Handbook of Mindfulness: Theory, Research, and Practice

"Although psychologists were 2,500 years late to recognize the benefits of mindfulness, behavioral scientists and practitioners have made immense strides in understanding this important process. Drawing from work across the domains of psychology, this volume examines the psychological processes that underlie mindfulness, comprehensively reviews basic research, and describes mindfulness-based interventions for specific populations. The book makes an exceptional contribution as it summarizes the current state of knowledge, offers ideas for future research, and paves the way toward even more effective interventions."--Mark R. Leary, PhD, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University

"With the exponential growth of mindfulness science over the past 30 years, this book offers a timely and inclusive snapshot of how we now define mindfulness and how it might work, the ways it integrates with current psychological theory, and how it is being applied to help improve well-being and reduce suffering. For clinicians and researchers newly interested in mindfulness, this book will provide a thorough review. For those with more experience in this area, too, the volume will most certainly provide refreshing insights and perspectives."--Mark A. Lau, PhD, Vancouver CBT Center and Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Canada

"Finally, the most comprehensive work on mindfulness! This handbook sums up the current state of the research and clinical applications and offers insightful discussions of multiple aspects of mindfulness. The chapters are written in a clear and interesting fashion by highly respected experts. This is useful reading for advanced students in psychology and cognitive sciences as well as health care professionals, and will be 'unputdownable' for anyone interested in learning more about mindfulness. I wholeheartedly recommend this excellent book."--Britta Hölzel, PhD, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital and Department of Neuroradiology, Technical University of Munich, Germany

"The mindfulness literature is growing so fast that keeping up can seem impossible. This volume helps tremendously. Ancient Buddhist teachings and their relationship to contemporary Western scientific approaches are thoughtfully discussed. Theoretical viewpoints, measurement issues, and basic research findings on the brain, cognition, and emotion are covered in depth, as are mindfulness-based interventions for healthy individuals and those with mental and physical health problems. This is an outstanding volume from a distinguished group of contributors."--Ruth A. Baer, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky

"A welcome and needed addition to the burgeoning literature of mindfulness. Readers get a solid grasp of the historical roots and current applications of mindfulness and are introduced to psychological models--both well established and more recent--that provide a context for understanding the effects of contemplative practices on body, brain, and mind. Various levels of analysis are provided, including neurobiological, cognitive, affective and psychological perspectives. The emphasis on empirical research and reasoned argument will make this volume an invaluable text for graduate-level courses."--Tony Toneatto, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada

"Mindfulness is a very old new strategy. Created over 2,500 years ago, it has finally found its place in the world of contemporary psychotherapy. The Handbook of Mindfulness is the best basic book on how this essential approach works across the various domains of psychotherapy. This book has it all, the art and science, the practical and empirical. It belongs on every clinician’s bookshelf."--Jon Carlson, PsyD, EdD, ABPP, Distinguished Professor of Adlerian Psychology, Adler University, Chicago

"This is one of the most thorough books on mindfulness to date that I am aware of, with relevant and essential input of well-respected experts. It is a valued contribution, which summarizes not only the current state of knowledge, but provides some useful ideas for the next steps in mindfulness research.”

“[The] Handbook of Mindfulness: Theory, Research, and Practice is an easy read that is tailored to those who are novices in exploring this timely topic. It would be most helpful to researchers who wish to have a compact volume that summarizes all aspects of the state of the art of meditation for mental health professionals….Because of the breadth examined, it would be an excellent choice for a textbook….Supervising clinicians who wish to quickly access common terms, themes, and clinical applications related to meditation as well as overviews of common mindfulness-based therapies would be satisfied. Content would be readable for trainees from the practicum to postdoctoral level of these well written and relatively brief ‘meta-analyses’ of sorts.”

“This book appears to be a major feat in the industry…seldom does one see something this complete, detailed, well balanced by the editors, informative, solid, and reliable in not pandering to the spiritual, but rather in answering the questions it set out to address: the nature of the theory, research, and practice of mindful interventions. It belongs on your shelf.”

Kirk Warren Brown, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He studies the role of attention to and awareness of internal states and behavior, with a particular interest in mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions. He has received fellowships from several foundations and from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Dr. Brown lectures widely across the United States and Europe and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Paris.

J. David Creswell, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, where he conducts research on stress and coping, with a focus on pathways linking mindfulness meditation training with stress reduction and stress-related disease outcomes. He serves as an academic editor for the journal PLoS ONE. Dr. Creswell is a recipient of the American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology.

Richard M. Ryan, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, Research Professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at Australian Catholic University, and Professor of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology at the University of Rochester. Dr. Ryan is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the American Educational Research Association, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. He received distinguished career awards from the International Society for Self and Identity and the International Network on Personal Meaning, as well as a Shavelson Distinguished Researcher Award, presented by the International Global SELF Research Centre, among other honors. An honorary member of the German Psychological Society and the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Thessaly in Greece, he is also a recipient of a James McKeen Cattell Fund Fellowship and a Leverhulme Fellowship. Dr. Ryan has also been a visiting professor at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, the University of Bath in England, and the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, Germany.