Mental health problems and adversity in our world today are prevalent and impairing, including among parents, children, and youth. Few who need support receive it, and many existing interventions do not offer lasting help. The social and personal costs of inattention to these problems are clear. Commitment to creating a better future draws many to the study and practice of mindfulness and other contemplative practices. This presentation will explore the following key questions: What are the limitations of extant approaches to common mental health problems? To what extent and in what ways do mindfulness-based interventions offer benefit? What challenges and cautions must be addressed if the promises of mindfulness-based interventions are to be realized?

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy is constructed from seemingly disparate elements – training in mindfulness meditation offered alongside cognitive theory of affective disorder. It has amassed a strong evidence in both reducing symptom burden and fostering wellness. At present, the question of how exactly this multi-modal treatment achieves its benefits remains largely unanswered. It is still fair to ask, for example, about the relative contribution of cognitive therapy principles versus mindfulness practice to the gains patients report. Clarifying mechanisms of action is of more than academic interest, as it will likely inform models of training for the generation of MBCT practitioners along with building a transtheoretical model of how mindfulness based programs work.

Designed for USC undergraduate, graduate, medical students, and residents/fellows. Come learn the fundamentals of conducting research in the area of mindfulness! In this workshop, you will learn to: Plan, design, and debug a research proposal Obtain your HIPAA & CITI Certifications and how to apply for IRB approval Seek funding for your research and write a grant proposal Learn to write a manuscript and submit it for publication Workshop Aims: Develop a mindfulness-focused research proposal Write a grant proposal Submit an IRB application Write and submit a research manuscript for publication Dates: March 22nd, March 29th, April 5th, & April 12th (PLAN TO ATTEND ALL FOUR DATES) Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm Location: Online (Zoom). Register Here!

As more and more people take up meditation for a variety of reasons across a plethora of settings, it is imperative that we understand how and whether different approaches to meditation work for given individuals, seeking to address specific problems or achieve specific goals. Despite popular suggestions that meditation is the cure to all our problems and that everyone can do it on their own, evidence suggests that while some may find it life-transforming, others may find it uninspiring, and still others may find it harmful. In this talk I will review what we know and what we don't about meditation and present recent data about such critical areas as motivation for practice, dose-response effects, and unexpected experiences. I will also present suggestions for the kind of work necessary in…

This presentation will discuss recent findings regarding the effectiveness of mindfulness training to strengthen attention and well-being in high stress/high demand environments. A growing literature finds that protracted periods of high stress degrade cognitive functioning and psychological health, which can lead to performance lapses that can be consequential. Our research involving a broad range of groups, such as military servicemembers, elite athletes, business professionals, medical and nursing students, and others has found that attention, working memory, and mood improve with mindfulness-based interventions. Based on these findings, I argue that mindfulness training programs should be further offered and investigated in such settings.

Dr. Morone will discuss the current evidence for treating low back pain with mindfulness, why mindfulness is well suited for persons who have chronic pain, and discuss her current HEAL PRISM pragmatic clinical trial OPTIMUM.

While acute pain alerts us to a potential damage to the body, chronic pain functions in very different ways. One of the challenging aspects of chronic pain is that the brain learns pain and becomes “better” at detecting it. Pain levels are often highly susceptible to everything from sleep to food to the quality of our relationships and to stress levels in general. Mindfulness practice helps with shining the light on the different elements of pain and breaking them down into smaller, more manageable elements. This in turn often lowers pain intensity and length of flare ups while mindfulness not only works on the pain but lowers stress levels in general and re-connects us with a more easeful and joyous life. This lecture will be focusing on core mindfulness concepts…

Description: We are all vulnerable to craving. Whether it’s a compulsion to constantly check social media, overeat, smoke, excessively drink, or any other behavior, we may find ourselves uncontrollably repeating. Why are bad habits so hard to overcome? Is willpower more myth than muscle? Can we learn how our minds work, and even tap into this very process to find a key to conquer the cravings we know are unhealthy for us and foster our natural capacities for awareness and kindness? Drawing on his clinical work, research studies and development of next-generation therapeutics for habit change, Dr. Brewer will discuss the underlying behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of why habits are formed and how mindfulness can paradoxically tap into these very processes to uproot them. He will also discuss how we…

Description: Many meditation systems – from traditional Buddhist to secular mindfulness-based approaches – promote attention and meta-cognition as important foundations for progressing towards more transformative goals. The talk will review relevant theoretical concepts and empirical evidence, primarily focusing on EEG research into changes of attention and meta-cognition that emerge from mindfulness meditation.

Description: This talk will focus on the mechanisms and applications of short-term mindfulness and compassion-based practice using randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Dr. Tang will discuss the shared mental processes of mindfulness and compassion such as three components of enhanced self-control: attention control, emotion regulation, and self-awareness. He will use one form of mindfulness - integrative body-mind training (IBMT) as an example to explore mindfulness effects in healthy adults (e.g., stress reduction) and patients (e.g., addiction and mood disorders) and demonstrate how to cultivate mindfulness and compassion effectively through autonomic and central nervous system interaction.