Biofeedback Volume 46: Issue 1

The cover of this special issue of Biofeedback shows a word cloud expressing the intersection of mindfulness with abundance, connection, empathy, resonance, growth, acceptance, and a host of other positive values deeply in harmony with biofeedback practice. (Thanks to CanStock Photo for the image.)

This special issue on “Mindfulness, Compassion, and Biofeedback Practice” is a continuation of the themes presented in the Fall 2015 and Fall 2016 special issues on mindfulness. The guest editors are Inna Khazan, author of The Clinical Handbook of Biofeedback: A Step-by-step Guide for Training and Practice with Mindfulness, and Donald Moss,

Overbreathing is one of the most common and yet overlooked breathing problems that people experience. A few irregular breaths can send us into a condition called hypocapnia, which leads to a variety of physiological, emotional, and behavioral consequences. The purpose of this paper is to review the physiology of breathing and overbreathing, discuss the impact of overbreathing on human physiology and behavior, review ways to recognize overbreathing, and discuss mindfulness-based skills that may be used to teach healthy breathing and correct overbreathing.

Patients today frequently present with conditions caused by or aggravated by stress, lifestyle, and behavior. The number of patients with one or more chronic illnesses has increased worldwide, and lifestyle and behavior frequently contribute to these chronic conditions. Biomedical care fails to address many of the behavioral, lifestyle, and environmental factors causing and aggravating these conditions. The article proposes that integrative healthcare is better suited than biomedicine to address the biopsychosocial aspect of modern illness. In addition, mindfulness-based coping and mindfulness meditation are introduced as valuable tools for integrative medicine and integrative practitioners. The article introduces the concepts of the mindful practitioner, the mindful treatment encounter, mindful engagement of the patient, and mindfulness as treatment.

Chronic pain has a significant impact on the quality of lives for millions of people. Because it is resistant to traditional medical intervention, the optimal approach to chronic pain management relies on a biopsychosocial understanding of health and treatment. To date, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been the treatment of choice. However, CBT's emphasis on active control can prove counterproductive because the cognitions, behaviors, and emotions related to pain are difficult to directly confront. More recently, CBT has begun to integrate mindfulness, shifting toward paradigms of accepting sensations rather than trying to change them. This is difficult for individuals with chronic pain, who frequently spend significant resources avoiding and trying to minimize sensations. Biofeedback can be a useful tool for shaping mindfulness because it allows a focus on an external signal that in fact reflects the internal process. Over time, individuals can learn to integrate mindfulness techniques in their daily life that minimize the influence of pain, allowing them to focus on other aspects of their lives.

Special Issue: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Biofeedback Practice

Breathing, Overbreathing, and Mindfulness

The Role of Mindfulness Approaches in Integrative Medicine

“Watch the Screen”: Biofeedback Can Improve Mindfulness for Chronic Pain

Mindfulness in Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

REPORT: Report from FABBS Meeting

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: Establishing a University-Based Biofeedback Clinic for Practice, Education, and Research

SPECIAL ISSUE: The Impact of a Romantic Partner on Patient Experience of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback

SPECIAL ISSUE: Pain—There Is Hope

ABSTRACTS: Abstracts of Papers Presented at the 54th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback