychology and psychotherapy, 18(1), 80–93.
*Mackenzie, M. J., Carlson, L. E., Munoz, M., & Speca, M. (2007). A qualitative study of self-perceived effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in a psychosocial oncology setting. Stress and Health 23, 59–69.
*Mason, O., & Hargreaves, I. (2001). A qualitative study of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for Depression. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 74, 197–212.
*Morone, N. E., Lynch, C. S., Greco, C. M., Tindle, H. A.,& Weiner, D. K. (2008). “I felt like a new person”. The effects of mindfulness meditation on older adults with chronic pain: qualitative narrative analysis of diary entries. The Journal of Pain, 9(9), 841–848.
*Moss, D., Waugh, M., & Barnes, R. (2008). A tool for life? Mindfulness as self-help or safe uncertainty. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 3(3), 1–11.
*Sibinga, E. M. S., Stewart, M., Magyari, T., Welsh, C. K., Hutton, N., & Ellen, J. M. (2008). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for HIV-infected youth: A pilot study. Explore, 4(1), 36–37.
*Smith, A., Grahman, L., & Senthinathan, S. (2007). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for recurring depression in older people: a qualitative study. Aging and Mental Health, 11(3), 346–357.
*York, M. (2007). A qualitative study into the experience of individuals involved in a mindfulness group within an acute inpatient mental health unit. Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing, 14, 603–608.
Baer, R. A. (2009). Self-focused attention and mechanisms of change in mindfulness-based treatment. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 38, 15–20.
Booth, A. (2003). Formulating research questions. In A. Booth & A. Brice (Eds.), Evidence based practice: a handbook for information professionals (pp. 123–148). London: Facet.
Bury, M. (1982). Chronic illness as biographical disruption. Sociology of Health & Illness, 4(2), 167–182.
Carel, H. (2009). “I am well, apart from the fact that I have cancer”: explaining well-being within Illness’. In L. Bortolloti (Ed.), Philosophy and Happiness (pp. 82–89). Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Coffey, K. A., Hartman, M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2010). Deconstructing mindfulness and constructing mental health: understanding mindfulness and its mechanisms of action. Mindfulness, 1, 235–253.
Crane, R. (2008). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. London: Routledge.
Deikman, A. J. (1996). I = Awareness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 3(4), 350–356(7)
Dixon-Woods, M., Sutton, A., Shaw, R., Miller, T., Smith, J., Young, B., et al. (2007). Appraising qualitative research for inclusion in systematic reviews: a quantitative and qualitative comparison of three methods. Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, 12(1), 42–47
Faircloth, C. A., Boylstein, C., Rittman, M., Young, M. E., & Gubrium, J. (2004). Sudden illness and biographical flow in narratives of stroke recovery. Sociology of Health and Illness, 26(2), 242–261.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2001). Full Catastrophe Living. London: Piatkus Books.
Malpass, A., Shaw, A., Sharp, D., Walter, F., Feder, G., Ridd, M., et al. (2009). “Medication career” or “Moral career”? The two sides of managing antidepressants: A metaethnography of patients' experience of antidepressants. Social Science & Medicine, 68(1), 154–168.
Mason, B. (1993). Towards positions of safe uncertainty. Human Systems, 4, 189–200.
Mikulas, W. L. (2011). Mindfulness: significant common confusions. Mindfulness, 2, 1–7.
Noblit, G. W., & Hare, R. D. (1988). Meta-ethnography: synthesising qualitative studies. London: Sage.
Sandelowski, M., Docherty, S., & Emden, C. (1997). Qualitative metasynthesis: issues and techniques. Research in Nursing and Health, 20, 365–371.
Sangarakshita. (1998). Know your mind. Birmingham: Windhorse.
Sangharakshita. (2000). Ritual and devotion in Buddhism. Birmingham: Windhorse.
Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression. New York: Guildford Press.
Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373–386.
Teasdale, J. (1999). Meta-cognition, mindfulness and the modification of mood disorders. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 6, 146–155.
Thorne, S., Jensen, L., Kearney, M. H., Noblit, G., & Sandelowski, M. (2004). Qualitative Metasynthesis: Reflections on Methodological Orientation and Ideological Agenda. Qualitative Health Research, 10(1), 1342–1386.
Wallace, B. A., & Shapiro, S. L. (2006). Mental balance and well-being. Building bridges between Buddhism and Western Psychology. American Psychologist, 61(7), 690–701.
Williams, J. M. G. (2010). Mindfulness and psychological process. Emotion, 10(1), 1–7.
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Fellowship awarded to Dr Alice Malpass.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Reference items marked with an asterisk (*) are those included in the synthesis.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Malpass, A., Carel, H., Ridd, M. et al. Transforming the Perceptual Situation: a Meta-ethnography of qualitative Work Reporting Patients’ Experiences of Mindfulness-Based Approaches. Mindfulness 3, 60–75 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-011-0081-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-011-0081-2