Don't Forget Your Body: Mindfulness, Embodiment, and the Treatment of Depression

@article{Michalak2012DontFY,
  title={Don't Forget Your Body: Mindfulness, Embodiment, and the Treatment of Depression},
  author={Johannes Michalak and Jan M. Burg and Thomas Heidenreich},
  journal={Mindfulness},
  year={2012},
  volume={3},
  pages={190-199}
}
During the past decade, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) aiming at relapse prevention in depression has been developed and empirically tested. All exercises taught during MBCT are based on the development of a heightened awareness of one's body. The important role of the body is also stressed in a recently emerging interdisciplinary field of research termed ‘embodiment.’ This research program focuses on the interactions between bodily, cognitive, and emotional processes. Based on the… 
View on Springer
85 Citations
Background Citations
20
Methods Citations
2
Results Citations
2

85 Citations

Effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Body Awareness in Patients with Chronic Pain and Comorbid Depression
TLDR
Preliminary evidence that a mindfulness-based intervention may increase facets of body awareness as assessed with the MAIA in a population of pain patients with depression is provided.
Embodied Mindfulness Questionnaire: Scale Development and Validation.
TLDR
Results from a series of three studies supported the proposed five subscales of EMQ and suggested that these subscales are independent and supported by convergent and discriminant evidence, as well as theoretical and practical implications of the EMQ subscales.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Primary Care Patients' Experiences of Outcomes in Everyday Life and Relapse Prevention
TLDR
It is indicated that traditional cognitive behavioural interventions, such as behaviour activation and establishing a maintenance plan, might not be as essential to relapse prevention as formerly thought.
Holding the body in mind: Interoceptive awareness, dispositional mindfulness and psychological well-being.
Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Body Mindfulness Questionnaire
The body is central in many mindfulness-based interventions. Body mindfulness has been defined as observing body experiences and as a consequence appreciating body experiences. Since only a few…
Embodied Mindfulness
In this paper, we review different definitions and operationalization of mindfulness according to both Buddhist tradition and western conceptualizations, namely mindfulness as defined in modern…
The mind-body relationship in psychotherapy: grounded cognition as an explanatory framework
TLDR
The overarching aim of this paper is to problematize the mind–body relationship in psychotherapy in the service of encouraging advances in theory and practice, and introduces a contemporary, holistic, psychological conceptualization of the relationship between mind and body.
The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Strategies on Perceived Stress and Psychobiosocial States in Athletes and Recreationally Active People
The mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programme is gaining increasing attention in sport and physical activity domains. This programme comprises three meditation practices: mindful yoga, body…
An investigation into the application and processes of manualised group body psychotherapy for depressive disorder in a clinical trial
TLDR
Interventions in body-oriented psychological therapy appear to be particularly effective in assisting patients to identify and express a wide range of feelings, including connecting repressed anger with feelings of sadness.
The effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the somatic, cognitive, behavioral anxiety and quality of sleep of pregnant mothers
Aim and Background: Pregnancy is one of the most important phases of a woman’s reproductive cycle and is considered a natural process for them. Nevertheless, due to changes in psychological and…
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 77 REFERENCES
The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Cognitive Processes and Affect in Patients with Past Depression
This study describes the effects of an 8-week course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; J. Kabat-Zinn, 1982, 1990) on affective symptoms (depression and anxiety), dysfunctional attitudes,…
Minding one's emotions: mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness.
TLDR
Restoring balance between affective and sensory neural networks-supporting conceptual and body based representations of emotion-could be one path through which mindfulness reduces vulnerability to dysphoric reactivity.
The Healthy Quality of Mindful Breathing: Associations With Rumination and Depression
The present study examines the relationships between mindfulness and rumination, repetitive negative thinking, and depressive symptoms, employing a newly developed paradigm for the assessment of…
The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being.
  • K. Brown, R. Ryan
  • Psychology
    Journal of personality and social psychology
  • 2003
TLDR
Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies show that the MAAS measures a unique quality of consciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindfulness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced self-awareness.
The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Depressive Gait Patterns
Abstract According to embodiment theories, the experience of emotional states affects somatovisceral and motoric systems, whereas the experience of bodily states affects methods by which emotional…
How does mindfulness-based cognitive therapy work?
Clarifying the Construct of Mindfulness in the Context of Emotion Regulation and the Process of Change in Therapy
Bishop et al. (this issue) propose an operational definition of mindfulness developed by a recent consensus panel. The group provides a solid empirical framework from which to develop measures of…
Rumination as a predictor of relapse in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression.
TLDR
Post-treatment levels of rumination predicted the risk of relapse of major depressive disorder in the 12-month follow-up period even after controlling for numbers of previous episodes and residual depressive symptoms.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse
Kabat-Zinn, Foreword. Part I: The Challenge of Depression. Introduction. Depression: The Scope of the Problem. Cognition, Mood, and the Nature of Depressive Relapse. Developing Mindfulness-Based…
Effects of Mindfulness on Meta-Awareness and Specificity of Describing Prodromal Symptoms in Suicidal Depression
TLDR
It is suggested that mindfulness training may enable patients to reflect on memories of previous crises in a detailed and decentered way, allowing them to relate to such experiences in a way that is likely to be helpful in preventing future relapses.
...
...