Introduction to this Issue

Abstract

This issue contains a special section devoted to research on mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is a unique self-regulatory technique in which practitioners learn to attend to present-moment experience and to release fixation on thoughts of past and future (KabatZinn, 1990). Mindfulness practice within the context of an 8-week group-training program has been shown to reduce symptoms of stress and pain in a population of patients with chronic symptoms, and has been shown to be a powerful technique for ameliorating the symptoms of other complex functional disorders with significant psychosocial components, such as, fibromyalgia and depression (although research quality is uneven) (Astin, 1997; Brown & Ryan, 2003; Carson, Gil, & Burnett, 1999; Goldenberg et al., 1994; Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt, & Walach, 2004; Kabat-Zinn, 1982, 1990; Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth, & Burney, 1985; Kaplan, Goldenberg, & Galvin-Nadeau, 1993; Miller, Fletcher, & Kabat-Zinn, 1995; Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998; Speca, Carolson, Goodey, & Angen, 2000; Teasdale et al., 2000). Smith and colleagues, in this issue, add to the growing list of conditions for which mindfulness may be found useful, with an exploratory pilot study on the effects of a modified mindfulness intervention on binge eating. Two other articles in this issue explore the use of mindfulness for specific groups of health professionals. Schenström and colleagues have developed a mindfulness-based cognitive attitude-training program for health care personnel in an outpatient clinic, for the purpose of reducing the negative effects of stress. Berceli and Napoli have developed a unique mind-body program, which includes the practice of mindfulness, for ameliorating the effects of trauma, including vicarious trauma, on social workers and others who deal with traumatic situations. Another article in this issue adds to the growing body of research on the power of the mind in dealing successfully with lifestyle modifications: Tindle and colleagues describe a program on the use of guided imagery for smoking cessation. The article by Curtis and colleagues completes the issue with an excellent review of the use of acupuncture for birth preparation and delivery. We are especially delighted to be able to offer a personal and professional tribute to Rena Gordon, founding editor of Complementary Health Practice Review, written by her husband, Leonard Gordon. It is due to her foresight, energy, and passion for complementary, alternative, and integrative approaches to care that this journal exists today.