Enhancing relaxation states and positive emotions in physicians through a mindfulness training program: A one-year study.

Previous research on mindfulness has focused mainly on stress-related negative symptoms and short-term effects. In contrast, the present article focuses on the impact of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on improving well-being (i.e. relaxation states and related positive emotions) in a longitudinal study for a period of one year. A randomized controlled trial in a sample of 42 physicians was used. The intervention group participated in an 8-week MBSR program, with an additional 10-month maintenance period and completed measures of mindfulness and relaxation at pre-intervention, post-intervention and after 10 months. Heart rate measures were also obtained. Significant improvements in favor of the experimental group compared with the control group on the levels of mindfulness and relaxation (including positive emotional states, such as at ease/peace, renewal, energy, optimism, happiness, acceptance, and even transcendence) were obtained after eight weeks. Remarkably, change magnitudes (effect size) significantly increased at the end of the maintenance period after a year, especially for mindfulness and positive energy. Additionally, heart rate significantly decreased for the intervention group and maintained a year after the beginning of the treatment. Results are relevant in terms of practical consequences for improving health and well-being in this population and also in terms of cost-efficiency.

Improving Communication between Physicians and Their Patients through Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Strategies: A Narrative Review.

Communication between physicians and patients is a key pillar of psychosocial support for enhancing the healing process of patients and for increasing their well-being and quality of life. Physicians and other health professionals might benefit from interventions that increase their self-care, awareness, compassion, and other-focused concern, and reduce the chances of distress and burnout. There is substantial evidence for the contribution of different management strategies to achieve these aims. The goal of this article is to review the potential effect of mindfulness and compassion-based strategies for the improvement of physician-patient interactions. The acquisition of the necessary skills by physicians requires continuous education. Future research will be useful for identifying more evidence on the cost-effectiveness of this type of intervention.

Effect of a Mindfulness Training Program on the Impulsivity and Aggression Levels of Adolescents with Behavioral Problems in the Classroom.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to analyze the effects of a mindfulness training psycho-educative program on impulsivity and aggression levels in a sample of high school students. Methods: A randomized controlled trial with pre-test-post-test measurements was applied to an experimental group and a control group (waiting list). The Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) Patton et al. (1995) and the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss and Perry, 1992) were used. Results: Statistical analyses showed a significant decrease in the levels of impulsivity and aggressiveness in the experimental group compared with the control group. These results have important implications for improving the level of academic engagement and self-efficacy of students and for reducing school failure. Conclusion: This is one of the first studies showing the effectiveness of mindfulness training at reducing impulsive and aggressive behaviors in the classroom. The efficacy of mindfulness-based programs is emphasized.

The State of the Art of Group Psychotherapy in Spain.

(1) What is the history and the theoretical orientation of group therapy in Spain? (2) How is training organized? (3) What role does group psychotherapy play in the health system in Spain? (4) What is the relationship between group psychotherapy research and clinical practice in Spain? (5) What topics can be identified as unique to therapy groups in Spain? (6) How are group-related issues important within the social background of Spain? and (7) What does group work hold for the future? Although not even a century has passed since the birth of this discipline, there have already been many events associated with the management of power and knowledge, the development of a sense of community, and the evolution of the political and social life of our country. Group therapy training is still evolving and is properly supported and accredited by prestigious institutions. In the 2013 Symposium of the Spanish Society of Group Psychotherapy and Group Techniques (SEPTG), the need for joint group theories and techniques within the profession's activities was clearly highlighted. Further, the enthusiasm of group psychotherapists to open themselves to specific social perspectives (health, education, community prevention, organizations) is a way of encouraging society to untangle conscious and unconscious knots that are created in social interaction.

