by Tim Brunson, PhD

Over the past few years there has been a constant clamor regarding the wonders of a new version of Positive Psychology involving mindfulness. This leaves me to wonder if there is any substance to this or if it is yet another pop psychology mantra waiting to be pushed aside by the next trend. Is this unjustified panacea, merely yet another placebo claiming wondrous results, or a therapeutically significant concept? My intent here is to explore the origin, foundation, and potential value of mindfulness psychotherapy – and its relationship to hypnotherapy.

I first became acquainted with the concept when I attended a three-day workshop jointly conducted by two psychologists at an annual conference held each December in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The presenters were Mark S. Weisberg, PhD, an established authority in mind/body healing who practices in Minnesota, and Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, who is affiliated with the Harvard Medical School. Since then I have become familiar with the work of Richard J. Davidson, PhD, a Harvard-educated scientist working at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Tenzin Nagi, PhD, at Emory University in Atlanta.

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