Seattle Veteran’s Affairs Hospital offers Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Nov 25th, 2008 by admin
Even the Federal Government has recognized that MBSR is efficacious in the treatment of disease. For this program to be funded by the VA, the evidence supporting its use has been validated and peer-reviewed.
This program, termed MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), is a standardized program of meditation and yoga for persons with chronic illnesses. The program is conducted over an 8-week period in a group setting. Classes meet once weekly for 2.5 hours, then once for 6 hours on a Saturday. During the meetings participants receive instructions in the practice of mindfulness meditation (nonjudgmental awareness), discuss stress, coping skills and previous homework assignments. Movement and gentle stretching exercises are conducted in order to promote awareness of the body. Around the sixth week, participants meet for a 6-hour period to practice mindfulness meditation more intensively. Conditions for which there is evidence to support MBSR include chronic pain, depression, anxiety disorders, psoriasis, fibromyalgia, cancer, multiple sclerosis, eating disorders, as well as other chronic medical conditions.