Participant experiences of change in mindfulness-based stress reduction for anxiety disorders

ABSTRACT

Aim

To explore experiences of change among participants in a randomized clinical trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for anxiety disorders.

Method

Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the subjective experiences of change for individuals with anxiety disorders after a course in MBSR. Interviews were analysed employing hermeneutic-phenomenological thematic analysis.

Results

Five main themes were identified: 1) Something useful to do when anxiety appears, 2) Feeling more at ease, 3) Doing things my anxiety wouldn’t let me, 4) Meeting what is there, and 5) Better—but not there yet. Most participants used what they had learned for instrumental purposes, and described relief from anxiety and an increased sense of personal agency. A few reported more radical acceptance of anxiety, as well as increased self-compassion.

Conclusion

Participants of MBSR both describe mindfulness as a tool to “fix” anxiety and as bringing about more fundamental change towards acceptance of their anxiety. The complexity of reported change corresponds with better handling of areas representing known transdiagnostic features of anxiety disorder, such as dysfunctional cognitive processes (including attentional biases), emotional dysregulation, avoidance behaviours, and maladaptive self-relatedness. This supports MBSR as a transdiagnostic approach to the treatment of anxiety disorders.

KEYWORDS:

• Qualitative Research Methods
• anxiety
• mindfulness
• mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elisabeth Schanche

Elisabeth Schanche, PhD, is a specialist in clinical psychology and associate professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway. Her main research interests are skills training for psychotherapists, mindfulness-based interventions in prevention of depressive relapse, and psychotherapy process research.

Jon Vøllestad

Jon Vøllestad, PhD, is a specialist in clinical psychology and associate professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway. His main research interests are mindfulness-based interventions in clinical training and in the treatment of psychological disorders.

Per-Einar Binder

Per-Einar Binder, PhD, is a specialist in clinical psychology and professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway. His main research interests are relational, emotion focused and existential psychotherapy, mindfulness-based interventions, narrative identity and qualitative research methods.

Aslak Hjeltnes

Aslak Hjeltnes, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway. His main research interests are change processes in psychotherapy, qualitative methods, mindfulness, empathy, and humanistic-experiential therapies.

Ingrid Dundas

Ingrid Dundas, PhD, is a specialist in clinical psychology and associate professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway. Her research interests includes combining quantitative and qualitative methods in studies of mindfulness-based interventions as well as other topics.

Geir Høstmark Nielsen

Geir Høstmark Nielsen is professor emeritus at the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway. He has a particular interest in dynamic psychotherapy, supervision processes in psychotherapy, and ethics in clinical psychology.