Editor’s note: Dr. Williams is the author or co-author of a number of books. His most recently published book is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition (Guilford Press, 2013) which he wrote with John Teasdale and Zindel Segal. He is also a co-author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to...

Mindfulness training (MT) helps to counter individuals’ tendency toward rumination about the past and future.Mindfulness is both the process and state of being present with whatever is happening in the moment with purposeful management of attention. This is often cultivated by sitting meditation, in which one sits in a comfortable...

Approximately half of Americans will have a psychiatric disorder that will meet DSM-IV criteria in their lifetime, with the first onset usually occurring in childhood or adolescence (Kessler RC et al, Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005;62(6):593–603). While there have been many pharmacological and psychotherapeutic advances in treating psychiatric disorders, there remains...

Western thinking about mental illness, modeled after physical disease, assumes that psychological suffering is abnormal. For example, the DSM-IV uses “clinically significant distress or impairment” to draw the boundary between normal and abnormal. Psychopathology then becomes a target for therapy.Some mindfulness-based psychotherapies question this entire notion. ACT, for instance, doubts...

When it comes to mindfulness-based therapy, it’s a true case of what’s old is new again.Mindfulness-based treatments have been described as psychotherapy’s “third wave,” coming on the heels of behaviorist approaches and cognitive interventions, respectively. While seemingly new, mindfulness can be traced back to antiquity. Current secular approaches are clinical...

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Back in 1998, for every 17 research articles devoted to negatively-oriented emotions there was only one article on positively-oriented emotions (Achor S. The Happiness Advantage. New York: Crown Business; 2011).Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD, the American psychologist who has been called the father of positive psychology, said this phenomenon is “half-baked”...

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Positive psychology is a relatively new branch of psychology that is getting more attention. The positive psychology movement has gained momentum, both within the psychology profession and in the broader culture. Positive psychology is focused on the traits and features that contribute to a robust sense of happiness, resilience in...

Dr. Burns is the author of Feeling Good, The Feeling Good Handbook, and When Panic Attacks, which are available at bookstores and can be purchased online. You can learn more about his work by visiting his website at www.feelinggood.com.For a full list of references click here.