Building Competency in Diabetes Education THE ESSENTIALS

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latter refers to a specific 12-week structured group therapy program frequently used in therapy for depression and other psychological diagnoses (166,167).

Mindfulness Interventions Mindfulness therapies have been used in a variety of settings, including nutritional weight loss programs, stress reduction sessions and mental health programs. Stemming from Buddhist meditation methods, Jon Kabat-Zinn established a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979. His intention was to train individuals in the art of mindfulness meditation and mindful yoga to help patients deal with stress, pain and illness. Since the development of the MBSR program, many other ‘mindful interventions’ have been utilized to reduce suffering and improve well-being (168-170). To define mindfulness is to describe it as a quality of consciousness and an attitude that results from living in the moment (171). It is a form of “mental training to alleviate the automatic or reactive modes of mind” (172). As a core concept, mindfulness meditation involves paying undivided attention to the experience of the self in the present. Awareness, or mindfulness, is generated by ‘being in the moment’ and realizing both internal experiences referring to emotions, thoughts and feelings, as well as external experiences referring to sensory input. No judgement is attached as you experience this, just an open sense of curiosity, friendliness and compassion (171,173). By experiencing this innate sense of awareness, positive health behaviours can be cultivated, leading to better health outcomes.

Most important to practicing mindfulness, to being “mindful”, is commitment to reside as best one can from moment to moment in awareness with an open heart, a spacious, non-judging, non-reactive mind, and without trying to get anywhere” (168).

Since the introduction of MBSR in 1979, there has been extensive research seeking to answer questions, such as: What are the benefits of this therapy? Which intervention is most successful? Can the benefits be sustained? Who is best suited to benefit from this therapy? Although there are mixed results as to the effect of mindfulness therapies on A1C, initial studies have suggested that there are benefits in increased self-awareness and