Author: Kearney DJ, Malte CA, McManus C, Martinez ME, Felleman B, Simpson TL.
Affiliation: VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Department of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Conference/Journal: J Trauma Stress.
Date published: 2013 Jul 25
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1002/jts.21832 , Word Count: 213
Loving-kindness meditation is a practice designed to enhance feelings of kindness and compassion for self and others. Loving-kindness meditation involves repetition of phrases of positive intention for self and others. We undertook an open pilot trial of loving-kindness meditation for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Measures of PTSD, depression, self-compassion, and mindfulness were obtained at baseline, after a 12-week loving-kindness meditation course, and 3 months later. Effect sizes were calculated from baseline to each follow-up point, and self-compassion was assessed as a mediator. Attendance was high; 74% attended 9-12 classes. Self-compassion increased with large effect sizes and mindfulness increased with medium to large effect sizes. A large effect size was found for PTSD symptoms at 3-month follow-up (d = -0.89), and a medium effect size was found for depression at 3-month follow-up (d = -0.49). There was evidence of mediation of reductions in PTSD symptoms and depression by enhanced self-compassion. Overall, loving-kindness meditation appeared safe and acceptable and was associated with reduced symptoms of PTSD and depression. Additional study of loving-kindness meditation for PTSD is warranted to determine whether the changes seen are due to the loving-kindness meditation intervention versus other influences, including concurrent receipt of other treatments.
Published 2013. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
PMID: 23893519