How mindfulness-based training improves stress-related health: a selective review of randomized clinical trials comparing psychological mechanisms of action.

ABSTRACT: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to reduce both subjective experiences and physiological markers of stress, a central pathway to improving health and wellbeing. Yet, understanding of the causal mechanism through which MBIs affect stress-related health outcomes remains poor. Most MBIs rely on training programs that simultaneously target multiple and distinct mental processes, hampering mechanistic conclusions. Addressing this shortcoming, the present selective review provides an overview of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that directly contrast the effects of distinct components of mindfulness on stress-related health. We examine two comparative frameworks, the prominent Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) and the ReSource training program, an intervention protocol

SUBMITTER: Puhlmann LMC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12358272 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature