mindfulness for meditation haters: appliance of heartrate coherence training in act marco kleen msc...

Mindfulness for meditation haters: appliance of heartrate coherence

training in ACT

Marco Kleen MScBrainDynamics Groningen / PsyAdvies.nl

University of Groningen

marcokleen@hotmail.com 1

Mindfulness: definitions

• Skill: being present, observing one’s experiences in a non-judgemental way no matter how aversive those experiences may be

• Attitude: compound factor of four ACT processes in the hexaflex (acceptance, being present, defusion and self-as-context)

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Disadvantages of formal mindfulness training

• Resistance against meditation-like techniques• Religious objections• Time investment• Dogmatic appliance

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Goals

• Pragmatic mindfulness• Function of the excersize is more important

than the form• Increase accesibility of mindfulness for

‘meditation haters’• Research biological marker of mindfulness

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Heartrate variability

• Variance of interval between heartbeats• Sympathetic and parasympathetic ANS • Reflects emotional functioning (among other

variables)

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Coherence

Chaos

Coherence vs chaos

• Coherence focussing on breath, acceptance, being open minded, focussing on present, mindfulness. Technically: dominance of 0.1 Hz frequency.

• Chaos problem solving, non-acceptance, experiential avoidance

• Being coherent can be trained Heartrate Coherence Training (HCT)

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Applications

• Heartmath Emwave® protocol (= HCT; counterconditioning). Primairy goal: symptom (stress) reduction

• HCT adapted to the hexaflex (HCT-ACT)‘mindfulness through heartrate coherence training’. Primairy goal = practical mindfulness

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HCT-ACT

• Heartmath ® Freeze Framer/Emwave: easy to use biofeedbackprogram

• Low intensity: 3 x 7 minutes per session• Homework: 10 minutes a day

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Two Phases

• Phase 1. Skilltraining• Phase 2. Exposure

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Phase 1: skilltraining

• Teaching basic mindfulness• Focus on breath• Focus on bodily experiences• Focus on thoughts (self as process)

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Phase 2: exposure

• Graduated exposure• Teaching clients to be accepting and curious

towards aversive emotions, thoughts, memories

• Autobiographic material, symbolic letters, photographs, imaginary exposure, exposure in vivo, hyperventilation provocation

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Pilotstudy• Pre-posttest design: Mindfull Attention Awareness

Scale (MAAS)• Avarage weighted cohrence scores (GGC’s):

- low = 0- medium = 1- high = 2

• T0: Baseline• T1: After skilltraining• T2: First exposure• T3: Last exposure

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Population

• N =7 clients refered to outpatient mental health facility for psychotherapy

• Experiential avoidance

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Primairy results

• Qualitative: positive reactions of clients, automatic generalization of techniques in daily life, no dropouts

• Quantitative: paterns of coherence and self reported mindfulness in accordance with predefined hypotheses

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Hearrate coherence

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Mean weighted coherence scores

Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, p < o.o5

Mindfulness

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Mean self-reported mindfulness (MAAS)

Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, p < o.o5

Conclusions

• Mindfulness throught HCT-ACT seems feasable

• HCT increases mean weighted coherence scores and mean selfreported mindfulness

• Heartrate variability may be a biological marker for mindfulness

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Restrictions

• Small non-randomized group• Control of breath?• Enthousiasm researcher

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Publication

• Kleen, M. & Reitsma, B. (in press). Mindfulness door middel van hartslagcoherentietraining. De toepassing van biofeedback in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Psychopraxis, summer 2009.

Mindfulness through hearratecoherence training: appliance of biofeedback in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

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LIVE DEMONSTRATION

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