ABSTRACT
Mindfulness is a practice or philosophy that has been around for thousands of years. Within the last several decades, Western psychology has taken the traditional mindfulness practices of Eastern philosophy and combined it with contemporary psychology to improve individual wellbeing and health outcomes. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) are two mindfulness-based interventions that have been extensively studied in a variety of psychiatric and general population cohorts to improve wellbeing. This chapter will discuss and compare the MBSR and MBCT interventions, and describe a modification to the traditional MBCT program for nurses. The reader will also be provided with the instructions for three mindfulness practices used in both MBCT and MBSR, including the sitting meditation, the three-minute breathing space exercise, and the body scan meditation. Finally, readers will be provided with mindfulness practices that can be used while working as nurses. These practices include mindful handwashing, mindful eating, and mindful walking. The information provided in this chapter can help the individual nurse develop a personal practice of mindfulness as a resilience intervention to improve wellbeing in the workplace.
