Robyn N. Malmsten, B.A.

James R. Evans, M.A.

Louisiana State University Shreveport

Alternative & Complementary Medicine for Stress Treatments “not

accepted” by conventional medicine

Body Manipulation Massage

Chiropractic

Manipulation

Acupuncture

Acupressure

Body Movement Qi (chi) Gong

Tai Chi Chuan

Dance and Movement Therapy

Other: Ayurvedic medicine

Naturopathy

Homeopathy

Diet

Energy healing

Hypnotic Treatment (HT) Used by physicians for

over 150 years

In suggestible subjects, HT works better than a placebo. Pain relief

Stress and anxiety reduction

HT is no better than a placebo in less suggestible subjects.

Controversy: does HT provide permanent relief?

Usefulness is limited by widespread misunderstanding hypnosis among public and professionals.

Common Relaxation Techniques Progressive Muscle

Relaxation

Exercises body one muscle group at a time while breathing slowly and deeply

Meditative Relaxation

Muscle relaxation in combination with a quiet environment, repetitive sound, and passive attitude

Guided Imagery

Imagine a peaceful image and concentrate on that image throughout stressful or painful situations

Mindfulness Meditation

Flow of thoughts without evaluation or censoring to gain insight into personal motivation and thoughts

Stress Program Comparison Stress Inoculation

Programs (Donald Meichenbaum & Roy Cameron)

Conceptualization Stage

Skills Acquisition & Rehearsal Stage

Application Follow-through Stage

Mindfulness The act of defining one’s

attention to the present moment and experience of that moment without attempting to judge or change the experience (Marchand, 2012; Eberth & Sedlmeier, 2012).

Often focuses on: Breathing patterns

Thoughts

Physical sensations

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction 8-12 week program

MBSR is often used to treat: Depression

Anxiety

Chronic Pain

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Decrease stress and negative affect

Less rumination

Increase positive affect, well-being, and prosocial behavior

Neurological changes Lower medial prefrontal

activation (reduced wandering thoughts)

Decreased gray matter in right basolateral amygdala (decreased stress and anxiety)

(Marchand, 2012; Davidson & McEwen, 2012; Kemeny et al., 2012; Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998; Jain et al., 2007)

Pilot Study (2013) Is Mindfulness Meditation

(MM) an effective stress-reduction technique for current or short-term stress? If so, is a short meditation equally effective to a longer one?

4 groups 15 minute meditation

5 minute meditation

15 minute neutral

5 minute neutral

Measurements taken pre-task and post-task Stress rating (1-5 on a

Likert scale)

Blood pressure (systolic and diastolic)

Heart rate

Perceived effectiveness of the intervention (post-task only)

Pilot Study cont. The findings:

Those in the meditation conditions tended to give higher effectiveness ratings than those in the neutral conditions.

There was no significant difference in stress ratings, blood pressure, or heart rate.

Current Proposal Research Questions:

Is MM an effective stress reduction technique within a short period of time?

How does MM effect positive and negative affect within a short period of time?

How do participants experience MM?

Current Proposal cont. Maintain the same four

participant groups

Introduce more rigorous controls

Remove cardiovascular variables

Improved testing instruments Positive and Negative

Affect Schedule

Perceived Stress Scale

Approximately 60 participants Demographics were

Results Comparison Pilot Study

No significant differences for time (5 or 15 minutes) or for method (Meditation or Neutral)

Significant main effect for perceived effectiveness of method.

F (1, 56) = 16.560, p <.001

Results Comparison Current Study

Results for the current study based on:

Positive Affect

Negative Affect

Perceived Stress

Results Comparison Qualitative Data

A sample of representative quotes from the four groups were

Discussion and Implications for Counselors

Future Research?

Questions??? Contact Information: Robyn Malmsten: rnmalmsten@gmail.com James Evans: jevans@lsus.edu (318) 795-4211

Thank you for attending our presentation!

References Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 386-396.

Davidson, R. J., & McEwen, B. S. (2012). Social influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being. Nature Neuroscience, 15(5), 689-695.

doi: 10.1038/nn.3093

Eberth, J. & Sedlmeier, P. (2012). The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation: A Meta-Analysis. Mindfulness, 3, 174-189. doi: 10.007/s12671-012-0101-x

Jain, S., Shapiro, S. L., Swanick, S., Roesch, S. C., Mills, P. J., Bell, I., & Schwartz, G. E. R. (2007). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Meditation

Versus Relaxation Training: Effects on Distress, Positive States of Mind, Rumination, and Distraction. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 33(1), 11-21.

Kemeny, M. E., Foltz, C., Cavanagh, J. F., Cullen, M., Giese-Davis, J., Jennings, P., . . . Ekman, P. (2012). Contemplative/Emotion Training Reduces Negative

Emotional Behavior and Promotes Prosocial Responses. Emotion, 12(2), 338-350. doi: 10.1037/a0026118

Malmsten, R. N. (2013, May). The Short Term Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Stress. Poster session presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological

Association, Chicago, IL.

Marchand, W. R. (2012). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Zen Meditation for Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and

Psychological Distress. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 18(4), 233-252. doi: 10.1097/01.pra0000416014.53215.86

Shapiro, S. L., Schwartz, G. E., Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Medical and Premedical Students. Journal of Behavioral

Medicine, 21(6), 581-598.

Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegan, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070.