Mindfulness Interventions

Mindfulness interventions aim to foster greater attention and awareness on present moment experience, and there has been a surge in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mindfulness interventions in recent years. This review takes stock of the growing mindfulness intervention RCT evidence to-date by reviewing and discussing: 1) mindfulness intervention effects on health, cognitive, affective, and interpersonal outcomes; 2) evidence-based applications of mindfulness interventions to new settings and populations (e.g., the workplace, military, schools); 3) psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness interventions; 4) mindfulness intervention dosing considerations; and 5) potential risks of mindfulness interventions. There are multiple domains where mindfulness interventions have been shown to improve outcomes in methodologically rigorous RCTs (e.g., chronic pain, depression relapse, addiction). Discussion focuses on opportunities and challenges for mindfulness intervention research, and community applications.