The Art and Science of Mindfulness. Integrating Mindfulness into Psychology and the Helping Professions

The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a global mental health challenge that has disrupted the lives of millions of people, with a considerable effect on university students. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a brief online Mindfulness and Compassion-based Intervention to promote mental health among first year university students during COVID-19 home confinement. Participants (n=66) were first-year psychology students from a university in Spain with no prior meditation experience. Intervention lasted for 16 days and was designed ad-hoc. Using a pre–post within-subjects design, feasibility was assessed in five domains (acceptability, satisfaction, implementation, practicality, and limited efficacy testing). Participants completed both baseline and post-intervention assessments of perceived stress, anxiety, and self-compassion. The intervention showed to be feasible in all domains evaluated. It was implemented as planned with constrained resources, and limited efficacy testing showed promising results. After the intervention, stress and anxiety levels decreased significantly (p<0.001, Hedges’s g=0.5146; p<0.001, Hedges’s g=0.6068, respectively) whereas self-compassion levels were augmented significantly (p<0.001, Hedges’s g=0.6968). Our findings suggest that a brief online mindfulness and compassion intervention may be a feasible way of promoting mental health among university students during COVID-19 lockdown. Further studies are required to address the limitations of the present study. We conclude that online interventions may constitute a promising pathway to buffer the mental health burden derived from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Feasibility of a Brief Online Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Intervention to Promote Mental Health Among University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Christian D. Chan, PhD, NCC, is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Stacey Diane Arañez Litam, PhD, NCC, CCMHC, LPCC-S, is an assistant professor at Cleveland State University. Correspondence may be addressed to Christian D. Chan, Department of Counseling and Educational Development, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402, cdchan@uncg.edu. The emergence and global spread of COVID-19 precipitated a massive public health crisis combined with multiple incidents of racial discrimination and violence toward Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Although East Asian communities are more frequently targeted for instances of pandemicrelated racial discrimination, multiple disparities converge upon Filipino communities that affect their access to mental health care in light of COVID-19. This article empowers professional counselors to support the Filipino community by addressing three main areas: (a) describing how COVID-19 contributes to racial microaggressions and institutional racism toward Filipino communities; (b) underscoring how COVID-19 exacerbates exposure to stressors and disparities that influence help-seeking behaviors and utilization of counseling among Filipinos; and (c) outlining how professional counselors can promote racial socialization, outreach, and mental health equity with Filipino communities to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

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Mental Health Equity of Filipino Communities in COVID-19: A Framework for Practice and Advocacy.

Numerous research studies link mindfulness training to improved empathy. However, few studies focus on the mediating factors of empathy. This work has three objectives: (a) to analyze the possible mediation of mindfulness as a feature in this relation, (b) to analyze the mindfulness factors that mediate in the increase of empathy and (c) to analyze the moderating role of gender. The sample was composed of 246 Spanish-speaking university students (M = 24.08 years, SD = 8.43). The instruments used were the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ). For data analysis, the indirect effect was calculated using 10000 bootstrap samples for the bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals (BCI). The improvement of empathy is mediated by the changes in mindfulness trait (B = 0.233, p < 0.001), disappearing in the presence of this mediator, the direct effect of mindfulness practice on empathy (B = 0.161, p = 0.394). We did not find a differential functioning of this mediation according to gender. Observing and describing are the FFMQ factors that mediate significantly between mindfulness practice and empathy.

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Mindfulness and Empathy: Mediating Factors and Gender Differences in a Spanish Sample.

Stress has become more prevalent among college students since the advent of the Internet, where many suffer due to information overload. This has become a major problem as too much stress can lead to anxiety, lack of motivation, irritability, and depression. This study aim to develop a virtual reality in mobile application that can be used to reduce concurrent stress among class students. The design of the virtual reality applications provides target users an immersive, virtual environment that can help promote relaxation to minimize and alter stressful activities and environment. This developed application named "Serenity", was designed to cater to Filipino college students. The application utilizes Philippine-based geographical sceneries and locations that brings calm and harmony to one's experience in a virtual world. The design of the system applied the concept of a traveler in a role playing game who visits vacation spots in various settings, which includes night and day situations. Readings from the galvanic skin response sensor and oximeter will be recorded throughout the experiment to determine subject response towards the use of the virtual reality system. The application was tested on students that were classified into three different stress groups: low stress, moderate stress, and high stress. The developed virtual reality system is fully functional and meets the requirements set by its intended users.

Serenity: A Stress-Relieving Virtual Reality Application based on Philippine Environmental Variables

Attending college is meaningful for many young adults. This period is marked by physical, emotional, and psychological changes that can have both positive and negative effects on college students. The last two decades have seen an alarming increase in the number of college students who suffer from mental health conditions, such as depression, suicide, anxiety, and alcohol abuse. It is recommended that actions to support the students' wellbeing must be creative and evidence-based. Research suggests that a mindfulness-based intervention may be an effective strategy to address mental health conditions among college students. This study was done to examine the efficacy of an adapted mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) program that was implemented in a classroom setting in the Philippines and to explore how mindfulness practice can affect empathy and self-compassion on senior Filipino college students aged 19-22 years old. Two classes were used to compare the effects of mindfulness intervention. One class underwent the adapted MBCT program while the other class underwent the same kind of class without mindfulness interventions. Self-report measures of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Perspective Taking subscale and Empathic Concern subscale of Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Self-compassion scale-short form were administered before undergoing the adapted MBCT and after the program. After going through the adapted MBCT, college students' mindfulness significantly improved. Empathy and self-compassion also significantly improved after undergoing the program. This corroborates previous studies done on mindfulness and its efficacy with adolescents and suggests how practicing mindfulness can improve empathy and self-compassion with Filipino college students. It provides a promising groundwork for the emerging interest and research in Asia, particularly in the Philippines, on how the practice of mindfulness can help with the mental health of college students.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/10/3/61/pdf

Effect of Mindfulness on Empathy and Self-Compassion: An Adapted MBCT Program on Filipino College Students.

ABSTRACT In recent decades, mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be a very effective and economical approach in treating psychological disorders, with the literature from studies in the Western world, . On the other hand, mindfulness interventions in the Philippine context are just beginning, with limited studies published regarding its efficacy. This study is one of the first exploratory investigations on the potential of mindfulness-based strategies for young Filipino sample. Findings suggest that an adapted mindfulness based cognitive therapy approach on a college population can bring changes in the areas of stress, depression, anxiety, and over-all psychological well-being. This study suggests that mindfulness interventions might be a cross-culturally effective approach and leads the way for more studies within the Filipino context.

Reginald Paul R Centeno

Papers

Effect of Mindfulness on Empathy and Self-Compassion: An Adapted MBCT Program on Filipino College Students.

Effects of an adapted mindfulness-based intervention on well-being in a Filipino college sample