The purpose of this two-phase study was to examine the effects of a workshop based on mindfulness-based programs which targeted psychotherapists in-training from both personal and professional aspects. During phase 1, we conducted interviews with five participants after they finished the workshop. The results showed that they applied mindfulness practices in their daily life when faced with their own emotional difficulties and had deepened experiential understanding regarding mindfulness. Through these experiences, they were able to apply their mindfulness skills naturally. These skills were generalized to psychotherapy and influenced the way both the participants, as a therapist, and their clients dealt with their emotions. In phase 2, the participants completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire pre-and-post-test and during a six-month follow-up. The mindfulness workshop increased their mindfulness skills, especially a non-judgmental attitude after the workshop. Furthermore, this effect lasted until six months, although there was a decreasing tendency.

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Mindfulness-based interventions have been suggested to improve obesity and eating disorders. The present preliminary study involving three healthy Japanese university students examined whether a brief intervention using the breathing techniques of meditation before each meal can have desirable impacts on eating behavior and mindfulness tendencies. One participant practiced 5-minute breathing meditation before each meal for 2 weeks, while the other two did not practice meditation during the same period. The participant who practiced meditation reported numerically higher scores on healthy eating behavior, restrained eating, trait mindfulness and state mindfulness, and lower scores on emotional eating, external eating and body mass index at the post-intervention and 2-week follow-up as compared with the pre-intervention assessment. Self-reporting by the participant who practiced meditation also suggested heightened awareness of meals and restrained eating during the intervention period. These results support the notion that a brief intervention of breathing meditation before meals can have desirable effects on eating behavior and mindfulness in healthy Japanese adults.

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Meditation practice in educational settings has been shown to improve students' motivation for learning and academic performance. However, these effects are suggested to be achieved only when students actively engage in the meditation exercise. The key factor is the students' acceptance of the in-class meditation, which is a prerequisite for them to benefit the most from the practice. To better incorporate meditation into higher education, a detailed examination of the students' acceptance regarding meditation practice is necessary. In the present study, 110 Japanese university undergraduates who took German as a second foreign language practiced for 3 minutes either with a guided meditation or a counting breath technique at the beginning of each class. A questionnaire survey was conducted when 4 lectures were over, to collect both quantitative and qualitative data regarding their attitude towards the meditation practice. The results revealed relatively high levels of acceptance regarding the meditation practice and showed that the two meditation techniques were equally accepted. Furthermore, many students rated meditation particularly highly when they felt ''more focused'' or ''more relaxed'', suggesting that these were especially decisive factors in their acceptance of the exercises. These results may contribute to a better understanding of the acceptance of meditation in foreign language education.

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This study examines the structure and guidance systems used in a mindfulness meditation program at a youth detention center. We conducted a survey on 52 in-house juveniles who underwent practical training for a certain period of time through the program. In essence, the program consists of meditation on a daily basis with little involvement from specialized instructors. A qualitative analysis revealed that only approximately 27% of the participants in the program displayed an understanding of mindfulness and the motivation to continue practicing it. We also observed that the remaining approximately 73% of the participants were reluctant or less motivated. Furthermore, as a result of the program, the analysis demonstrated no significant effects even among the participants who continued the training over a long period. An implementation of the program under such conditions has led to the identification of several challenges. One such challenge pertains to implementing the program under these conditions to promote understanding and motivation among target participants. Other challenges include identifying and supporting participants facing difficulties in practicing mindfulness; discussing mindfulness with staff members and encouraging them to share their experiences; and ensuring that external instructors offer regular remote support to staff members. In summary, some initiatives toward promoting mindfulness at the detention center are as follows: i) enhancing the system by ensuring that remote support is offered by external instructors to staff members for the facilitation of daily mindfulness and ii) improving mechanisms to support participants in implementing the daily practices of the program.

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In this study, a mindfulness program was conducted to focus on decentering and simple mindfulness exercises that can be performed at the workplace. Six members of the Corporate Health and Safety Committee participated in the program. The participants' scores on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and Self-Compassion Response Scale improved after the program was conducted. The results of the qualitative analysis indicate that the program needs to foster a sense of accomplishment in small steps, and it is important to explain the benefits, effects, and objectives of the program before participants start meditating or performing exercises. In the industrial field, where rationality and results-oriented approach are valued, asking someone to meditate before they fully comprehend it may not be acceptable.

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This study investigated the effect of a compassion-based psychological intervention for junior high school students in classroom settings. One hundred and fifty-nine junior high school students (mean age = 12.59 years, SD = 0.49) participated in four weekly sessions of a compassion-based psychological intervention conducted in classroom settings. Changes in self-ratings and behavioural observations of compassion assessed the intervention effects. Although self-rating measures of compassion were not influenced by the intervention, behavioural observations indicated that frequencies of 'helping behaviours' and 'interpersonal interactions' increased from pretest to posttest. Furthermore, more students evaluated the classroom atmosphere as 'warm' at posttest compared to pretest. This compassion-based intervention is partially effective in junior high school students.

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