Acceptability and Effectiveness of a Long-Term Educational Intervention to Reduce Physicians' Stress-Related Conditions.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to test the acceptability and effectiveness of a two-phase mindfulness-based stress reduction program (8-week initial treatment plus a 10-month maintenance phase) in alleviating work stress-related symptoms (i.e., burnout, heart rate [HR], and blood pressure [BP]) in a sample of 42 physicians. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial and a simple pre-post design were used, respectively, for each of the two phases of the study. Outcome measures included the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Questionnaire. HR and BP measures were also obtained in the experimental group by means of a digital monitor. RESULTS: After the initial 8 weeks of treatment, significant improvements for the experimental group in mindfulness levels and reductions in emotional exhaustion, HR, and BP were obtained. Effect sizes (Cohen d) significantly increased over the 10-month maintenance period, especially for mindfulness and systolic BP. Acceptance was notably high (low attrition rate and high compliance with program activities). DISCUSSION: Outcomes are significant in terms of practical consequences for reducing and controlling risks of developing burnout and cardiovascular disease in this population and enhancing well-being in life.

La predicción afectiva positiva como factor de protección socio-emocional en madres transnacionales antes y después de la reagrupación familiar: relación con la satisfacción con la vida, regulación emocional, soledad social, resiliencia y estrés / Positive affective prediction as a factor of social emotional protection in transnational mothers before and after family reunification: relationship with life satisfaction, emotional regulation, social loneliness, resilience and stress

La predicción afectiva es un proceso de sobrestimación emocional previo a un acontecimiento. Suele asociarse a altas expectativas y a un coste socioemocional posterior. Para estudiar las diferencias entre las predicciones afectivas antes y después de la reagrupación familiar transnacional, se analizan a 188 madres inmigrantes residentes en España, bien expectantes por reagrupar, bien reagrupadas con sus hijos. Se hipotetiza y confirma la existencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las mujeres en situación antes y después en relación a satisfacción con la vida, control emocional, resiliencia, estrés y soledad social. Además, se, resalta la función positiva del pronóstico afectivo en el ajuste socio cognitivo de las madres transnacionales. Previamente al evento, éste media entre la satisfacción y la soledad social, y después de la reagrupación, tiene una función mediadora entre la satisfacción vital y el descontrol emocional asociado al encuentro lo que expresa su papel protector en la conciliación familiar.

Affective forecasting is an emotional process of overestimation of the future. Previous studies indicate that if these expectations are excessive and do not coincide with reality they can lead to a high socio emotional cost after the event. In order to analyze the differences in affective predictions before and after transnational reunification 188 immigrant mothers resident in Spain were divided in two groups according to whether or not they had regrouped with their children. Both groups were homogeneous in socio-demographics (age, number of children, education level, employment status, and reasons for migrating). The results confirm the existence of significant differences between emotional experience, before and after reunification. It was found that affective forecasting played a positive role before and after the event for the variables affecting socio-cognitive regulation in both groups (well-being, emotional regulation, resilience and stress), but in different manner during the process of transnational family reunification.

The Impact of Cultural Dissonance and Acculturation Orientations on Immigrant Students' academic performance / El impacto de la disonancia cultural y las orientaciones de aculturación en el rendimiento académico de estudiantes inmigrantes

Abstract Prior research has documented meaningful differences between school performance of immigrant and native students. Multicultural education has been associated with academic failure of foreign students. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a set of psychosocial variables on the perceived academic achievement of first generation immigrant adolescents from public secondary schools in Northern Spain. Results showed that 46% of the variability in foreign students' perceived academic performance was explained by home-school cultural dissonance. We also explored the impact of acculturation orientation to separation, perception of discrimination from teachers, school adjustment, and psychological well-being in academic performance. Any multicultural education context should take into account psychosocial adjustment, given its influence on academic performance of all students.

Resumen Se han hallado diferencias significativas entre el rendimiento académico de los inmigrantes y el de los estudiantes nativos. Sin embargo, hay una escasa evidencia acerca de los aspectos psicosociales de este fenómeno. El objetivo de este estudio fue examinar el impacto de un conjunto de variables psicosociales: disonancia cultural y orientaciones de aculturación en el rendimiento académico percibido de adolescentes inmigrantes de primera generación de centros de Educación Secundaria en el Norte de España. Los resultados mostraron que alrededor del 46% de la variabilidad en el rendimiento era explicada por la disonancia cultural entre escuela y hogar. Cualquier contexto de educación multicultural ha de tomar en consideración el ajuste psicosocial, dada su influencia en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes.