Small to moderate effectiveness: 0.42
What is Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction?
1. Moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness
2. Developed in the 1970s
3. Techniques: Mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, body awareness (focusing one’s attention on various regions of the body), and yoga is used for clients to become more mindful
4. Secular program
5. Based on the following tenets: “non-judging, non-striving, acceptance, letting go, beginner’s mind, patience, trust, and non-centering”
6. How it works: Focusing on the present is thought to heighten sensitivity to the 
environment and one’s own reactions to it, consequently enhancing self-management and coping.
7. How it works: It also provides an outlet from ruminating on the past or worrying about the future, breaking the cycle of these maladaptive cognitive processes.
Evidence:
0.55 moderate effect: reduced stress (Khoury, Sharma, Rush, & Fournier, 2015)
0.36 small effect: reduced stress (Abbott, Whear, Rodgers, Bethel, Coon, Kuyken, & … Dickens, 2014)
0.35 small effect: reduced depression (Abbott, Whear, Rodgers, Bethel, Coon, Kuyken, & … Dickens, 2014)
0.50 moderate effect: reduced anxiety (Abbott, Whear, Rodgers, Bethel, Coon, Kuyken, & … Dickens, 2014)
0.35 small effect: improved quality of life in fibromyalgia patients (Lauche, Cramer, Dobos, Langhorst, & Schmidt, 2013)
0.23 small effect: decreased pain in fibromyalgia patients (Lauche, Cramer, Dobos, Langhorst, & Schmidt, 2013)
0.71 moderate to large effect: decreased stress in breast cancer patients (Zainal, Booth, & Huppert, 2013)
0.58 moderate effect: decreased depression in breast cancer patients (Zainal, Booth, & Huppert, 2013)
0.73 moderate effect: decreased anxiety in breast cancer patients (Zainal, Booth, & Huppert, 2013)
0.26 small effect: decreased depression in chronic medical disease patients (Bohlmeijer, Prenger, Taal, & Cuijpers, 2010)
0.24 small effect: reduced anxiety in chronic medical disease patients (Bohlmeijer, Prenger, Taal, & Cuijpers, 2010)
0.48 small to moderate effect: helpful for cancer patients (Ledesma & Kumano, 2009)
0.18 no effect: did not increase physical health (Ledesma & Kumano, 2009)
Abbott, R. A., Whear, R., Rodgers, L. R., Bethel, A., Coon, J. T., Kuyken, W., & … Dickens, C. (2014). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness based cognitive therapy in vascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Journal Of Psychosomatic Research, 76(5), 341-351. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2014.02.012
Bohlmeijer, E., Prenger, R., Taal, E., & Cuijpers, P. (2010). The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on mental health of adults with a chronic medical disease: A meta-analysis. Journal Of Psychosomatic Research, 68(6), 539-544. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.10.005
Khoury, B., Sharma, M., Rush, S. E., & Fournier, C. (2015). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis. Journal Of Psychosomatic Research, 78(6), 519-528. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009
Lauche, R., Cramer, H., Dobos, G., Langhorst, J., & Schmidt, S. (2013). A systematic review and meta-analysis of mindfulness-based stress reduction for the fibromyalgia syndrome. Journal Of Psychosomatic Research, 75(6), 500-510. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2013.10.010
Ledesma, D., & Kumano, H. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cancer: A meta-analysis. Psycho-Oncology, 18(6), 571-579. doi:10.1002/pon.1400
Zainal, N. Z., Booth, S., & Huppert, F. A. (2013). The efficacy of mindfulness‐based stress reduction on mental health of breast cancer patients: A meta‐analysis. Psycho-Oncology, 22(7), 1457-1465. doi:10.1002/pon.3171
How To Therapy 