title: Benefits of mindfulness training for patients with progressive cognitive decline and their caregivers.
abstract: New strategies are needed to help people cope with the repercussions of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Patients and caregivers face different challenges, but here we investigated an intervention tailored for this combined population. The program focused on training skills such as attending to the present moment nonjudgmentally, which may help reduce maladaptive emotional responses. Patients participated together with caregivers in weekly group sessions over 8 weeks. An assessment battery was individually administered before and after the program. Pre-post analyses revealed several benefits, including increased quality-of-life ratings, fewer depressive symptoms, and better subjective sleep quality. In addition, participants indicated that they were grateful for the opportunity to learn to apply mindfulness skills and that they would recommend the program to others. In conclusion, mindfulness training can be beneficial for patients and their caregivers, it can be delivered at low cost to combined groups, and it is worthy of further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA  Ken A. Paller and Jessica D. Creery shared co-first-authorship for this article kap@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Ken A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Paller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA  Ken A. Paller and Jessica D. Creery shared co-first-authorship for this article.
authors.forename: Jessica D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Creery
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Florczak
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weintraub
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: M-Marsel
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mesulam
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Reber
authors.affiliation: The Family Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kiragu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rooks
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Safron
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Darby
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Morhardt
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Hara
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Gigler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Molony
authors.affiliation: The Family Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maslar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D003704:Dementia / Q000628:therapy*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064866:Mindfulness / Q000379:methods*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; caregiver stress; mild cognitive impairment; mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR); neurodegenerative disorders