Medical and Psychology Student’s Experiences in Learning Mindfulness: Benefits, Paradoxes, and Pitfalls

Abstract

Mindfulness has attracted increased interest in the field of health professionals’ education due to its proposed double benefit of providing self-help strategies to counter stress and burnout symptoms and cultivating attitudes central to the role of professional helpers. The current study explored the experiential aspects of learning mindfulness. Specifically, we explored how first-year medical and psychology students experienced and conceptualized mindfulness upon completion of a 7-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Twenty-two students participated in either two focus group interviews or ten in-depth interviews, and we performed an interpretive phenomenological analysis of the interview transcripts. All students reported increased attention and awareness of psychological and bodily phenomena. The majority also reported a shift in their attitudes towards their experiences in terms of decreased reactivity, increased curiosity, affect tolerance, patience and self-acceptance, and improved relational qualities. The experience of mindfulness was mediated by subjective intention and the interpretation of mindfulness training. The attentional elements of mindfulness were easier to grasp than the attitudinal ones, in particular with respect to the complex and inherently paradoxical elements of non-striving and radical acceptance. Some participants considered mindfulness as a means to more efficient instrumental task-oriented coping, whilst others reported increased sensitivity and tolerance towards their own state of mind. A broader range of program benefits appeared dependent upon embracing the paradoxes and integrating attitudinal elements in practising mindfulness. Ways in which culture and context may influence the experiences in learning mindfulness are discussed along with practical, conceptual, and research implications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0521-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Determining the feasibility and effectiveness of brief online mindfulness training for rural medical students: a pilot study

“…Some struggled to prioritize their mindfulness practice due to time pressures or content they did not like. However, confirming previous qualitative evaluations of mindfulness training programs, participants were able to write about valuable positive impacts including increased awareness and presence [18,20,45], more compassion to self and others [18,45,46], and improved emotional regulation and stress management [16-18, 20, 45-47] when they integrated the practice alongside other demands.…”

Long-term Mental Health Effects of Mindfulness Training: a 4-Year Follow-up Study

“…Qualitative data from this study highlight how motivation, intention and attitude in learning mindfulness influence the range of experienced program benefits (Solhaug et al, 2016). Whilst some students approached mindfulness primarily as a means to improve concentration or achieve relaxation, others considered mindfulness training as a way to engage in intra-and interpersonal exploration.…”

Six-year positive effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on mindfulness, coping and well-being in medical and psychology students; Results from a randomized controlled trial

“…A salient research question is therefore whether MBSR would be as effective with less emphasis on formal mindfulness practice, and conversely, whether other interventions would improve with the inclusion of mindfulness practice. Furthermore, intention and attitude in practicing mindfulness could be as important as the amount of practice completed [ 62 ], and motivational factors and the quality of mindfulness practice should be attended to in future research.…”