Meditation and psychotherapy: a rationale for the integration of dynamic psychotherapy, the relaxation response, and mindfulness meditation

Authors
I Kutz, J Z Borysenko, H Benson
Publication
The American Journal of Psychiatry
Abstract

A framework for the integration of meditation and psychotherapy is presented through a consideration of the psychobiological nature of meditation (the relaxation response) and discussion of a traditional meditation practice (mindfulness meditation) as an effective cognitive technique for the development of self-awareness. The mechanisms by which the emotional and cognitive changes of meditation can be of therapeutic value are explored and the synergistic advantages of the combination of psychotherapy and meditation are discussed.

Related Listings
Neurobiology of Stress
Journal
Neurobiology of Stress
Journal devoted to the neurobiology of stress
The Relaxation Response
Authors
Herbert Benson, John F Beary, Mark P Carol
Journal
Psychiatry
·
In the Western world today, there is a growing interest in nonpharmacological, self-induced, altered states of consciousness because of their alleged benefits of better mental and physical health and improved ability to deal with tension and stress. During the experience of one of these states, individuals claim to have feelings of increased creativity, of infinity, and of immortality; they have an evangelistic sense of mission, and report that mental physical suffering vanish (Dean). […]
Depression and Education as Predicting Factors ...
Authors
Mutsuhiro Nakao, MD, MPH, Gregory Fricchione, MD, Patricia Myers, Patricia C. Zuttermeister, MA, Arthur J. Barsky, MD, Herbert Benson, MD
Journal
Behavioral Medicine
The authors compared characteristics of 1,012 outpatients completing a 10-week behavioral medicine intervention with 300 outpatients who dropped out. They administered the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90R) before and after the program. Patients who completed the treatment, compared with dropouts, tended to be more highly educated, married, and gainfully employed. Their pretreatment scores on the SCL-90R were significantly lower than those of the dropouts on somatization, depressi […]