Mindfulness as a Therapy:A Theoritical Perspective

The main focus of positive psychology is on promoting well-being and developing a sense of satisfying life. Which is said to be possible if it is focused on our present moment and accept it as it is. Mindfulness also shares few of the principles from the field of positive psychology. It is one such technique which is not meant only for the cure of illness but it can be used by individuals for the enhancement of their well-being. Mindfulness or Vipassana meditation is not new it developed out of Buddhist tradition almost (2000) years back. This form of meditation has shown improvement in many psychiatric conditions. Many new therapies are being developed by in cooperating mindfulness and researches have reveal the beneficial effects brought by the practice of mindfulness. Therapies like mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT), mindfulness based stress reduction (MBST), mindfulness based relapse prevention (MBRP) to name a few have shown significant improvement. This paper is an attempt to provide with the review on how mindfulness has turned from a Buddhist practice to an effective mode of treatment and a way to cope. Also a brief review of existing literature is done to show how effective it is. The paper will also discuss what can be done to make it even more effective and useful.