Feasibility of Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Veterans Managing Chronic Pain

Background. Chronic pain impacts people's activity participation, productivity, mental health, and sense of wellbeing. Purpose. This study aimed to (1) evaluate the feasibility of the Mindfulness-Based Chronic Pain Management (MBCPMTM) program on reducing pain perception and enhancing the quality of life, and (2) understand veterans' experience with the program. Method. The pretest-posttest single-group, mixed-methods design was used. Thirty-one veterans were offered the 12-week intervention. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-29 were administered before and after the program. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted to understand the experience. Findings. Participants' PCS scores improved (Z = -3.116, p = .002), but the pain intensity did not change significantly. Themes from qualitative data include: (1) We are not alone! (2) I have a sense of awareness, choices, and control; and (3) It does work! Implications. The study shows preliminary feasibility of MBCPMTM for veterans. This promising effect supports future rigorous testing of this intervention.

Implicit States of Connectivity in the Clinical Practice of Jungian Psychoanalysis and Andean Shamanism

This paper will describe the spiritual states of "oneness" experienced by Andean shamans in relation to oceanic states in early infancy and working with trauma in Jungian analysis. The author's work exploring implicit energetic experience with Andean shamans will be referenced with comparisons made to depth psychology, in both theory and in practice. Definitions of Q'echua terms describing different psychic meditative states that Andean shamans enter into will be provided as Andean medicine people have a much more developed language for conceptualizing these experiences. A clinical vignette will be presented that demonstrates how the spaces of implicit connection that occur between an analyst and analysand in the analytic setting can be a catalyst for healing.

[The art of healing and spirituality, the point of view of a Buddhist doctor]

The spiritual path proposed by Buddhism is based on foundations to be integrated and put into practice. This path and the meditation that integrates it opens up capacities for the caregiver and beneficial effects from a therapeutic point of view for the patient.

[Mindfulness meditation, a source of professional wellbeing]

Mindfulness meditation, by focusing attention on what we are experiencing, improves personal wellbeing which is then expressed in caregivers' professional practices. Nurses who practise mindfulness will be better positioned to help their patients.

[Treating depression through mindfulness-based cognitive therapy]

Mindfulness is the art of being fully present in what we are doing, without judgement and without expectation. A therapeutic education programme was created in the 1990s in order to combat depression and generalised anxiety disorder. In France, this programme will be used in psychiatry. Meditation and psychoeducation will enable patients with depression to gradually establish a detachment with regard to the psychological and emotional content.