Can clinical psychology students benefit from brief and intensive mindfulness training?. Issue 2 (24th October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schanche, Elisabeth; Vøllestad, Jon; Binder, Per Einar; Osnes, Berge; Visted, Endre; Svendsen, Julie Lillebostad; Sørensen, Lin
• Is Part Of: Counselling and psychotherapy research. Volume 20:Issue 2(2020:Jun.)
• Page Start: 311
• Page End: 324
• Publication Date: 2019-10-24
• Subjects: clinical training -- therapist skills -- mindfulness training -- personal practice; Counseling -- Periodicals; Psychotherapy -- Periodicals; 616.891405
• DOI: 10.1002/capr.12273
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-3145

Abstract

Abstract: This pilot study examined the impact of mindfulness training on skills relevant for the well‐being and therapeutic functioning of clinical psychology students. Twenty‐five psychology students took part in an intensive mindfulness training programme, consisting of three 2.5‐hr sessions and one all‐day silent retreat. The students filled out self‐report measures of rumination, emotional reactivity to stress, difficulties with emotion regulation, mindfulness and self‐compassion. They also completed two cognitive tests (revised version of the Attention Network Test and a Stroop colour‐word inference task) before and after the course. The students reported significant decreases in rumination ( d = 0.75, p = .001), emotional reactivity to stress ( d = 0.81, p = .001) and difficulties in emotion regulation ( d = 0.57, p = .008). They also reported increased mindfulness ( d = 0.93, p = .001) and self‐compassion ( d = 0.81, p = .001). On both cognitive performance tests, the students showed an increase in executive control, that is the ability to prioritise among competing thoughts, feelings and responses (ANT, d = 1.48; p = .001; Stroop: d = 0.63; p = .004). The students also showed a moderate increase in cognitive flexibility ( d = 0.66; p = .003), measured by Stroop. Conclusions: The study indicates that it may be beneficial to introduce personal mindfulness practice as a way of preparing novice therapists for their future profession. The findings also support the potential value of including measures of attentional capacities in future studies of psychotherapy training.