Studies suggest that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction may be helpful in treating posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans, and that individuals who participate in MBSR may have significant improvements in PTSD symptoms. A recent study evaluated the relationship between changes in mindfulness and PTSD symptoms, and found that participants who reported increased mindfulness over the course of treatment also reported reduced PTSD symptoms. In particular, their results showed that changes in Non-Reactivity to internal experience and Acting With Awareness (being consistently aware of one’s current experience rather than “running on automatic”) as measured by the Five Factor Mindfulness Scale were most strongly correlated with changes in PTSD and that increases in these factors were significantly associated with lower PTSD symptoms. The authors concluded that there are important connections between specific aspects of mindfulness and improvement in PTSD symptoms.
Stephenson, et al. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2017;73:201-17.
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