| In recent years there have been a great number of studies examining the efficacy of teaching mindfulness techniques to patients for a variety of problems including pain, depression relapse, and anxiety disorders. However, there has been, to this researcher's knowledge, no empirical study of the link between therapist mindfulness and therapeutic outcome, despite solid theoretical reasons to conclude that mindfulness would enhance therapist effectiveness. The present study examined the correlations between therapist mindfulness and (1) therapeutic alliance, and (2) therapeutic outcome. The study is part of a larger randomized, multi-site, clinical trial called Research Evaluating the Value of Augmenting Medication with Psychotherapy (REVAMP). Twenty REVAMP therapists completed two validated measures of mindfulness: The Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). The mindfulness scores were correlated with outcome and alliance measures for patients in each therapist's caseload. Results for both alliance and outcome were mixed. The unexpected findings are discussed and limitations in the study's design and in the mindfulness measures are noted. Future directions are outlined. |
