This application proposes to develop and pilot test a randomized control trial group parenting intervention (Yoga for Parenting Success: YPS) for single mothers of toddlers. YPS integrates the tenets of Emotion Coaching (EC: Gottman, 1997) with the principles of Viniyoga™ Therapy (VYT: Kraftsow, 1999, 2002). EC involves parental scaffolding children’s emotional development and self-regulation through …
Grant Type Archives:
Investigating the effects of loving kindness meditation on interpersonal stress generation in chronically depressed patients
Grant voided.
Differential effects of empathy and compassion on emotional and behavioral processes
Grant voided.
Investigation into the effects of compassion training for subjects and relatives on uncontrollability over pain that drives temporal summation from a first-, second-, and third-person perspective
Various factors are known to maintain pain. Among them, lack of control over pain, a frequent complaint of chronic pain patients, increases pain intensity and unpleasantness2 and is associated with changes in physiological measures and brain activation. Our previous results, submitted for publication, suggest that lack of control over pain is associated with an activation …
Strengthening memories of compassion
Compassion is a feeling that occurs in response to another’s suffering and motivates a subsequent helping desire (Goetz, Keltner, Simon-Thomas, 2010; Lazarus, 1991). Recent findings suggest that compassion may be trained through contemplative practice and that this training leads to increased prosocial feelings and behavior (Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, & Finkel, 2008; Hutcherson, Seppala, & …
Comparing the efficacy of mindfulness-based training vs. working-memory training on cognitive health and resilience to acute stress in older adults
Maintaining mental well-being, be it cognitive or emotional, in the elderly has proven challenging which could explain why ‘fitness for the mind’ regimens have become a billion dollar industry. Two types of training are well-documented: 1) mindfulness-based (MB) training, especially secular forms, and 2) working memory (WM) training. Though primarily studied in younger populations, these …
Socio-emotional effects of Insight Meditation retreat participation on practitioners and their close others
Some meditation practices aim, in part, to improve interpersonal relationships likely though enhanced emotion regulation abilities and the cultivation of compassion and loving-kindness for self and others. Research has primarily focused on outcomes for the practitioners, however, little research has examined the social effects of practice, especially in individuals close to mediators – do they …
Staying present: Developing an empirically guided mindfulness-based intervention for transdiagnostic dissociation
Dissociation is a set of disabling symptoms characterized by disruption in cognitive and sensory experience, found in various psychiatric disorders. Dissociation increases risk of dangerous behaviors (e.g., self-injury, suicidality, binging and purging) and interferes with the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment. Dissociation involves retreating from experience of the present moment; in contrast, mindfulness practice trains individuals …
Developing and testing an internet-based mindfulness intervention for women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a rising epidemic worldwide and poses a significant public health challenge. GDM adversely affects women’s emotional well-being, health outcomes including future development of Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and infant health such as preeclampsia, mortality, and heightened risks for diabetes and other metabolic issues. A mindfulness-based intervention approach, coupled …
Biological and psychological mechanisms of mindfulness meditation-based interventions for depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly burdensome and psychological and biological features are mechanistically implicated in its etiology. Fewer than one-in-three depressed patients achieve remission after treatment. Understanding treatment mechanisms of MDD is clearly an important objective. Mindfulness training emphasizes the development of attention and experiential acceptance, improves depressive symptoms, reduces the likelihood of relapse, …
