One1.org

Mindfulness Studies by ONE Research Institute Participants

For extended reports, please e-mail your request to: and specify the report that you wish to receive. To cover printing and postage, a donation of $5.00 to ONE would be appreciated. ONE is a non-profit company and your donations are tax deductible. Please make the check payable to ONE and mail to ONE, P.O. Box 5419, Midlothian, VA 23112.

1. Soles of the Feet: A Mindfulness-Based Self-Control Intervention for Aggression by an Individual with Mild Mental Retardation and Mental Illness
   Nirbhay N. Singh, Robert G. Wahler, Angela D. Adkins, Rachel E. Myers, and The Mindfulness Research Group

   Abstract
   Uncontrolled low frequency, high intensity aggressive behavior is often a barrier to community living for individuals with developmental disabilities. Aggressive behaviors are typically treated with psychotropic medication, behavioral interventions or their combination; but often the behaviors persist at a level that is problematic for the individual as well as care providers. We developed a mindfulness-based, self-control strategy for an adult with mental retardation and mental illness whose aggression had precluded successful community placement. He was taught a simple meditation technique that required him to shift his attention and awareness from the anger-producing situation to a neutral point on his body, the soles of his feet. After practice he applied this technique fairly consistently in situations that would normally have elicited an aggressive response from him. The data show that he increased self-control over his aggressive behaviors, met the community provider's requirement for six months of aggression-free behavior in the inpatient facility before being transitioned to the community, and then successfully lived in the community without re-admission to a facility. No aggressive behavior was seen during the one-year follow-up after his community placement. Mindfulness-based intervention may offer a viable alternative to traditional interventions currently being used to treat behavioral challenges in children and adults with mild mental retardation.

2. A Mindfulness-based Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
   Nirbhay N. Singh, Robert G. Wahler, Alan S.W. Winton, Angela D. Adkins, and The Mindfulness Research Group

   Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects about 2-3% of the US population, but only two thirds of the 5 to 6 million people who have OCD receive appropriate treatment. OCD impairs a person’s life in multiple domains, including social relationships, self-esteem, educational attainment, employment and general health. There are a number of approaches for treating OCD, including psychotherapy, behavior therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, and pharmacotherapy. Although there is very limited comparative literature available on the efficacy of these treatments, clinicians can use expert-based guidelines for determining which therapy, alone or combined with another treatment modality, will be effective for specific individuals. When dropout and relapse are accounted for, however, only 50% of individuals appear to benefit from psychological or pharmacological therapies. In an initial study, we present the clinical use of internalized strategies that enhance mindfulness, thus enabling the individual to accept obsessive-compulsive behaviors as strengths and incorporate them into her normal repertoire. Enhanced mindfulness provided the context for the behavior change process in which the individual was encouraged to view her problems as integral facets of her life experiences, rather than as alien entities to be suppressed or removed, as had been attempted in previous therapies. Her OCD behaviors were understood as strengths that were not well integrated with the rest of her repertoire of actions, thoughts, and feelings. This strengths-based treatment assisted the individual to alter her view of OCD and bring the obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors involved into harmony with other parts of her daily life.

3. Mindful Caregiving Increases Happiness Among Individuals with Profound Disabilities
   By Nirbhay N. Singh, Giulio E. Lancioni, Alan S.W. Winton, Robert G. Wahler, Judy Singh, and Monica Sage

   Abstract
   Happiness is a critical indicator of quality of life in humans. A few studies have measured levels of happiness displayed under different conditions by individuals with medical and physical disabilities who have profound mental retardation. We were interested in determining whether increasing the mindfulness of caregivers would result in increased levels of happiness in adults with these conditions. Using alternating treatments embedded within a multiple baseline across caregivers design, we measured baseline levels of happiness displayed by three adults with medical and physical disabilities who have profound mental retardation when they were being taught leisure skills activities, each by a different pair of caregivers. Then, we taught mindfulness methods to one of each pair and measured the levels of happiness displayed by the individuals during the 8-week training period. Finally, we measured the levels of happiness displayed by the three individuals for 16-weeks following the termination of mindfulness training. We found that, regardless of whether the levels of happiness was initially observed to be high or low in the presence of a caregiver, it increased markedly when an individual interacted with a caregiver who received training in mindfulness when compared to the control caregiver, who did not receive such training. Our study provides evidence that increasing the mindfulness of a caregiver can produce a substantial increase in the levels of happiness displayed by individuals with profound multiple disabilities.