Purpose: Mindfulness is defined as intentional, present-moment, nonjudgmental awareness. Previous studies have proposed that mindfulness practice may benefit people who stutter. This study aimed to test the relationship between levels of dispositional mindfulness in people who stutter and the impact of stuttering and whether self-compassion and the metacognitive ability of shifting to an objective perspective (decentering) mediate this relationship. It is hypothesized that greater dispositional mindfulness is associated with attenuated negative impact of stuttering on a person's life through a higher capability to shift into an objective and compassionate perspective. Method: A total of 150 Israeli adults who stutter completed a full online survey in Hebrew to assess their levels of dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, decentering capability, and impact of stuttering on their lives. The relationships between constructs were assessed using Pearson's correlation and mediation analysis. Results: The adverse impact of stuttering was negatively and moderately associated with dispositional mindfulness, such that individuals with greater self-reported dispositional mindfulness reported fewer reactions to stuttering, difficulty in communication, and higher quality of life. This relationship was fully and sequentially mediated via decentering and self-compassion, which were also negatively and moderately associated with the impact of stuttering. Conclusions: People who stutter with greater dispositional mindfulness have an increased ability to view their experiences in a more objective and compassionate manner, which is associated with an attenuated impact of stuttering on their lives. As these capabilities can be cultivated through practice, this study proposes mindfulness practice as an additional beneficial tool for people who stutter.

When considering the numerous mindfulness-based programs that have flourished in the past decades, and the varieties of interventions that are being empirically assessed, it is not always clear that they all refer to the same "mindfulness". For the benefit of increasing clarity and precision in the field of contemporary mindfulness, we suggest a map that represents the terrain of mindfulness-based practices. The map is comprised of two axes that intersect. The first is the mindfulness practices themselves, that are grouped into four ‘families’. The second is the possible transformative processes and insights that they advance. While the four families of practice are suggested to encompass the varieties of mindfulness-based practices, there may be a large range of domains of transformation. Transformations can span from self-improvement intentions like improving concentration, to psychological, clinical and spiritual intentions. Here we begin the list of possible transformational axes with four domains of transformation that correspond to the intentions of the Buddhist project. As these are the transformational intentions of the ancient practices from which contemporary mindfulness practices developed, clarifying them may be of interest to many of the readers. Importantly, the map is not only an abstraction of various existing practices, but also a model that can help locate new practices within a web of relations between practices, intentions and sought-after transformations. These connections set up the context and provide practical grounds for a useful ethical discussion. Clarifying the practices, the intention of practitioners, and the expected transformative processes of specific mindfulness practices can support the integrity of mindfulness teacher-training programs, mindfulness programs for the general public, as well as advancement of more precise hypotheses and empirical evaluations regarding the effects and mechanisms of mindfulness practices.

Purpose: Mindfulness is defined as intentional present-moment non-judgmental awareness. Previous studies have proposed that mindfulness practice might benefit people who stutter. The current study aims to test the relationship between levels of dispositional mindfulness in people who stutter and the negative impact of stuttering, and whether self-compassion and the meta-cognitive ability of shifting from subjective to objective perspective (decentering) mediate this relation. It is hypothesized that greater dispositional mindfulness allows the person who stutters to shift to an objective and compassionate perspective and react with less judgment to moments of stuttering, attenuating the negative impact of stuttering on experience. Method: An online survey was administered to adults who stutter (N=186) to assess their levels of dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, decentering capability, and overall stuttering experience. The relation between the constructs was assessed via Pearson correlation and mediation analysis. Results: One hundred and fifty adults completed the full survey. The adverse effect of stuttering was correlated negatively with dispositional mindfulness, such that individuals with greater self-reported dispositional mindfulness also reported fewer negative effects of stuttering on their lives. This relation was found to be fully mediated by levels of decentering and self-compassion. Decentering partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and self-compassion, while self-compassion alone was found to directly affect the experience of stuttering. Conclusion: People who stutter with greater dispositional mindfulness have an increased ability to view their experience in a more objective and compassionate way, and this attenuates the adverse effects of stuttering on their subjective experience. As these capabilities can be cultivated through practice, it substantiates the potential benefits of mindfulness practice for people who stutter.

When considering the numerous mindfulness-based and mindfulness-informed programs that have flourished in the past decades it is not always clear that they all refer to the same "mindfulness". To facilitate more clarity and precision in describing, researching and teaching mindfulness in the secular settings, we propose a classification framework of mindfulness practices, intentions behind them and the experiential understandings the practices may aim to develop. Accordingly, the proposed framework, called the Mindfulness Map, has two axes. The first axis outlines mindfulness practices (and associated instructions) classified into four groups (MGs), e.g. the MG1 focuses on cultivating attention to the present moment somatic and sensory experience while the MG4 focuses on cultivating the ability to recognize and deconstruct perceptual, cognitive and emotional experiences and biases. The second axis outlines possible intentions (INTs) behind teaching and practicing the MGs, e.g. the INT1 designates the intention to gain experiential understanding of how our relationship to experience contributes to wellbeing, the INT2 refers to the intention to gain experiential understanding of the changing nature of body, mind and external phenomenon. We suggest that the same MG can lead to different experiential understanding (EUs) outcomes based on the specific INTs applied in their teaching or practice. The range of INTs and EUs included here is not exhaustive, there are further types the Map could be expanded towards. Aside from encouraging more fine-grained distinctions of mindfulness practices, the proposed Map of MGs, INTs and EUs aims to open discussions about the implicit and explicit intentions for teaching and practicing mindfulness and their impact on the practice outcomes. The Map may facilitate more nuanced and precise approaches to researching the range of outcomes cultivated by mindfulness practices, help bridge contradictory findings, and catalyze further debate and research into ethical aspects of mindfulness. The Map also highlights the need for further teaching development and research on longer-term trajectories of mindfulness practice.