Journal of Clinical Psychology

Recently, the psychological construct mindfulness has received a great deal of attention. The majority of research has focused on clinical studies to evaluate the efficacy of mindfulness‐based interventions. This line of research has led to promising data suggesting mindfulness‐based interventions are effective for treatment of both psychological and physical symptoms. However, an equally important direction for future research is to investigate questions concerning mechanisms of action underlying mindfulness‐based interventions. This theoretical paper proposes a model of mindfulness, in an effort to elucidate potential mechanisms to explain how mindfulness affects positive change. Potential implications and future directions for the empirical study of mechanisms involved in mindfulness are addressed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 62: 373–386, 2006.

Do positive psychology interventions—that is, treatment methods or intentional activities aimed at cultivating positive feelings, positive behaviors, or positive cognitions—enhance well‐being and ameliorate depressive symptoms? A meta‐analysis of 51 such interventions with 4,266 individuals was conducted to address this question and to provide practical guidance to clinicians. The results revealed that positive psychology interventions do indeed significantly enhance well‐being (mean r=.29) and decrease depressive symptoms (mean r=.31). In addition, several factors were found to impact the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions, including the depression status, self‐selection, and age of participants, as well as the format and duration of the interventions. Accordingly, clinicians should be encouraged to incorporate positive psychology techniques into their clinical work, particularly for treating clients who are depressed, relatively older, or highly motivated to improve. Our findings also suggest that clinicians would do well to deliver positive psychology interventions as individual (versus group) therapy and for relatively longer periods of time. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 65: 1–21, 2009.

There is a growing consensus that mental health is not merely the absence of mental illness, but it also includes the presence of positive feelings (emotional well‐being) and positive functioning in individual life (psychological well‐being) and community life (social well‐being). We examined the structure, reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the Mental Health Continuum‐Short Form (MHC‐SF), a new self‐report questionnaire for positive mental health assessment. We expected that the MHC‐SF is reliable and valid, and that mental health and mental illness are 2 related but distinct continua. This article draws on data of the LISS panel of CentERdata, a representative panel for Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (N = 1,662). Results revealed high internal and moderate test‐retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the 3‐factor structure in emotional, psychological, and social well‐being. These subscales correlated well with corresponding aspects of well‐being and functioning, showing convergent validity. CFA supported the hypothesis of 2 separate yet related factors for mental health and mental illness, showing discriminant validity. Although related to mental illness, positive mental health is a distinct indicator of mental well‐being that is reliably assessed with the MHC‐SF. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 00:1–12, 2010.

Objective and Method:Research on emotion and pain has burgeoned. We review the last decade's literature, focusing on links between emotional processes and persistent pain.Results:Neurobiological research documents the neural processes that distinguish affective from sensory pain dimensions, link emotion and pain, and generate central nervous system pain sensitization. Psychological research demonstrates that greater pain is related to emotional stress and limited emotional awareness, expression, and processing. Social research shows the potential importance of emotional communication, empathy, attachment, and rejection.Conclusions:Emotions are integral to the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of persistent pain. Research should clarify when to eliminate or attenuate negative emotions, and when to access, experience, and express them. Theory and practice should integrate emotion into cognitive‐behavioral models of persistent pain. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 67:1–27, 2011.

Self‐compassion is conceptualized as containing 3 core components: self‐kindness versus self‐judgment, common humanity versus isolation, and mindfulness versus overidentification, when relating to painful experiences. Research evidence demonstrates that self‐compassion is related to psychological flourishing and reduced psychopathology. Mindful Self‐Compassion (MSC) is an 8‐week training program, meeting 2.5 hours each week, designed to help participants cultivate self‐compassion. MSC contains a variety of meditations (e.g., loving‐kindness, affectionate breathing) as well as informal practices for use in daily life (e.g., soothing touch, self‐compassionate letter writing). A detailed clinical case illustrates the journey of a client through the 8 weeks of MSC training, describing the key features of each session and the client's response.

This article reviews the research support for Motivational interviewing (MI) so that practitioners can make informed decisions about the value and applicability of MI in their clinical work. We highlight the evidence from the three published meta‐analyses of MI and a recent meta‐analysis that we completed. MI is significantly (10%–20%) more effective than no treatment and generally equal to other viable treatments for a wide variety of problems ranging from substance use (alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other drugs) to reducing risky behaviors and increasing client engagement in treatment. Although most client‐related variables are unrelated to outcomes (e.g., age, gender, severity), some decisions about treatment format (e.g., individual vs. group) are important. For example, relying solely on group‐delivered MI appears to be less effective than one‐on‐one MI, whereas delivering MI with problem feedback is likely to generate better outcomes for some problems than MI alone. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 65: 1–14, 2009.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious mental health problem. It is prevalent, and offspring are at risk for disturbances in development. Major risk factors include past depression, stressful life events, poor marital relationship, and social support. Public health efforts to detect PPD have been increasing. Standard treatments (e.g., Interpersonal Psychotherapy) and more tailored treatments have been found effective for PPD. Prevention efforts have been less consistently successful. Future research should include studies of epidemiological risk factors and prevalence, interventions aimed at the parenting of PPD mothers, specific diathesis for a subset of PPD, effectiveness trials of psychological interventions, and prevention interventions aimed at addressing mental health issues in pregnant women. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 65:1–12, 2009.