The Impact of Mindfulness and Meditation Practice on Client Perceptions of Common Therapeutic Factors

Abstract

Counselor mindfulness practice may help cultivate common therapeutic factors (e.g., empathy, working alliance). Researchers in this quantitative research study identified significant relationships between therapist mindfulness and client perceptions of the therapist's way of being and the working alliance. The impact of meditation training on these variables was also explored.

Evaluating Differences in the Working Alliance Based on Frequency of Mindfulness Practices Among Counselors‐in‐Training

“…Results of additional research indicated that a counselor’s ability to consistently develop strong working alliances with each client accounts for approximately 16% of client outcome (Baldwin, Wampold, & Imel, 2007; Wampold & Imel, 2015). In an attempt to identify counselor characteristics associated with forming and maintaining strong working alliances, some researchers have proposed mindfulness as one such characteristic (Christopher & Maris, 2010; Greason & Welfare, 2013; Hicks, 2010).…”

“…These benefits include enhanced focus (Campbell & Christopher, 2012), management of intrusive thoughts and distracting internal emotional reactions (McCollum & Gehart, 2010), avoidance of negative evaluations of the client (Hicks, 2010), and improved recognition of and response to alliance ruptures (Safran & Muran, 2000). The results of prior research indicate that the working alliance has a positive association between dispositional mindfulness (Greason & Welfare, 2013; Ryan et al, 2012; Wexler, 2006) and state‐specific, in‐session mindfulness (Johnson, 2018). Researchers have also reported that client improvements are associated with dispositional counselor mindfulness (Ryan et al, 2012) and with counselor mindfulness practices (Grepmair et al, 2007).…”

“…Although previous authors have collectively provided support for the association between counselor mindfulness and the working alliance (Greason & Welfare, 2013; Ryan et al, 2012; Wexler, 2006), they have not addressed the relationship between the working alliance and counselors’ engagement in mindfulness practices. Most studies that have examined the relationship between the working alliance and counselor mindfulness have focused on dispositional mindfulness (Ryan et al, 2012) or state mindfulness expressed in a counseling session (Johnson, 2018), rather than on engagement in counselor mindfulness practices.…”

“…To better specify differences in the working alliance among the four groups, we evaluated differences for the goal, task, and bond components, rather than for the working alliance composite score, because the goal and task components of the working alliance involve complex cognitive processes and the bond component involves affective‐based motivational processes (Safran & Muran, 2000), which may be differentially influenced by mindfulness practices (Kline, 2009). Furthermore, prior research has suggested that the components of the working alliance may have distinct relationships with mindfulness and mindfulness practices (Greason & Welfare, 2013; Johnson, 2018). Based on prior conceptual and empirical findings, we decided to conduct three analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) to evaluate group differences for the dependent variables of goal, task, and bond, rather than conducting a single multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with goal, task, and bond as dependent variables.…”

The Relationship Between State Mindfulness and Working Alliance Among Counselors‐in‐Training

“…To address this limitation, several authors have recommend identifying counselor characteristics associated with the consistent establishment of a strong working alliance (a component of successful therapeutic relationships; Baldwin et al, ; Del Re et al, ; Wampold & Imel, ) and fostering those identified characteristics in counselor education (Horvath, Del Re, Flückiger, & Symonds, ; Baldwin et al, ; Norcross & Lambert, ). Mindfulness may be one such characteristic (Christopher & Maris, ; P. R. Fulton, ; Greason & Welfare, ; Hicks, ).…”