Connecticut State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services

DMHAS Integrative Medicine Activities: Supporting Mind, Body and Spirit
Literature and Research on Mindfulness

Recent systematic reviews of mindfulness research indicate a large number of citations (18,753) through June of 2013. 

Over 2000 peer reviewed articles have now been published on Mindfulness (Siegel, 2010)

Meta-analysis revealed only 3% or 47 trials using mindfulness (MBSR/TM) met inclusion criteria for RCT. (Goyal, JAMA Intern Med. 2014)

“Mindfulness consists of cultivating awareness of the mind and body and living in the here and now.”- Stahl and Goldstein

Mindfulness is now widely accepted as a psychotherapy modality- part of the third wave in behavioral therapy.

Mindfulness-based techniques can help to calm the body, activate the frontal lobes, and can help us change behavior (Janina Fisher, Ph.D., 2012.)

Research on Yoga
Yoga research has shown the efficacy of yoga for treating many diseases including arthritis, stress, metabolic syndrome, asthma, chronic pain and depression (Haaz and Bartlet, 2011, Chong et al, 2011, Innes and Vincent, 2007, Posadzki et al 2011, Uebelacker et al, 2010).
  • Yoga therapy has been understudied, and more well-designed studies are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn about yoga's use for specific mental illnesses.
  • Recently, the US government, the National Institutes of Health, and the US military have turned to complementary and alternative medicine, especially yoga, for the treatment of anxiety and, particularly, PTSD.
  • The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has recognized the benefits of yoga and currently is funding 30 clinical trials of yoga for various medical conditions. Although research on yoga is still in its infancy, the results to date are promising, and large-scale, well-controlled trials should soon follow.
Research Articles:
Beth Robins Roth, APRN, SEP
List of Publications:
Roth B. (2016). Teaching Inner City Populations in the USA.  In:  McCown, D., Editor.  Resources for Teaching Mindfulness: An International Handbook.  Springer International Publishing.
Roth. B. (December 2006 – 2008) Family Dharma.  Founder and writer of column about sharing Buddhist teachings and mindfulness practices with children in the family setting.  Tricycle e-magazine (www.tricycle.com)
Roth, B. and L. Calle-Mesa (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction with Spanish- and English-speaking inner-city medical patients. In:  Baer, R. Editor.  Mindfulness-based treatment approaches:  Clinician's guide to Evidence Base and Applications. Elsevier Press.
Roth, B. (2005). Reimbursement for Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Programs.  International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 15.
Roth, B. & Robbins, D. (2004).  Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health-related quality of life:  Findings from a bilingual inner-city patient population.  Psychosomatic Medicine, 66.
Roth, B. (2003).  Family Practice: The Buffet Retreat.  Inquiring Mind:  A Semiannual Journal of the Vipassana Community, 20 (1).  Fall 2003.
Roth, B., & Stanley, T. (2002).  Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Health Care Utilization in the Inner City: Preliminary Findings.  Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 8 (1).
Roth, B. (2001).  Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at the Yale School of Nursing.  The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 74 (4).
Roth, B. (1997). Mindfulness-based stress reduction in the inner city. Advances: The Journal of Mind-Body Health, 13 (4).
Roth, B., & Creaser, T. (1997). Mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction: Experience with a bilingual inner city program.  The Nurse Practitioner: The American Journal of Primary Health Care, 22, (3).
Roth, B. (1995). Meditation provides antidote for buildup of stress in our lives.  Letter to the Editor, New Haven Register. August 10.
Roth, B. (1995). Meditation in the curriculum. The Nurse Practitioner: The American Journal of Primary Health Care, 20 (6).
Roth, B. (1994). Anchoring in the present moment:  Meditation in the inner city. Nurse Practitioner News, 2 (5).
Roth, B. (1994). Meditation and stress. Letter to the Editor, Meriden Record-Journal. June 24.
Roth, B. (1993). The school nurse as adolescent health educator:  Practical guidelines. The Journal of School Nursing.  Monograph Supplement.
Roth, B. (1993). Fertility awareness as a component of a sexuality education curriculum. The Nurse Practitioner: The American Journal of Primary Health Care, 18 ( 3).
Media Coverage:
Stress Reduction Program based on mindfulness.  Meriden Record-Journal. 
July 27, 2007. 
Aprender a respirar, meditar y liberarse de tensiones innecesarias.  Tiempo. Meriden Record-Journal.  Jan. 26, 2005.  Vol. 4 (40).
Stress Reduction Not Only For Rich.  The Hartford Courant.  Dec. 6, 2004.
An exercise in self-discovery. Saint Raphael’s Better Health (1998) 19 (4).
In the eye of the storm: Yoga and meditation are bringing inner peace to America’s inner cities.  The Yoga Journal.  April 1998. Issue 139.
Programa contra la tensión se dirige a los Hispanos. El Tiempo.  Meriden, CT.  August 1, 1995.
Anti-Stress Program Aimed at Hispanics. Meriden Record-Journal.  July 31, 1995.
Learning to breathe deeply (And mean it). New York Times Connecticut Weekly.  October 2, 1994.
Chilling out:  Meditation as stress reduction tool. Meriden Record-Journal. June 30, 1994.